Another season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ passed by. This one was a bit painful to watch at times, what with the urination in the fruit salad and ejaculation in the sushi. Was the finale worthy of the buildup? Let’s take a look:
Junie Browning vs. Dave Kaplan (155 lbs)
TUF back-story: Both men stood out more for their drinking problems than their fighting abilities. While Junie was the unanimously despised, throwing glasses and fits – drunk, Kaplan was more of a happy, ‘punch-me-in-the-jaw-I-can’t-be-knocked-out’ drunk. It was only fitting that these two met in the finale.
A few glimpses of skill managed to shine through Junie’s bad attitude, and he controlled the bout from the beginning. While Kaplan was somewhat competitive in the first, Browning handily won the round then completely took over in the second, quickly taking down Kaplan then achieving dominant position and securing an armbar. Kaplan had no choice but to tap out. The fast-paced bout took the ‘Fight of the Night’ award.
Fight grade: 4/5
Aftermath: It is usually the case that the winners of all TUF finale fights get to stay in the UFC, while the losers are shown the door. In this case, ‘Fight of the Night’ may have earned Kaplan another fight in the Octagon (or perhaps a smaller version of it in the WEC).
Jules Bruchez vs. Eliot Marshall (205 lbs)
TUF back-story: Both fighters lost to the eventual lightheavyweight finalists, though Marhsall took Ryan Bader to a close decision while Bruchez looked like a human heavy bag against Vinny Mahalgaes.
Bruchez didn’t perform any better this time around – after Marshall lit up Jules with strikes, Bruchez desperately dove for a takedown but ended up on his back and was submitted via a rear naked choke after a brief struggle. Very predictable.
Fight grade: 1/5
Aftermath: Marshall is a very rounded fighter who shows a lot of promise. Bruchez will go down in history as one of the weakest performances of any TUF season – I don’t see any future for him as a pro fighter.
Anthony Johnson vs. Kevin Burns (170 lbs)
This welterweight bout was a rematch: in their first meeting, Burns defeated Johnson via TKO when the referee Steve Mazagatti failed to notice that the fight-ending strike involved Burns’ finger embedded in Johnson’s eye. Burns claimed that a hand injury prevented him from making a fist and forced him to throw open-handed strikes.
Burns has no problem making a fist this time around, forcing Johnson to take this fight to the ground where he controls the first two rounds. In the third both fighters come out swinging and Johnson knocks Burns out cold with a high kick worthy of Cro-Cop.
Fight grade: 4/5
Aftermath: Johnson gets his revenge, both fighters performed fairly well and get to move on with their careers. There are plenty of exciting matchups for both in the stacked 170-lbs division.
Jason MacDonald vs. Wilson Gouveia (catch-weight of 189 lbs)
This match was scheduled to take place at 185 lbs, but Gouveia failed to make weight in his first bout as a middleweight. MacDonald attempted to turn this fight into a grappling match early but failed to keep Wilson down, and was caught with a powerful combination of punches in an exchange. Gouveia pounced on his fallen opponent and proceeded to elbow and punch MacDonald until Jason tapped out from the strikes.
Fight grade: 3/5
Aftermath: Gouveia looks good in his middleweight debut (except for the making weight part). MacDonald is dealt another setback – he is just not able to put two wins in a row since the back-to-back submissions of Chris Leben and Ed Herman in Jason’s first two UFC fights.
Shane Primm vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (205 lbs)
TUF back-story: Krzysztof was the most experienced fighter of his group and an early favorite, but underperformed on the show. Primm didn’t show much, losing his elimination bout to Eliot Marshall.
After Prim gets a taste of Soszynski’s striking, he is desperate to take this fight to the ground or at least clinch with Krzysztof. This strategy keeps him in the fight for a round, but in the second Soszynski switches gears and submits Primm with a kimura from half-guard.
Fight grade: 2/5
Aftermath: While Krzysztof is still the highest ranked lightheavyweight of the season and an undeniably tough fighter, I don’t see him making much of a splash in the division. Primm is simply not cut out for the UFC.
Ryan Bader vs. Vinny Mahalgaes (205 lbs finals)
TUF back-story: Mahalgaes utilized his immense jiu-jitsu experience to blow right through all competition in the house, making him a favorite in this matchup with the wrestler Bader, who struggled with Eliot Marshall in the semi-finals.
This matchup of grapplers turns into a kickboxing bout as neither fighter was eager to take it to the ground. Early in the first Bader caught Vinny with an HUGE overhand right that would make Chuck Liddell proud, and finished him with a series of hammer-fists for the TKO stoppage.
Fight grade: 4/5
Aftermath: Bader is a very deserving winner and has a bright future ahead of him. Mahalgaes’ jiu-jitsu cannot be doubted, but questions need to be asked about his chin and ability to absorb punishment. He will certainly get another chance to answer those questions.
Philipe Nover vs. Efrain Escudero (155lbs finals)
TUF back-story: Though Nover fainted from the Vegas heat in the very first episode, he redeemed himself with a flawless performance in the house. Escudero struggled a bit more, making him a slight underdog in this matchup.
For the first two rounds, Escudero always stayed a step ahead of Nover, taking him down whenever Nover set up to strike and neutralizing Nover’s ground game from the top position. Nover turned it up towards the end of the fight, stealing the third round but still losing a unanimous decision.
Fight grade: 4/5
Aftermath: A solid showing from both fighters, looking forward to seeing them join the deep ranks of UFC’s lightweight division.
It was a good finale, with both underdogs winning the finals bouts and no upsets or big surprises in any other matches.