QUEBEC -- Welterweight Chad (The Disciple) Laprise won a split decision over Olivier Aubin-Mercier on Wednesday to become the first Canadian winner of the UFCs "Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show. The judges scored it 28-29, 29-28, 30-27 for Laprise, who finished strongly in what was a very close fight. "I cant describe what I am feeling right now. People are asking me what it feels like to be the first winner of The Ultimate Fighter from Canadaa and all I can say is I feel blessed," said Laprise. "Olivier was tough. I knew he would be, hes a southpaw and has a very difficult style to figure out. He is young and will come again. "Right now, I feel so happy right now, so proud. I just had Dana White hand me a TUF finale trophy. I cant describe whats going on in my head." Laprise (9-0) got on his knees in the middle of the cage after the fight. Aubin-Mercier (5-1), seemingly favouring his right foot, hung on to his cornermen. The welterweight and middleweight finals of "The Ultimate Fighter Nations," which pitted Canada against Australian, were all-Canadian affairs after the Aussies were eliminated earlier. Torontos Elias (The Spartan) Theodorou stopped Edmontons Sheldon Westcott via second-round TKO in the middleweight final. After Theodorou (10-0) came into the music of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Westcott (9-2-1) ran into the arena to Imagine Dragons, almost wiping out as he turned a corner. It was a frantic opening as Westcott looked to take the fight to the ground quickly, hoping to bring his submission game into play. The bigger Theodorou fought him off and started punishing him with knees. Theodorous size and wrestling skills took their toll. He dumped Westcott midway through the second round and hammered him. The referee eventually stepped in to stop the beating at 4:41 Canadian coach Patrick (The Predator) Cote, who fought Australian coach Kyle Noke in a welterweight bout later on the Colisee Pepsi card, was runner-up to Travis Lutter on Season 4 of "The Ultimate Fighter," which featured veteran fighters looking for a second chance. Aubin-Mercier stalked Laprise, who looked to counter from the outside, as he waited for the right moment to try a takedown. Laprise stuffed two attempts in the first round but was cut under the left eye as the crowd chanted his opponents name. Laprise was finally taken down a minute into the second round, to the delight of the crowd. But he quickly got back up. Aubin-Mercier kept coming but never got his ground game going. Laprise denied another takedown to open the third but was bundled down soon after. Again he got back up quickly. Aubin-Mercier connected with kicks as Laprise continued to fight from the counter position. Laprise finished the fight with a flourish of blows. Wednesdays card marked the UFCs first visit to Quebec City. In addition to being teammates on the show, Laprise and Aubin-Mercier have also trained together at Montreals Tristar Gym, home to former UFC weltwerweight champion Georges St-Pierre. "Theyre both my friends," said GSP. "Both very nice guys." St-Pierre, however, picked Aubin-Mercier to win. The former champion has closer ties to Aubin-Mercier than Laprise -- they have known each other longer, live close to each other and Aubin-Mercier was an important training partner ahead of St-Pierres last fight against Johny Hendricks. Aubin-Mercier, 25, does most of his training at Montreals H2O Gym, A former member of the Canadian judo team, he advanced to the TUF Nations final by beating a pair of Australians: Jake Matthews by decision and Richard Walsh by submission. A native of Windsor, Ont., Laprise now makes his home in London, Ont., and trains mostly out of Adrenaline MMA Training and Fitness. Laprise, 27, won a unanimous decision over Australian Chris Indich before defeating Kayan Johnsons jaw via a brutal knockout to advance to the final. "It was difficult seeing the aftermath with Kajan and his jaw breaking, obviously," said Laprise. But both knew what they had signed up for. "That could easily just as well been me," Laprise said. Johnson returns to the cage in June to face lightweight Tae Hyun Bang at UFC 174 in Vancouver. Like others on the show, which wrapped up filming in December, Laprise was unable to talk about what happened until the episodes aired. "Keeping it a secret for so long was definitely tough," he said. Both Laprise and Aubin-Mercier have spent most of their fight career at lightweight (155 pounds) but competed at welterweight (170) on the show. Laprise normally walks around at 190 pounds. "Im probably one of the biggest lightweights in the division," said the five-foot-10 Laprise. "So me fighting at 170 is actually awesome." Laprise added after the fight: "Id like to drop down to 155 pounds now, Im a little small for 170 pounds. But I will fight anyone the UFC want me to. Im here to fight." Fighting aside, Laprise is a man of faith. After weighing in Tuesday, he donned his trademark large cross to square off with Aubin-Mercier. "I truly believe that God put me here for a reason. And thats to share his light through fighting. Everybody that sees me fight, they know Im a Christian. Hopefully I represent God well." He found religion at the age of 21. "My life has changed dramatically since and Im very grateful for that." Living with 15 other fighters under the same roof with cameras everywhere for six weeks during filming of the TV show was a challenge however. "It was tough, man," he said. "Youre constantly on film, every single day." China Shoes Free Shipping . 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After not scoring 40 points in the opening quarter in the last five seasons, the Rockets have done it five times this season and twice in the last three games.SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- In a week that should be filled with talk about another Super Bowl run and the pomp and circumstance of finally playing the much-hyped season opener, the San Francisco 49ers once again find themselves dealing with potential embarrassment and legal problems away from the field. Only days after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell cracked down on domestic violence offences with far harsher penalties, defensive tackle Ray McDonald could become an example. Yet, the 49ers are determined to let the legal process play out before casting judgment. McDonald faces felony domestic violence charges for an incident during his 30th birthday party with teammates and friends Sunday, when police say his alleged victim suffered "visible injuries." San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh hasnt ruled out McDonald playing in the opener Sunday at Dallas, and the defensive lineman is practicing. Harbaugh said Wednesday the decision "will be based on information and facts." "Theres two very strong principles in play. No. 1 is we will not tolerate domestic violence. The second principle is the respect for due process," Harbaugh said. "Its something we all know, we all live in America, and we all understand that sometimes patience is required when it comes to due process. ... Youre innocent until proven guilty. General manager Trent Baalke and Harbaugh have spent recent days denouncing such behaviour and reiterating their stand for zero tolerance when it comes to domestic violence. All of this after star linebacker Aldon Smith was suspended for nine games Friday for what the NFL called violations of the leagues substance abuse and personal conduct policies. So, how ready will this team regroup and be ready for the Cowboys in a raucous road environment? "Obviously, this isnt something that any of us are happy about, but its the situation were in," Baalke said. "Any time you face adversity, its how you deal with it. Were going to do the best we can to bring a resolution to this and to do the best job we can, of all of us, players, coaches, everyone else, being the best members of this community that we can be. Thats our goal. Always has been, always will be." McDonald hasnt been available to the media this week, but his teammates are standing behind him as the allegations are investigated. "We never condone anything of this magnitude, but it is what it is and nobody knows, you know, theres two sides to every storry," linebacker Patrick Willis said.dddddddddddd "So we just hope that everything gets situated, and we can get right back out on the field and everybody can be at peace." The NFLs new rules call for a six-week suspension for a first offence and at least a year for a second. San Francisco officials are in communication with the league on the matter. Its been a turbulent year since Harbaugh publicly criticized the rival Seahawks in June 2013 for their run of performance-enhancing drug suspensions and said, "You always want to be above reproach, especially when youre good, because you dont want people to come back and say, Theyre winning because theyre cheating." Since then, cornerback Chris Culliver has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanour hit-and-run charges and felony possession of brass knuckles after a March arrest. In his latest run-in with the law, Smith was arrested April 13 at Los Angeles International Airport. Police said Smith was randomly selected for a secondary screening and became unco-operative with the process, telling a TSA agent that he had a bomb. No charges were filed. San Francisco went 5-0 during Smiths absence last fall to undergo treatment following his Sept. 20 DUI arrest. "Were versatile, and we have players who can come in and play," said linebacker Corey Lemonier, one of the reliable replacements in 2013. In a season thats considered Super Bowl championship or bust by the players standards after a trio of near misses, this is far from an ideal start. Especially for a defence that has been among the NFLs most staunch units in recent seasons. All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman is already sidelined for at least half the season as he recovers from a terrifying left knee injury during the NFC championship game in Seattle that required surgery. If San Francisco can beat Tony Romo and Co. on Sunday, everybody will begin to move forward. "Losing those guys you can look across the board and find every reason to run the other way or make excuses as to why you may not be as good or why we cant be as good, but at the end of the day, youre only as good as the guys that are out there on the field anyway," Willis said. "All these guys have our support, injured, situations, whatever they may be. At the end of the day, weve just got to win ballgames." Notes: RT Anthony Davis and WR Michael Crabtree worked out in the weight room at the start of practice. ' ' '