Sheldon Westcott went down swinging in the Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Nations middleweight final Wednesday.
The St. Albert mixed martial arts fighter lost to Elias (The Spartan) Theodorou of Mississauga, Ont. by TKO at 4:41 of the second round in the televised bout at the Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City.
Theodorou, 25, earned a six-figure Ultimate Fighting Championship contract while improving to 9-0.
Westcott, 29, is 9-2-1 after the UFC Canada vs. Australia reality television series finale.
“Elias was just the better man today. Thanks to everyone who supported me!!” Westcott posted on his Facebook page.
The Paul Kane High School alumnus started the all-Canadian affair like a house on fire – he needed less than one minute to come out on top in both of his two wins on TUF Nations – and quickly grabbed control of Theodorou’s back but was unable to apply a rear-naked choke in his quest for an early submission.
Theodorou recovered from the initially powerful onslaught and started tattooing Westcott with hard shots and several hard knees.
Theodorou carried the momentum into round two with a ground-and-pound attack. His size and wrestling skills eventually put Westcott to the ground and rained shots on his opponent before the referee stopped the fight with 19 seconds left in the round.
Theodorou won two unanimous decisions to reach the final.
Westcott, a welterweight who moved up a class to middleweight for TUF Nations, battled through knee (Grade 2 tear on his MCL and two Grade 1 tears on his ACL and LCL) and neck (strained ligaments in the cervical spine) injuries during the filming of the TUF Nations elimination format matching Canadians against Aussies.
The co-owner of the Complete Fitness and Martial Arts gym in Campbell Business Park was awarded a $25,000 bonus for Submission of the Season for his Von Flue choke from a half-guard 41 seconds into the semifinal bout against Australia’s Vik Grujic.
