TUF 9 Finale Results: Sanchez Edges Guida in Three-Round War; Wilks and Pearson Win TUF Tourneys
Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida delivered on their Fight of the Year hype, engaging in a three-round war in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on Saturday that saw Sanchez edge Guida by split decision on the judge’s scorcards.
The fight opened with a flurry and rarely slowed, as Sanchez battered Guida in the opening seconds with a flurry of punches and knees that appeared as though they could end the fight. The iron-chinned Guida survived the early onslaught to deliver punishment of his own in rounds two and three, but it was Sanchez’s dominant opening frame, head kick knockdown, and cut-opening elbows from the bottom that were enough to earn him the win and put him in contention for a lightweight title shot.
The rest of the card failed to disappoint either as Chris Lytle and Kevin Burns traded blows in a bout that deserved Fight of the Night before being upstaged by Sanchez and Guida, Joe Stevenson looked impressive in topping Nate Diaz by unanimous decision in a technical battle, and welterweight James Wilks and lightweight Ross Pearson were crowned The Ultimate Fighter 9 champions with victories on the Spike-televised main card.
After three quick stoppage victories by Jason Dent, Nick Osipczak, and Tomasz Drwal to start the event, the prelimiary card was marred by a duo of controversial decisions as Brad Blackburn edged Edgar Garcia and Melvia Guillard topped Gleison Tibau.
The event’s official results were:
- Diego Sanchez def. Clay Guida via split decision (28-29, 29-27, 29-28)
- James Wilks def. DaMarques Johnson via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 4:54
TUF 9 Welterweight Final - Chris Lytle def. Kevin Burns via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ross Pearson def. Andre Winner via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
TUF 9 Lightweight Final - Joe Stevenson def. Nate Diaz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Melvin Guillard def. Gleison Tibau via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Brad Blackburn def. Edgar Garcia via split decision (29-28, 28-28, 29-28)
- Tomasz Drwal def. Mike Ciesnolevicz via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:48
- Nick Osipczak def. Frank Lester via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 3:40
- Jason Dent def. Cameron Dollar via submission (anaconda choke) — Round 1, 4:46
[Pictured: Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida]
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Nick “Pikey” Osipczak w000 cant wait don’t understand a word the guy says but thats OK :D
Also it is Nate Diaz not Nick ;) Although Nick back in the UFC would be sweet :D
This part here…
“The event, which takes place at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas and airs on Spike TV at 9pm ET, also features Nick Diaz vs. Joe Stevenson”
Feel free to delete these posts :)
I really dont know why some guys get hard ons over pointing out human error
@Vinz – Thanks for the heads up
@Tw@ – I agree some people take pride in finding errors. Not that that’s happening here at all, but I definitely understand where you’re coming from.
I was just thinking with my fingers then no dis to you Vinz, I just see it annying when guys like yourself and Kris write these threads for the benefit of others and the first thing they do is make sure the ‘i’s’ have been dotted and the ‘t’s’ have been crossed
Wow threaded comments dunno how long I’ve been on this site and had no idea there was threaded comments :D <3
Threaded comments have been around for at least six months.
i am right their with you
Also on a side note.. the chick in the RAWR T-Shirt add has an interesting package..
Yah I am a writer for quakelive.tv and always appreciate people pointing out my errors so I can fix them.. no harm intended :)
Kris, where are you getting these results from? Do you have someone at the event? If so, any chance of knowing who won each round before the end of the fight?
I’m getting the results from Twitter actually, but I’ll pass along round-by-round results/scores provided we have a fight go past the first.
Thanks man
Longtime Kris! Everything is looking great. Website is larger than ever!
Hey Fix, great to have ya stop by. Thanks! How are things going for you?
Been good….workin. So thanx for keepin me posted ;) I may not comment much anymore, but I still visit :)
Ur the new old vinz then :D ever readin never posting
crap i wanted cameron dollar to win! and frank. so far im 0-2
What’s with Guida talking so much crap.He must have been pressured to hype the fight.He can’t seriously believe he is that good.
WOW.Never would have predicted that.Joe Daddy looked real good.
Although Anderson vs Belfort would likely be a good fight,I don’t think Vitor deserves a UFC title shot.There’s too many other fighters that deserve a shot.You’d almost think Dana has a problem with Maia,cause he should have been next,and if he beats Marquardt he should definitely get a shot.
Belfort may not get it right away. Anderson may be a little busy for awhile before he comes back down.
I keep saying this on here and it really seems to be true. Leites screwed it up for Maia. End of story. Maia will have to prove himself on his FEET to get a shot at Anderson. So unless he KO’s or out boxes Marquardt to a decision it’s going to be awhile before he gets a shot. I know he and Leites are completely different guys but the song remains the same, the UFC doesn’t want to risk that happening again.
I think if Maia can submit Marquardt, which Leites couldn’t do, that might be enough to overcome the fear that we would see another Silva v. Leites.
Really solid point about Leites crapping on grapplers and their future title opportunities…
Justin I WOULD agree with you had Leites not been so bad and Dana not made the announcement about pursuing Belfort. I think if Maia wins by submission and the UFC signs Belfort then you’d see Belfort-Maia first. I just think Maia is two fights(including the Marquardt fight) from being given a title shot barring he shows a lot stand up against Marquardt.
If he did submit Nate though he’d have my ultimate respect considering that’s only been done twice in Nate’s career. The only problem is that’s a two edged sword as well because then you know Anderson will avoid any sort of tie-up that wasn’t reaching for a plum with Maia.
I’m confused. Wilkes was in the U.S. National Guard, has lived in the states for 10 years, set up his MMA dojo in CA, but he is a Britt? Seems to me he is more of an American. Go USA! Good fight, btw.
Agreed.
But it still does not take away the fact that he was born in England, but then again Overeem was born in England also so he is technically a Brit yet is considered Dutch
same rules apply for the olympics
Most international sports organizations [Olympics, World Games, Pan Am Games, NAGA, etc] have somewhat flexible policies regarding citizenship as it relates to country of origin for competition, and regardless of varying opinions on the UFC and their chief Dana White, the promotion definitely fits the definition of “international sports organization”.
For all intents and purposes relating to the “correctness” of Lightning Wilkes being on Team UK, TUF is a TV show, and if memory serves the fights are catagorized as exhibitions, and not properly-sanctioned bouts, so I’m sure the UFC has a LOT of latitude when it comes to “assigning” fighters to a particular team.
At least that’s my take on it…
I understand all the dynamics of how he was allowed to do that, and it does make sense that him being born and raised in the UK he would want to fight for that team. It just frustrates me that he has lived in the US for years, and even served in the National Guard, but chose to represent the UK when he went on international TV. It also frustrates me when American athletes use some loophole to make the Olympics from another country because they couldn’t make the US team (three from the “triangle” area of North Carolina did that last year). I’m a proud American, love my country and support my country, (regardless of who happens to be in the Whitehouse at any given time) and I’m big on loyalty, and I just don’t like it when people jump ship for one reason or another. In the case of Wilks, he was a lot more justified than the people from my area that competed in the Olympics from other countries, I will say, however.
Good point jcohl.
Just to add to it, the two normal rules of domicile are:
1: father’s nationality
2: Place of birth
Both of which are English for Wilks. Also given that he has lived most of his life in the UK and still has a very English accent (realise that I’m scraping the barrel here!) then I think there can be no real argument against his right to represent the UK rather than the US.
.. By the way just to add – there are a lot of people in the UK who were born here and lived all their life but would still choose to represent other nations in Sport if given the chance! (i.e. Father’s/Grandfather’s place of birth). So this really ain’t that bad in comparison!
Wow, Guida survived that. IMPRESSIVE!
Are you high?What did Guida do that you think he won?Have to give him credit for taking a beating though.
Was that directed at Kris?
BTW, I fixed the story where it had Guida’s name in place of Sanchez for winning the first round.
i’m high
This was a good night of fights and wow Guida v Diego was awesome, Lytle v Eye pokey, Nate v Joe all really good fights… I enjoyed watching it and well I will rewatch it here in a bit most likely…
Does Diego deserve a shot at the winner of Penn v KenFlo? just wondering what the FrenZy community thinks…….
Right now its tough to tell FR. I think if Florian wins its kind of a no brainer, but if penn wins maybe Gray. I dunno man based on poularity and good matchups id say give it to Sanchez. Hell after that fight think of the highlight reel hes gonna have. Anyways I dont realy see him beating BJ or Florian anyways. IMO. They might even do a fight between Sanchez and Gray now that i think of it for the #1 contender. Edgar and stevenson or Edgar and Guida would be intersting on a side note.
If KenFlo does win ya it is kinda a no brainer, shiit the fight sells itself…. If Penn does win I would like to see Gray get the match and well he “would be next” sort to speak…
I agree I don’t see him beating on KenFlo or Penn
Sanchez v Gray would be nice to see definately….
I will state that In the first round Sanchez looked damnn impressive and looked like a beast… Guida is a damnn fool man and ya the fight was close but I think that Diego won.. I wouldn’t mind seeing them fight again that was a really good fight… I also believ that Guida needs to well evolve his game more, not that he isn’t great at what he doesn and most people love his work ethic but he just needs to step it up a bit more…
I would have to find a place for him in the 10~15 spot in the LW rankings…. Again a win over Stevenson and Guida doesn’t make him like the #2 guy in world ya know
How does Gray deserve a title shot?I’d put Spencer Fisher ahead of Maynard.If Diego isn’t already #1,maybe Diego vs Frankie for the #1.Stevenson vs Guida would be a good fight as well.
Please. By no means do i have Sanchex at #2 in the world, I have him at #3. jk. No you definately dont get that high in the rankings after two close fights with Joe Daddy and Guida. Who arent even ranked themselves. I cant wait for the trash talking from sanchez if Florian wins. Hes allready stated that he thinks hes the #1 contender in the LW Div just cause he beat Kenny eons ago. I guess by that thought process Spencer Fisher is the #1 contender at WW. ha. Diego always was an odd one. In the UFC Id have Sanchez at #6 but ya in the world more like 14 or 15, cause I still have Griffon ahead of him,(you cant call that fight against sherk a loss)Penn-Florian-Gray-Edgar-Griffon-Sanchez(UFC)
Fr702:
Diego definitely desreves a shot. Very impressive card, though I’m disapointed Demarques Johnson lost.
(btw, was Bruce Buffer having an off night? The first time he said Leicester, he pronounced it LIE-CHEZ-TER instead of the correct way, LESTER…did that jump out at anyone else?)
frantzfanon,
Why does he DEFINATELY deserve a shot? Because he beat Guida and Stevenson? He deserves a shot over Gray? just wondering why you believe he DEFINATELY deserves a shot for the title
Clearly because he said so, FR. Are you new here?
Agreed! I’ve been waiting for Maynard to get a shot! The Bully.
The Biz brothers giggled about the mispronunciation more than a little bit. And yes, I really do mean giggled.
i think he will fight kenny no matter what. but i feel someone should finish there last few fights (at least the last one) or beat an obvious #1 contender before a TITLE shot. but there is the whole thing about 155′s being wrestlers and all that so F it IMO!
Quality free-per-view TUF finale, with a 60/40 split between stoppages/submissions and decisions. Probably can’t hope for better than that at this level of competition. Good stuff, for sure.
The TUF fights probably do a world of good for MMA in the UK, and should maybe spark a little interest in a second US vs UK TUF.
I guess my crew and I, the 9 of us admittedly mostly Guida fans, were in the minority in terms of the main event. We thought the fight was a draw, and scored it 10-8 for Sanchez in the first, and 10-9 for Guida in the second and third. Not that we thought Guida won those rounds in spectacular fashion, but in his typical ugly ground and pound deal, or as his detractors would say, lay and pray. Although one of my crew said the first round should have been 10-7 or even 10-6 for Sanchez because he turned the first round into a video game, so the right guy wound up winning regardless.
Nonetheless, it was a close and entertaining fight, and should help both guys. Sanchez should eventually get the Penn/Florian winner, and Guida’s popularity and in-cage performance should secure him several more good paydays with the promotion and future opportunities of LW contention.
Question for the collective:
After 2 losses, 2 in a row if memory serves, is it possible that Diaz is somewhat overrated, or being rushed too quickly into a talent bracket he isn’t quite ready for?
Just curious, because I felt he looked pretty lackluster against Guida and Joe Daddy…
I think they were just bad matchups for a guy who is too skinny and got thrown around like a rag doll by the stronger Stevenson. He’s got skills, but he’s too damn skinny.
I also gave round 2 to Sanchez. Those elbows from the bottom WERE the entire offense of the round and did more damage in a minute that Guida did in the fight. I can see where you would give a 10-9 to Guida (one judge did) but I didn’t.
I agree with jcohl’s scores, but you definitely have a point on the elbows in round two. I also think the third was a very close round and could easily have gone either way. I guess part of the reason I would give it a draw is I like both fighters… but that would be a biased opinion. Maybe when I re-watch the fight while not pulling for someone I will score it differently. I know in the past I’ve scored a fight one way when watching it live, because I was pulling for a fighter, and then when I actually watch it again objectively, because I already know the outcome, I might score it differently.
I do it all the time justin. Chuck/Wandy and Rich/Hendo all looked closer the second time around. I dont think the fight was a draw i think the first round was a 10-8 and the other two ROUNDS were draws. There should be more draw rounds, but then i guess there would be more draw fights, and those dont leave anybody with a good taste in their mouth.
Fr
what up sending you love from GA hommie!!
How’s the weather out there??
I personally dont feel Diego deserve’s a shot at the title.. Maybe if he beats Gray for a # 1 spot but I dont see it happening..
You are right about him getting beat by Ken-Flo and Bj.Pen at this point. He aint ready for that level yet imo. Even though in the 1st rd he looked like the diego everyone was afraid of. But O believe he gassed himself out trying to finish Clay in the 1st. At this point Ken/Flo is wayyyy to technical for him period.
I dare say Ken/Flo finishes him!!!!
He does that you know at 155.
Really good point on those elbows, dbiz.
I TiVo’ed the finale, and as I’m watching it again [while posting] with a lot of the Red Stripe buzz worn off, those elbow shots were vicious and not only did a lot of damage but constitute a lot of offense.
I think the judges probably got it right, but there wasn’t really a loser, longterm. Both guys should come out of this fight smelling like roses, the fans were seriously entertained, and it was another bright spot for the TUF franchise that gave us Sanchez in the first place.
The only bad spot of the whole night for me was when they had Rogan interview the Vanilla Gorilla, Brock Lesnar. As if I didn’t have enough reasons to want to see him get submitted AGAIN by Frank Mir, he’s now sporting a douche-tag on his chin. This time if Mir grabs his leg he ought to wrench it good, so Mr DeathClutch has plenty of time to go home and shave it off.
Apologies for the fighter-bashing, but I just can’t stand Lesnar on any level, and can’t wait for him to move onto his next “hobby”.
As for Diaz, everyone I watched the fight with commented that he looks like he suffers from Man-arexia, as dbiz noted. Question is, would a move up to WW help his career? That division is stacked with world-beaters as well, and I don’t care much for Diaz’s chances against a guy like Koscheck or Fitch…
Absolutely there were no losers.
That fight is why Guida will basically never get cut, no matter what. That guy, win or lose, just comes to fight and always performs.
except when he fought diaz?
A move to welterweight wouldn’t help Nate at all to be honest. If anything it’d hurt him. He’s a small framed guy. If he tried to bulk up it wouldn’t go well for him. He’s 6’1″ I believe so he’s extremely tall for his weight class but I think it’d take a few years for him to comfortably move up to WW. If he did it too quick he wouldn’t be strong enough to handle the bigger guys at WW too. Important to note he did lose to Stevenson and Guida who are two of the more powerful lightweights you will ever see.
As far as the scoring of Sanchez-Guida goes… I gave it to Diego w/ scores of 10-8, 10-9, 9-10. The reason for the second round was the elbows Diego threw controlled Guida’s movements and decisions which to me translates to greater octagon control. Guida may have scored w/ the takedown but when he hit the ground it was all Diego.
Fantastic card. Loved every fight.
Ya i dont see diaz moving to WW at all, imo he should just focus on being more like his brother(skill wise) and pepper guys on the feet into a mistake on the ground, hei’l be fine he just got thrown to the wolves quickly. The fight he had with Guida was about as close as they come anyways. People just start looking foe whole in a guy as soon as he starts loseing. Corey Hill is 3 inches taller and a bit thicker.
Tuff finaly ended just like I thought was gonna happen.
Britt’s win it all.
Man I know Bisbing is loving every minute of it.
They won Tuff show.
They are killing us in boxing right now
And they got Rampage!!!!! What is the world coming to…
Alll well Good on ya mate..
Clay Guida…much props! Who can KO that guy?! HE took alot of hard hits that should of ended the fight but ended up turning up the heat on Diego. Great fight.
Roger Huerta didn’t win via T/KO, but it was a solid shot that gave him the opportunity to take Guida’s back for the RNC to win.
Ya what a comback that was. Guida was looking something fierce in that fight. I think he just got cought plus he was getting a little reckless.
Guida is a beast! I actually thought he took the last round via strikes of all things. He connected more on Round 3 but got taken down late. But still ended up on top. How’d he lose? Someone, enlighten me!
As I mentioned above, he got owned in round 1, possibly a 10-8 round. I also gave Sanchez round 2 because of the elbows from the bottom. Guida took round 3 for a 29-28 loss on my personal score card.
As I recall (and I may be wrong) it was scored 29-27 Sanchez, 29-28 Guida, 29-28 Sanchez. I didn’t quite think the first round was 10-8, but it looks like it was scored about every possible combination between the three judges and that dominant fighter in that fight did win.
After watching the fight a third time, and with a lot less beer in me, I had my personal scorecard as round one for Sanchez 10-8, round two for Sanchez 10-9 based mostly off of the offense he generated from his back [I previously had this round 10-9 Guida], as dbiz pointed out to me late last nite, and Guida 10-9 in the third, for a score of 29-27 Sanchez.
As a Guida fan I hate to admit it, but when you score the fight objectively, the way the ringside judges are supposed to, Guida just didn’t get enough done to beat Sanchez, who I am not necessarily a fan of. I do think that Guida did well enough to warrant a re-match, especially with the range of judges scores and considering the popularity of both fighters.
I’m also wondering what it takes to knockout Guida. That kick Sanchez hit him with looked like it could’ve taken down a middleweight…
Agreed,and have to say I gained some respect for Guida’ toughness although I’m not a fan of the lay & pray or hold & hug style.Also have to wonder how much both guys being covered in blood factored into the outcome.
For all you people that think Dana would give Maynard a title shot ahed of Diego, you’re crazy. Think how long people said Machida deserved a shot, but his fights were not finished unitl recently and then he got his shot. Gray lay and pray will not get a shot until he finishes someone.
Good point about a Maynard title shot.
As deserving as he may be, his unspectacular style and lack of notoriety and charisma makes a Maynard-Penn fight, or even a Maynard-Florian fight, a tough PPV sell in this economy.
I still think for the good of the sport in general and the division in particular the guy should get his opportunity, but only time will tell…
Im tired of hearing about how Gray is a LnP fighter, like thats bull****. His last fight he didnt go for one takedown and showed greatly improved boxing, granted the fight with clementi was a snoozer, but the slams and GnP on Edgar to the crazy first round between him and Emerson, and his vicious KO of verez should warrant the guy some respect. F#*k.
Agreed. Maynard is a good fighter!
i was 5-5 on who won.
7-3 on winners, but only 2-8 on method.
Wow dude great match between diego and guida! Those first seconds of the first round were sick dude. These guys both came @ eachother and seriously delivered. I have to say that i was very impressed with diego’s striking. He was whoopin’ on guida and it was punches,knees and leg kicks. All around striking looked great. Guida man, the dude’s a machine dude. I though it was over after that leg kick!
I think diego definately put himself @ the top of the lw div with that win and i look forward to seeing him fight maynard,edgar or even kenflo if kenflo wins.
I’d like to see guida work his game a little more because he’s a great fighter with more potential dude.
Lytle vs burns was everything i expected dude. Great match!
Ya how Clay wasnt even rocked from that kick il never know it just seemed like it knocked him down more than anything. Unbelievable.
thats my avatar thingy
the way guida-diego started was insane, thats how a fight should be, my jaw dropped I was like damnn! and after that headkick that put guida down I was shocked, like it was stated above what does it take to knock out the guy who does work as a geico caveman during the day? that was easily fight of the year. IMO the knockdown is what won diego the fight. I dont know how that one judge scored it 29-28 for guida. diego got the first round 10-9, i know he knocked guida down, but guida landed some shots that stopped diego, the second round guida took diego down and kept him on his back the majority of the round and diego was landing some nasty elbows from the bottom, so I gave it 9-9, the third round was guida in my opinion, but again I scored it 9-9. I dont have a 10 point must score for each round. if the round is close and both guys are doing damage I score it 9-9. so with my scoring diego won 28-27.
I dont think diego should get the next shot, give him gray, or frankie edgar. frankie looked damnn good against sherk’s dumb butt at 98, I know gray beat frankie, but eh give diego a shot at either guy. but I dont think diego should get the next title shot if he couldnt ko guida imo. also just because you ko a guy that doesnt mean you should get a title shot, but diego was supposed to win by destruction and he didnt. not too long ago diego was supposed to be the next big thing at 170 but then he was scared against kos and fitch owned him, thus leading to his drop to 155.
I think Diego not getting the KO had more to do with Guidas chin being made of adamatium, and his heart the size of watermelon than Diego’s inability to finish. Hel even when he fought joe he blasted hard for 3 rounds and joes legs never wabbled, but when he fought Firovanti he rocked him several times and put him away. With his new found striking i think Diego has a good chance at knocking out anyone who doesnt have a bullet proof chin. Florian wins i say give him the shot so kenny can shut him up.(he thinks he’s the #1 contender cause he beat kenny way back)Penn wins ya make him fight Gray.
He had a Staph infection in the (second) Kos fight and woke up the next morning with a hole in his leg, the health challenges that resulted from that got into his head. Going into the Fitch fight he again had some health challenges and that again got into his head. He still lost both fights, and that’s what really matters, but he wasn’t scared against Kos, and it would have been a better fight against Fitch under better circumstances. Not saying he would have necessarily won either fight under different circumstances, but they would have been at least close.
We’ve all been watching TUF9 for the last 12 weeks and following the finale the only mention on this post is “and welterweight James Wilks and lightweight Ross Pearson were crowned The Ultimate Fighter 9 champions”. Not just that, but then there are all the comments or lack of them as if everybody has forgotten that the series was screened in the first place, ha ha, I wonder why that is ??
Congratulations to messrs Wilks & Pearson, you boys did us in the uk proud
i was right about pearson but dang i wanted at least one US guy to win
Does anyone else think that Guida has the worst defense (on his feet) that you have ever seen? In the Huerta and Diaz fights, it was like he didn’t care if he took a punch. In this fight, he just KEPT taking punches and even kicks without defending them. I REALLY enjoy watching Guida fight, but honestly, I’m scared for the guy. To many undefended blows to the head and you never know what can happen to him. I keep thinking about Muhamad Ali talking about the rope-a-dope…he would just take so much abuse because he felt he couldn’t be hurt…now look at him. I truly believe that if Guida would learn about defense, he would be MUCH better. Rogan said it right, when he said he’s a master at basically nullifying BBJ through pure force. Anyway…I love this guy! Somebody teach him some wax-on wax-off and sand da floor!
Not only the fight of the year, but possibly the best fight in UFC history in my opinion. Did anyone actually think Guida was getting up after the head kick? And he was back on his feet throwing again in seconds! Only thing that will knock this guy out is if someone sneaks a baseball bat in the cage!
Guida needs one thing to become elite in the sport. The ability to finish top competition through ground and pound. He is awesome at getting guys on their back, and incredible at avoiding submissions, but when it comes to top competition he delivers punishment but not disabling punishment. Six months with Couture, Ortiz, or any of the other elites at finishing through ground and pound and he could be truly dominating in the division. If he were the one throwing elbows from the top instead of Sanchez throwing elbows from the bottom, the fight would have ended in the second round.
Besides his ability, Guida is just fun as hell to watch! Talk about an entertaining fighter! Win, lose, or draw I’ll never be disappointed watching him fight!
You have to be a citizen to be on a national team. I know in Canada once you have lived and worked in the country for 10 years you can apply for citizenship and then once accepted you have the choice of which national team you play for. Anybody else know the name Brett Hull from the NHL?
He is Canadian but got his US citizenship after living there for 10 years and plays for the USA nation hockey team not the Canadian, but he could theoretically try out for both and play for whichever one he wants.
So although Wilks may have lived in USA for 10+ years he may not have applied for citizenship hence would not be able to compete for the USA national team.