LAS VEGAS -- He carried a two-fight losing streak into his bout with Gray Maynard, but Nate Diaz had a scintillating performance in a first-round TKO win. Shoes From China Online . The bout served as the featured matchup of Saturdays The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale event, which took place at Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Events Center. It was Maynard (11-3-1) who took the advantage in the early going, scoring a takedown and looking to attack from top position. But Diaz (17-9-0) refused to stay on the floor and continually worked back to his feet, even after Maynard answered with a slam to the canvas. Once there, Diazs boxing did the rest. A stiff land hand started the assault, and as Maynard staggered against the cage Diaz unleashed a non-stop barrage of strikes. Dazed and bleeding, Maynard simply couldnt recover from the non-stop pressure. Referee Yves Lavigne gave him every chance to recover, but Diaz continued the onslaught until he earned the TKO finish, and Maynard stumbled to the canvas as the fight was waved off at the 2:38 mark of the first round. "I could tell he was out, but he wouldnt drop," Diaz said. "Ive got to keep throwing to drop these fools. Maybe the ref shouldve stopped it earlier, I dont know." In the nights co-feature, Team Tate fighter Julianna Pena overwhelmed former world boxing champion Jessica Rakoczy of Hamilton en route to claiming the womens bantamweight tournament title. Pena rushed forward at the opening bell, walking through Rakoczys punches to get into a clinch and bring the fight to the floor. Once there, a relentless attack saw her move quickly to mount and unleash a dizzying barrage of punches and elbows from the top. Rakoczy tried desperately to escape the position but Pena was simply too much. Referee Mario Yamasaki watched the action closely, offering warnings along the way, and eventually waved off the fight with one second left in the first round. With the victory, Pena became the first female winner in "The Ultimate Fighter" series history and earned a six-figure UFC contract. "I figured she would go to her strengths and use angles and try to box me, but I didnt give her any space. I was relentless," Pena said after the win. "I never thought there would be women in the UFC, so to be the first female The Ultimate Fighter winner is amazing." In the mens tournament final, Chris Holdsworth (5-0) impressed in a second-round submission win over Davey Grant (8-2), also scoring a six-figure UFC contract in the process. Grant looked to be the stronger fighter to open, rattling off powerful punches that just missed their target. But a wiry Holdsworth pushed forward with counters and constantly looked to take the fight to the floor. Hed get his chance in the second round. After avoiding a few more powerful punches, Holdsworth changed levels and brought the fight to the floor before moving swiftly to the back in a crafty transition. Once there, he made use of the opportunity, immediately working for a rear-naked choke. While the first effort failed, a second attempt saw the arm slip under the neck, and the tap came at the 2:10 mark of the second frame. "If you chase your dreams, they will come true," Holdsworth said after the fight. "Daveys a family man and a role model, but tonight was my night." In the evenings opening matchup contestants Jessamyn Duke (3-0) and Raquel Pennington (4-3) each picked up clear-cut decision wins. Duke out-struck fellow Team Rousey fighter Peggy Morgan (2-1) over the course of their three-round affair, utilizing a crisp left hand to batter her opponents face for the entirety of the matchup. Despite boasting a reach advantage, Morgan struggled to find the target and was out-struck 123-34 according to a FightMetric report, and Duke earned the fight with scores of 30-27 on all three judges cards. "Getting this fight is a huge weight off my shoulders, and Im honoured to fight in the UFC," Duke said after the win. "I can finally share everything about this life-changing experience of being on The Ultimate Fighter." Meanwhile, Pennington didnt necessarily look to be clicking on all cylinders during her three-round clash with Roxanne Modaferri (15-11), but still did enough to pick up a convincing victory. Modafferi moved well throughout the contest, looking to create angles and avoid her opponents power. And while she attempted 218 strikes to her opponents 86, she landed only 22 per cent of her blows as opposed to Penningtons 60 per cent. In short, when Pennington pulled the trigger, she was successful. Although shell need to be more active in future appearances, Penningtons effort was enough to score a win, 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. "Im happy with the win, but knowing my capabilities I didnt fight my best fight," Pennington said after the win. "I wasnt happy because I have very fast hands, and I didnt really display those. Maybe it was because of my nerves." Discount Shoes Online Free Shipping . -- Henry Josey watched helplessly from the sideline last fall, rehabbing from a serious knee injury, while Missouri was getting pushed around in its first SEC season. Authentic Shoes Wholesale .Cullen scored the go-ahead goal at 13:47 of the third period and Nashville beat the slumping Dallas Stars 3-2 on Thursday in a game that wasnt decided until the last shot of the night. http://www.cheapshoesclearance.com/ . Dwyane Wade took over in the fourth quarter.DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke can finally take a breather. Rodney Hood scored 21 points to help the sixth-ranked Blue Devils beat Virginia Tech 66-48 on Tuesday night, a game that followed a demanding stretch that included games against their fiercest rival and the nations top-ranked team in a span of about 48 hours. Duke (23-6, 12-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) completed a stretch of five games in 11 days by beating the last-place Hokies (9-18, 2-13). "We need to get away a little bit," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We need to review our stuff instead of always planning for someone elses stuff." The Blue Devils fought to the final second to hold off Maryland on Feb. 15, then travelled to Georgia Tech before losing the weather-delayed rivalry game at North Carolina. Two nights later, they held off then-No. 1 Syracuse at home, then returned once more to Cameron Indoor Stadium to beat Virginia Tech in what Krzyzewski called "a grueling stretch." "Its kind of like -- I dont know if you do this -- getting that last bit out," Krzyzewski said. "Even though youve got two full containers, youre going to get that last little bit. Today was kind of, lets get it out there." Duke doesnt play again until next Wednesdays trip to Wake Forest, followed by the regular-season finale against UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 8. The Blue Devils have won 32 straight home games, the longest streak in the nation. "Probably everybody in the back of their minds was looking forward to (the break)," sophomore Rasheed Sulaimon said, "but at the same time we knew we had to take care of business." Hood said the coaches didnt let the players ease into this one, jumping on them about a sluggish pregame shootaround. The Blue Devils responded by running out to a 24-4 lead midway through the first half, though they struggled to land a game-finishing blow. "We started to warm up and we came back in and they got us pretty good because we didnt look like we were ready to go out there and fight," Hood said. "I mean, weve got to be prepared for that. The ACC tournament, you can play three or four games in three or four days so theres no excuse for us. Cheap Clearance Shoes Online. . I think its taxing on us, but weve got to be ready and get rejuvenated for next week." The win, along with Clemsons loss at Wake Forest, helped secure some extra rest for the Blue Devils. They are assured a top-four seed in Greensboro and the double-round bye that comes with it. Sulaimon scored 15 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 39 per cent and went 10 for 33 from 3-point range -- well below their ACC-leading 40.7 per cent from behind the arc. Freshman Trevor Thompson matched his season-high with 15 points for Virginia Tech, which has won once since the start of the calendar year. The injury-depleted Hokies have failed to reach 60 points in 10 of those 14 games. Still, Virginia Tech shot 48 per cent after halftime to keep the Blue Devils from running away with it. Virginia Tech finished with 15 turnovers, six from freshman Devin Wilson, that led to 22 points for the Blue Devils. The Hokies also went 8 minutes without a basket in the second half as Duke crept further ahead. "They do what bothers us, that pressure defence bothers us," Hokies coach James Johnson said. "And they did a good job with that. And at that time (in the second half), were probably running out of gas a little bit." Duke ran out to a 15-2 lead on Sulaimons first 3-pointer, then pushed ahead by 20 points when Sulaimon knocked down another 3 at the 9:50 mark. Virginia Tech closed the gap to 32-20 by halftime thanks to a spark from C.J. Barksdale, who had nine points on 4-for-4 shooting, and got within 34-27 on Jarell Eddies driving score with 17:59 left. But Sulaimon knocked down two 3s then reserve big man Marshall Plumlee slammed home a miss to push the lead to 51-36. The Hokies never got the lead to single digits again. Virginia Tech was short-handed once again for this game. Second-leading scorer Adam Smith (11 points) missed his 10th straight game with a left calf injury, third-leading scorer Ben Emelogu (10.8) missed his second straight with a left ankle injury while reserve forward Cadarian Raines played just 1 minute after being listed as questionable with an ankle injury. ' ' '