Seven seasons old, and still going strong, The Ultimate Fighter has become somewhat of a farm system for the UFC. This season didn’t produce a very high yield: of the 32 competitors initially appearing on the cast, only seven were scheduled for a bout in the live finale. (One of those scheduled bouts, Tim Credeur vs Cale Yarborough, did not happen as Credeur was banned from competition by Nevada State Athletic Committee due to taking prescription drug Adderall several days prior to the fight.) The rest of the card was mostly filled with UFC veterans, many of whom were in a must-win situation.
Dante Rivera vs Matthew Riddle (185 lbs)
TUF back-story: A friendly rivalry between a veteran Rivera and a rookie Riddle culminated with Rivera claiming he will retire should he lose this fight, and Riddle promising to have a retirement plaque ready to present to Dante after the bout.
The fight itself turns out to be pretty boring, with most of the bout taking place clinched against the fence. Riddle gets a takedown towards the end of every round, and achieves mount on more than one occasion. Ending each round in dominant position is enough to give Riddle the bout, 29-28 on one judge’s scorecard and 30-27 on the other two. I don’t understand the UFC’s reasoning behind starting out the televised broadcast with this bout.
The aftermath: Cooler heads prevail, and the retirement plaque never rears its ugly head. Nevertheless, Rivera is not a UFC caliber fighter. Riddle is very raw and green but shows potential.
Fight grade: 2/5
Spencer Fisher vs Jeremy Stephens (155 lbs)
This is a must win fight for the veteran Fisher, who is 2-2 in his last four bouts. Fisher has wiped out on his cycle several days before the fight – will it affect his performance? Fisher’s striking didn’t look as sharp as usual, but he showed a surprisingly improved ground game, outworking Stephens and mounting him several times throughout the first two rounds, and repeatedly scoring with elbows on the ground. Stephens must have realized that he is behind on the scorecards and came out with renewed energy in the third, dominating the round with aggressive standup and submission attempts, but still losing the fight: 28-29 on all three scorecards.
The aftermath: Fisher did what he had to do, and improvements in ground game are exactly what he needs to be competitive with other UFC 155’ers. Stephens had a good performance considering the gap in experience, and will surely be back in the Octagon.
Fight grade: 3/5
Diego Sanchez vs Luigi Fioravanti (170 lbs)
Sanchez is in a similar situation as Fisher: 2-2 in his last four, and a loss to Fioravanti would be a major setback for his career. In the second surprise of the night, Diego’s standup is much improved and he has Fioravanti on his heels for most of the bout. Fioravanti hangs in there and fires back, but the effect of strikes is accumulating and he slows down as the fight goes on. In the third round, Diego drops Fioravanti to his knees with a head kick, then launches a flying knee at Luigi’s face just as he gets back to his feet. Fioravanti falls again, and Sanchez follows up with punches until the referee steps in to stop the bout. Fight of the night, so far.
The aftermath: Sanchez looks to be back on track – I would like to see him fight another contender next, perhaps Mike Swick. Fioravanti falls to 3-4 in the UFC; he is at best a gatekeeper in a very deep division.
Fight grade: 4/5
Amir Sadollah vs CB Dollaway (185 lbs)
TUF back-story: Sadollah already defeated Dollaway by the way of an armbar in semi-finals. However, finalist #2 Jesse Taylor was booted from the finals by Dana White because of drunken shenanigans after the show. The eliminated semi-finalists Dollaway and Tim Credeur faced off for a second chance, and with Dollaway taking a decision, CB took Taylor’s place in the finale.
After being caught in the armbar in their first bout, Dollaway promises to test Amir’s standup this time around. He doesn’t keep his word, quickly taking Sadollah to the ground and quickly getting caught in another armbar. Dollaway taps, referee Herb Dean stops the bout; Dollaway is protesting to no avail as the replay shows a very unambiguous tapout.
The aftermath: With no professional bouts on his record, Sadollah impressed everyone by defeating much more experienced fighters to win this contest. He has a bright future ahead of him. So does CB Dollaway, though he clearly needs to brush up on his submission defence.
Fight grade: 4/5
Evan Tanner vs Kendall Grove (185 lbs)
This was billed as a ‘retirement bout’ between the long time UFC veteran and former middleweight champion Evan Tanner and ‘TUF’ Season 3 winner Kendall Grove. Grove was coming off back-to-back knockout losses to Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera, while Tanner was knocked out by Yushin Okami is his comeback bout after a long layoff, and hasn’t had a taste of victory in over two years. Tanner is not known for his standup, and so he tries hard to bring this fight to the ground but has a hard time dealing with Grove’s size and reach advantage. Though Tanner gets several takedowns, he is unable to keep Grove down or do any damage; all the while he is absorbing punishment each time the fight is brought back to the feet. Tanner is bleeding heavily and almost finished in the second round, but somehow survives and comes out with desperate aggression in the third, but is not able to turn the fight around. Surprisingly, one of the judges scores the fight 29-28 for Evan Tanner, while the other two give a 30-26 decision to Grove.
The aftermath: Grove gets a much needed victory and a stay of execution for his UFC career. There are still many questions about his chin that remain to be answered in future bouts. Tanner has a very spirited though ineffective performance, and I have a feeling we will see him in the Octagon one more time before hanging it up for good.
Fight grade: 3/5
Drew McFedries vs Marvin Eastman (185 lbs)
Yet another must-win bout for both fighters: McFedries is 2-2 in the UFC coming off a KO loss at the hands of Patrick Cote, and Eastman at 1-4 earning his sole UFC win in his last bout against Terry Martin. Eastman takes McFedries down early in the first but Drew gets back to his feet and drops Eastman to his knees with a hook. Eastman grabs Drew’s leg but he seems to be going on autopilot as McFedries continues to rain punches on Marvin’s head until the ref steps in to stop the bout.
The aftermath: McFedries’ UFC record currently looks like W-L-W-L-W; he will look to finally put together two wins in a row in his next bout. It’s safe to wager that Eastman is done with the UFC.
Fight grade: 3/5
A fairly solid even that was a bit tedious to watch due to all the decisions, and dragged down by questionable bout placement: the Rivera-Riddle bout should have been on the undercard, and the official Fight of the Night – Dustin Hazelett’s submission win over Josh Burkman – should have been broadcast in its place. Credit the UFC for broadcasting the McFedries-Eastman bout after the main event despite running over the three-hour time slot.