The TUF finale is quickly approaching, and I'm having trouble getting excited for the event. I'm always up to watch a free MMA show but in the past I've been more amped for the finale.
I think it's partially because I really don't care who wins. Both guys are great competitors and will be a welcome addition to the Zuffa family, but neither have that "it" factor. I just don't see either of these guys making a huge impact on the sport down the road.
Amir is a tough cat and he can take a hell of beating, but thats a rough way to make a living in the UFC. Dollaway has a good skill set but I don't think he has what it takes to become an elite level fighter.
Maybe the novelty is wearing off. Now we know that even if you don't win, you can still get into the UFC. From the first two seasons alone, there are sixteen guys still in the UFC.
Usually, even if the main event isn't that stellar, the rest of the show would make up for it. This year, the card isn't that attention grabbing. There are some decent fights, but nothing I'm dying to see.
Tanner vs Grove is a match between two guys in a division where you don't want to be the number one contender. All it gets you is an ass-kicking at the hands of Anderson Silva. Tanner has lost three of his last four and, if he drops this one to Grove, he may be on his way out of the UFC. Grove has lost two in a row and needs a win. Three losses in a row in the UFC is usually a kiss of death to your career.
- B/R Ticket Guide
The Diego Sanchez fight is one I don't understand. He has lost to Fitch and Kos, but both of those guys are two of the top five fighters in the welterweight division. I feel like Sanchez should be getting a bigger test to see what the kid has. If he drops another fight to a top-tier guy, then maybe he's not ready. But having him destroy mid-level guys is a waste of his talent. If he beats Luigi Fioravanti, I hope to see him taking on a top guy at 170 in his next fight.
The fight I'm looking forward too the most is Lister vs. Horn and it's probally not even going to be shown on TV. Those two will put on a Brazillian Jiu-jitsu clinic, guareented. Now that I've said that, I'm sure one of the two will land a winging right hand and get a KO.
Spencer Fisher and Drew McFedries are both guys that I enjoy watching fight, but the match-ups aren't that intriguing. Drew is fighting Marvin Eastman, who is a guy that I seem to only see getting KO'd. He has a decent record at 15-7, but when he gets knocked out it's usually in highlight reel fashion. I think that McFedries is going to add a KO to his list and the "Beastman" is in for a short evening.
Fisher is taking on Jeremy Stephens who's biggest fight to date has been a loss to Din Thomas. I think Fisher is just going to be too much Stephens.
In the Finale, I think Amir is going to beat CB again and take the title of The Ultimate Fighter. However, we will see CB in the UFC and I actually think he will have a better career than Amir.
I'm interested to see if fellow fight fans feel the same way and aren't that excited for the upcoming bouts. Maybe I'm just being grumpy, who knows?
Now we just have to wait until Saturday night.
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5 months ago
On this site I am the expert on being grumpy (by virtue of my advanced age and infirmity), but Ryan, you have just out grumped me. Kiddo, these are MMA fights on UFC free, for Georges' sake! How can a young dude like you be so cynical about my favorite pastime? Aren't you even curious about who will be retained in the UFC by virtue of a win and who will probably have to hit the road on the way to another MMA organization? Don't you want to be as up to date on who has won and who has lost as the 62 year old lady who is envious of your youth and future opportunities? Don't you believe in doing research for future articles? Dude--you are the grumpiest!
from 5 months ago
I'll watch the fights, there is no doubt about that. There just isn't that one fight that makes me want to sit at the edge of my seat.
The question is, does it really matter who wins? Forrest won, and he is in a title fight but there are many others from season one that are doing well. Florian has had a shot and a number one contender fight coming against Huerta. Leben, Swick, Bonnar, Kos, Quarry and Diego are all doing well. Other seasons show that you don't have to win to be successful.
On past seasons there was always someone that I really routed for (Griffin, Cummo, Hamill, Cote' and I guess for some Serra, Diaz, Speers) This year there wasn't anyone that I really wanted to win. Amir seems like a cool cat but nothing that will make me bummed if he loses. Maybe it's just me.
Sometimes it rains and I get grumpy, but as they say in one of my favorite movies "It can't rain all the time"
5 months ago
I totally understand what you're saying Ryan. This wasn't a bad season and I'm sure I'll always enjoy and watch the show but I really hope next season does more for me. I'm missing the finale this year and it seems that it isn't that big of a deal just because of the lackluster card. Hope I can catch some of the entertaining fights the next day or that they'll show it on Spike again the next day. Do they usually do that? I forget.
5 months ago
I can't believe my eyes. You young guys are the people I am looking to to promote the sport when I move to the big octagon in the sky; and seeing your lack of enthusiasm sickens me and may send me there sooner than I had anticipated. Maybe one of you will write an obituary for me and post on here to let everyone know it is safe to come out. Until that day I will be all over you for using double negatives, run-on words, the word "your" for you are/you're and "there" for their and they're. O will submit you yet!
5 months ago
I think the match-up with Kendall Grove and Evan Tanner is going to be a good fight. Grove, the former Ultimate Fighter needs this win to get his career back on track. He has looked bad in his last two fights and a win against an opponent and formidable as Evan Tanner would be great for his young career. On the other hand Evan Tanner is trying to show the world that age is nothing but a number. At 37, the former champ hadn't fought since 2006 before he was knocked out by Okami in March. Give the guy a break he's a good fighter and more then anything needed a wake up call if he was serious about this comeback. I don't think Diego Sanchez is going to have much of a speedbump with Luigi Fioravanti. Sanchez has only lost to Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck in the UFC. He's also got a decided reach advantage in this fight as he stands 5'11 while Fioravanti is just 5'8. I wish the fight between Tim and Cale was for sure going to be broadcast. I don't see how one of the "Final Four" gets a fight that won't be shown on the finale of the show when Dante Rivera and Matthew Riddle get their fight broadcast. I do agree with the arguement that the best fighters don't always have to make the finale. The Ultimate Fighter fights benefit guys that have the most toughness and the ability to "flip the switch". If you give all these guys 3 or 4 months to train and prepare for each of these opponents this entire show would've gone down differently. I think Matt Brown is going to be one of the better ones to come out of this house. During the quarterfinals when everyone said who they want to fight not one of them said their first choice was Matt Brown. Most of the guys didn't want any part of him. Amir stepped in and in the second round caught him in a submission. Good idea with this article, nice work.
5 months ago
I agree with your analysis Ryan, and I think I can pinpoint why this season is lackluster compared to others. In past seasons there has been a lot more emphasis on the fighters and their stories, there was much more footage of the house, training, challenges and whatnot.
In this season, they have gone to a format of showing more fights, and not showing the house as much. the entire show seams to have been cut down to just a small amount of time spent on the house, and more time on the fights themselves. This would seem like a good move on the surface, however it leaves us wondering why we are watching these nobodies fight 3-4 times on the show.
So my answer for next season is they need to find a way to keep us engaged in the fighters stories more, so when they show more fights we actually care.
5 months ago
Hey Ryan, what do you think about the finale now?
from 5 months ago
It was a good show. Kendall proved a lot of things against Tanner. His Muay Thai looked amazing.
I had heard Spencer had crashed his Bicycle before the fight and would have road rash, but the amount he had was nuts. Two minutes into the fight and he's bleeding all over. I'm actually kind of surprised Joe and Goldie didn't know.
Amir is the man. I'm pretty sure he won TUF and the award for most awkward interview. he reminds me a ton of a certain coach.
Drew McFedries looked sharp, didn't he? Eastman just couldn't handle the power, I hope the give McFedries a good push.
The rest of the fights were good.
It's awesome that in two weeks we get Forrest and Rampage then shortly after that the Affliction and UFC show. It's a great time to be a fan.
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