LOS ANGELES - With one down, two were left standing on the "Dancing With the Stars" finale.

Cristian de la Fuente was the first finalist to be eliminated during the season finale Tuesday night. Figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and pro football star Jason Taylor were still competing for the mirrorball trophy.

De la Fuente, who ruptured a tendon in his biceps while performing on the show April 28, delayed the surgery necessary to repair it so he could continue on the ABC dance-off.

"I would never have the feeling of going into the final after an injury if it wasn't for (my partner) Cheryl (Burke)," he said after being voted off. "She's been the best partner I could have. She's been a real friend, not only a dance partner but a support when I really needed her."

Burke wiped away tears as she said goodbye to her partner.

"Of all my five seasons being on this show ... I've had one of the best times with Cristian," she said. "I love you and I'll miss you and your family so much."

Yamaguchi is clearly the most talented dancer on this season's show, but it's been hard for women to take the "Dancing" crown. Men have won the mirrorball trophy during the show's past four seasons. The only woman to take the title was Kelly Monaco in season one.

With a viewership that's 75 per cent women - a fact not lost on male finalist Jason Taylor, who like de la Fuente never shied from brazen displays of bare skin and sex appeal - the hit ABC show still had plenty of suspense for the final episode.

And it drew plenty of viewers to Monday's broadcast - 19.2 million, according to Nielsen. It was the most-watched program of the night by far, with the largest audience for a Monday edition of "Dancing" in six weeks.

"You obviously have to get the technique, but (also) compete with the personalities that all the boys have," Yamaguchi told The Associated Press after Monday's performances. "I think their smiles and their personalities melt hearts across the country."

Figure-skating champ Yamaguchi got a perfect score of 60 on Monday's show, and has regularly topped the judges' scoreboard throughout the sixth season of the ABC dance-off. But viewer votes count just as much, and the combination is what determines the winner.

Melanie Brown learned that the hard way last season, when race-car driver Helio Castroneves - arguably a lesser dancer than the Spice Girl - collected more votes and took the title.

"I don't know if it's that women don't vote for women," Brown said Monday. "It's a very strange situation ... But at the end of the day, (Yamaguchi) is a brilliant dancer and so is (her partner), so I think if she doesn't win, that would be really sad."

Judge Carrie Ann Inaba acknowledged Monday that men have fared better on the show.

"The men are more easy," she said while judging one of Yamaguchi's dances. "They have a natural tendency to be more crowd-pleasers. And it's very difficult to keep up with that. But not tonight, girl!"

Taylor landed in last place with 51 points Monday, but he's counting on viewers to keep him in the contest.

"We hope we impressed them enough and entertained them enough to get some votes," he said, "but obviously Kristi is a great dancer."

Taylor's partner, Edyta Sliwinska, maximized the football star's sex appeal - and perhaps his votes - by tearing off his shirt at the end of their final dance Monday.

"The majority of the audience are females and they probably vote a lot more than guys," Sliwinska said. "I guess those beautiful bodies and gorgeous guys make them easy to vote for."

Besides Castroneves, past winners have included NFL star Emmitt Smith, 98 Degrees singer Drew Lachey and Olympic speed-skater Apolo Anton Ohno.

Yamaguchi's partner, Mark Ballas, said ballroom dancing is harder for women.

"Everything that we do as men, the women have to do backward, in heels," he said. "The man's role is to be the frame and the girl's role is to be the cape, so the man just has to be strong and stable" while the woman is tossed about the dance floor.

But Brown said it's equally difficult for both genders.

"You've still got to learn dance routines, steps, choreography, the whole thing," she said. "For girls, maybe it's a bit challenging because they are the ones who can get thrown around, but again the guy has to hold the woman up and lead, so they both have different challenges."

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