Hill mounts the rankings
Light heavyweight contenders No. 6 ranked Santos and No. 10 ranked Hill delivered a thrilling slugfest that had been anticipated.
Hill's volume and accuracy made Santos lean on his wrestling, where he did some damage. In the end, Hill earned a fourth round TKO with the mount and elbows.
After the stoppage win, Hill said, "I just don't stop working. That's what I learned from my coaches and my team, we keep working. I feel like a title shot would be good. I've got twice as many finishes as he does. If not, Jan Blachowicz would be nice. Keep pushing me up there."
Neal continues rise
No. 13 ranked welterweight contender Neal leapfrogged over No. 6 ranked Vicente Luque in a pivotal matchup, continuing his formidable rise with a volume of punches that got him a TKO victory in the third round.
Following the win, Neal said, "The tougher the opponent, the more you get out of it, and Luque brought out the dog in me. Honestly, I'm looking at Gilbert Burns, I want him next."
The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Finale
In the heavyweight division, Usman came back from a rough first round to knock out Zac Pauga with his trademark left hook in the second. Usman joins UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman as the first pair of brothers to become TUF winners.
In the women's flyweight division, Team Pena's Juliana Miller out-hustled Team Nunes' Brogan Walker, showing her superior strength in the clinch, earned takedowns, and got the TKO in round three.
Other Main Card Action
In a heavyweight bout, Sergey Spivak dominated Augusto Sakai, earning a stoppage win with a series of punches that forced the referee to step in call the stop to the contest. Also, Terrance McKinney submitted Erick Gonzalez to earn quick stoppage in a lightweight bout.
Preliminary Card Action
Michal Oleksiejczuk, Bryan Battle, Cory McKenna and Mayra Bueno Silva all earned stoppage wins in their respective bouts over Sam Alvey, Takashi Sato, Miranda Granger and Stephanie Egger.
UFC Vegas 59 Results
Main Card
1. Light Heavyweight Bout: Jamahal Hill defeated Thiago Santos via TKO (punches and elbows) at 2:31 of round 4
2. Welterweight Bout: Geoff Neal defeated Vicente Luque via KO (punches) at 2:01 of round 3
3. TUF Finale - Heavyweight Bout: Mohammed Usman defeated Zac Pauga via KO (punches) at 0:36 of round 2
4. TUF Finale - Women's Flyweight Bout: Juliana Miller defeated Brogan Walker via TKO (punches and elbows) at 3:57 of round 3
5. Heavyweight Bout: Sergey Spivak defeated Augusto Sakai via TKO (punches) at 3:42 of round 2
6. Lightweight Bout: Terrance McKinney defeated Erick Gonzalez via Submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:17 of round 1
Preliminary Card
1. Middleweight Bout: Michal Oleksiejczuk defeated Sam Alvey via TKO (punches) at 1:56 of round 1
2. Welterweight Bout: Bryan Battle defeated Takashi Sato via KO (head kick) at 0:44 of round 1
3. Women's Strawweight Bout: Cory McKenna defeated Miranda Granger via Submission (Von Flue choke) at 1:03 of round 2
4. Women's Bantamweight Bout: Mayra Bueno Silva defeated Stephanie Egger via Submission (armbar) at 1:17 of round 1