LAS VEGAS -- Like it or not, Urijah Faber is right back in UFC title contention.
Faber collected his second win of the year on Saturday, submitting Scott Jorgensen in the fourth round of their bantamweight fight at "The Ultimate Fighter" 17 finale at The Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Faber is now 7-0 since 2008 in non-title fights. In that same stretch, he's 0-5 when a title is at stake, losing to Renan Barao, Dominick Cruz, Jose Aldo and twice to Mike Brown.
"I just want to fight the best," Faber said when asked what he'd like next. "Whatever [the UFC] wants me to do."
Faber (28-6) was dominant in this fight, slipping under Jorgesen's punches, countering and timing his takedowns well when he wanted the fight on the ground.
He stunned Jorgensen (14-7) in the first round, catching him with a knee as Jorgensen looked for a double leg shot. Jorgensen dropped and turtled near the fence, where Faber took his back, locked the body triangle and looked for a submission.
Faber continued softening up Jorgensen in the second and third rounds. He landed a little bit of everything, firing straight punches to the body and uppercuts with his right hand, and the jab and lead hook with his left.
Jorgensen tried to turn up the pressure in the third round, picking up the pace on his jab. Faber was too quick defensively, though, slipping under Jorgensen's punches and countering effectively with his left.
The final sequence happened quickly, as Faber shot in on Jorgensen and scrambled to his back in almost one fluid motion. From there, the right arm tucked neatly under Jorgensen's chin and that was that. Jorgensen tapped at the 3:16 mark.
After the fight, Faber gave credit to Jorgensen, his longtime friend.
"I've known for a long time how tough Scott is, and I got to taste it tonight," Faber said. "He got me with some good punches. It was back and forth. He made a small mistake and I was able to capitalize. Hopefully, we'll fight for a belt someday."
ESPN.com ranks Faber the No. 3 bantamweight in the world, trailing Cruz and interim champ Barao. Jorgensen falls to 1-3 in his last four fights.
Gastelum derails Hall, hype train
After saying all week he hadn't bought into his own hype, TUF contestant Uriah Hall fought like a man who had bought into his own hype.
In one of the more stunning upsets in TUF finals history, underdog Kelvin Gastelum defeated Hall via split decision to become the series' champion. Two judges scored the bout 29-28 in his favor. The third gave it to Hall, 29-28.
ESPN.com scored the middleweight bout for Gastelum, 29-28.
"I'm speechless right now. Obviously I'm happy but I'm kind of hurting because it was a tough fight," Gastelum said. "My eye hurts a bit and he got a couple kicks in that did some damage, but I'll heal up just fine. It's a great feeling and I'm looking forward to taking a little time off and then getting back to training."
Hall (7-3) was the clear favorite for the TUF 17 title, knocking out three of the four opponents he faced on the show in spectacular fashion. UFC president Dana White called him the most impressive contestant in TUF history.
Immediately, it was evident Hall had either taken the compliments to heart, or fallen to the pressure of fighting a friend. He walked out in the first round with his guard down and willingly planted himself along the fence.
It was reminiscent of what UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva did in a non-title bout against Stephan Bonnar in October, right before he knocked him out.
Gastelum (6-0) wasn't impressed. He clipped Hall with a winging left hook early and took him down as he regrouped. He landed elbows from top position before Hall managed to work to his feet.
Hall would respond, hitting Gastelum's midsection with a spinning back kick in the next round.
Again, though, he dropped his hands along the fence, where Gastelum shot in and took him down. After working to his feet, Hall did score a suplex that ignited the Las Vegas crowd.
With the scorecards even, it was Gastelum who imposed his will in the deciding round. He shot beautifully on Hall in the opening minute and scored points with his ground and pound.
Hall worked to his feet where he looked to provide some of that knockout magic, but Gastelum took him down again in the final 90 seconds.
Zingano trounces Tate
Cat Zingano will coach opposite UFC champion Ronda Rousey in the next season of "The Ultimate Fighter" after defeating Miesha Tate via third-round TKO.
The second female fight ever in the UFC certainly lived up to any expectations set by the first, as Zingano battled back from two difficult rounds to finish Tate in the third.
Zingano (8-0) hurt Tate with a series of knees as she worked back to her feet after a takedown. With Tate bloodied and knocked down to her knees, referee Kim Winslow called off the fight at the 2:55 mark. Tate immediately argued the stoppage.
"I felt like I got woken up in the second round," Zingano said. "I was still really surprised that I was here and actually competing in the Octagon.
"I just thought about my son and thought about my mom and thought about everything I've done to get here in my life, and it's exactly where I'm supposed to be. It got me started. I wanted to finish this fight and I did."
A former Strikeforce champion, Tate (13-4) was listed as a slight underdog in the bout. She got off to a strong start, bloodying Zingano's nose with straight punches and scoring multiple takedowns in the first round.
She worked to full mount in the second frame then transitioned to an armbar. Zingano would escape, though, and reverse the position, leading to her landing a string of hard punches from Tate's half-guard.
Zingano surprised Tate with an early takedown of her own in the final round. She peppered Tate with short punches as she tried to work to her feet, before landing the game-changer -- a hard knee up the middle to Tate's face.
With Tate visibly hurt, Zingano was relentless working for the finish. She's now stopped seven out of eight professional opponents.
Tate falls to 1-2 in her last three bouts. The other loss came via first-round armbar to Rousey in a Strikeforce title fight in March 2012.
Browne bounces back with KO win
Travis Browne's hamstring seems to be fine -- as does his right elbow.
The UFC heavyweight scored a quick first-round knockout over Gabriel Gonzaga with a couple well-placed elbow strikes to Gonzaga's left temple. It was Browne's first appearance since suffering a hamstring tear in a loss to Antonio Silva in October.
"The goal was to get in and out so I can keep my face intact," Browne said. "I wanted to show that my left leg is 100 percent, so I made sure to throw it first. I was determined to show I'm not just a striker and I think I was able to do that."
Browne (14-1-1) landed a third elbow to the back of Gonzaga's head, an illegal strike, when referee Chris Tognoni was slow to stop the fight. Gonzaga, though, was clearly out before the blow.
The fight began with a wild head kick attempt by Browne. After ducking underneath, Gonzaga (14-7) looked for the takedown, which led to a stalemate along the fence.
As Browne fended off the single leg attempt with his back to the cage, he unloaded the series of right elbows that led to the finish. The official time of the knockout was 1:11.
Browne improves to 5-1-1, including four finishes, in the UFC. He was knocked out by Silva in the first round of the October fight after suffering the leg injury. Gonzaga, 33, loses for the first time since coming out of a brief retirement in 2011.
McDaniel submits Smith
Middleweight TUF contestant Bubba McDaniel capped his reality series experience with a decisive submission win over Gilbert Smith.
McDaniel (21-6) outclassed Smith in every aspect of the fight, eventually submitting him from his back with a triangle choke. Referee Steve Mazzagatti waved off the middleweight bout at the 2:49 mark.
"When I was on top transitioning, he rolled straight into a triangle setup," McDaniel said. "So, I wrestled his arm inside before he was able to escape it. Glad I could get the win, but there's a lot of room to improve and I'll be better next time."
Smith (5-2) might have actually tapped due to pressure on his arm. McDaniel locked in a triangle-armbar early in the third after stuffing a takedown from Smith.
McDaniel's experience edge was visible throughout the bout. Smith tried to control with takedowns but had a hard time dealing with McDaniel on the ground. He was swept from top position in the opening frame, which led to him turtled up along the fence and eating knees to the body.
He threatened to submit McDaniel with a guillotine in the second, but ultimately ended up on his back taking punches for the effort. By the third round, it was clear the grappling exchanges had taken their toll on Smith's gas tank.
McDaniel, training partner to UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, extends his win streak to seven. Smith, whose first pro fight came in 2011, loses via submission for the first time in his career.