Ricci, Smith, Ellis, Manley Win $25,000 "TUF 16" Season Bonuses

RICCI, SMITH, ELLIS, MANLEY WIN $25,000 'TUF 16' SEASON BONUSES
BY MMAJUNKIE.COM STAFF ON DEC 16, 2012 AT 12:25 AM ET

LAS VEGAS – Mike Ricci came up short in his quest to become the first Canadian winner of "The Ultimate Fighter," but he didn't walk away from Season 16 of the show with nothing.

On Saturday, he was dominated by Colton Smith in the TUF 16 finals, but Ricci picked up a $25,000 bonus for the season's best knockout for his semifinal win over Neil Magny.

Bonuses of $25,000 also went to Smith and Eddy Ellis for the season's best fight and Jon Manley for the season's best submission.

UFC officials announced the winners during Saturday's TUF 16 Finale, which took place at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Ricci's knockout of Magny was his second stoppage of the welterweight tournament. He beat Jason South by TKO to get into the TUF house before beating Dom Waters and Michael Hill by unanimous decision before the Magny fight in the semifinals.

Manley submitted James Chaney with a guillotine choke 3:25 into the first round of their opening-round fight to reach the quarterfinals. Apart from the 16 fights to get into the TUF house, Manley's submission was the only one in the 14 fights once the 16 fighters were into the house.

Smith and Ellis battled back and forth in their elimination-round fight with Smith winning by majority decision. Many believed the fight should have gone to a third sudden-victory round. Instead, Smith advanced, then beat Igor Araujo and Manley to reach the finals against Ricci.