My goodness; what a night of excitement, what incredibly hard-fought fights.
I found myself in heaven after Matt "Chipper" Riddle won his fight against 10 years older and more experienced Dante Rivera. Chipper was the cute and hilarious mischief maker on Rampage Jackson's team who in his fight to at least be allowed to see the inside of the "TUF house," had a jaw-breaking knockout that will surely make the highlight reel.
Riddle did himself, his gym and his coach Rampage proud in his "never say die" onslaught against a more seasoned veteran fighter. I was so proud of him (thank God I remembered to take my blood pressure medicine—it was almost like cheering for my grandson Cody when he went to State).
Spenser Fisher's win against Jeremy Stephens was a surprise to me. I thought "the King" was almost choked to unconsciousness on two different occasions only to be saved by the end of the rounds. Otherwise, I thought the fight was very closely fought, but more in favor of Stephens.
Diego Sanchez looked terrific in his fierce battle to dominate Luigi Fiorivante. I was shocked that Luigi wasn't tanner and more toned, having trained in Florida, and he looked soft around the abdomen and waist area.
Diego was so intense in his striking and determination that I was actually thrilled to see him finally smile when his win was announced. (Note to Cody: you can be proud of your favorite fighter; your "Nightmare" is back with a vengeance.)
Although I had written an article on Kendall Grove and his changed attitude upon setting out on this, his road to redemption, I was saddened to see Evan Tanner so bloodied and beaten from the many knees and elbow strikes he endured in the "loser leaves town" match-up.
"Powers that be, please keep Evan Tanner on the roster. He never is dull and fights his heart out for the UFC; he deserves to be kept on your list."
C.B. Dollaway will certainly be assured a place in future fights even though I do believe he did tap out when Amir Sadollah was hanging off him in another great armbar which ended their fight much earlier than I had expected (at 2:00 of the first round).
Both guys looked to be in tremendous condition from their short, but intensive training period. ASU can be proud of their boy CB "the Doberman" for his hard-fought chance to come back and compete in the final contest for the TUF 7 championship.
Amir appeared to be just as amazed by CB taping out as CB was. Gracious and humble after his win, he appeared very poised and thankful for his good fortune. With every bit as much personality as his coach Forrest Griffin, Amir is sure to provide many memorable quips during his career in the UFC as well as many submissions, I'll bet.
The end of the televised event was the speedy defeat of Marvin "the Beastman" Eastman by Drew "Massacre" McFedries, who was taking no chances with the fabled strongman.
I don't remember who instigated the initial charge that led to a quick and jarring take-down, but when Drew started peppering Marvin with powerful punches, it was all over for his downed opponent. Whew, I am glad I didn't blink during this one!
There were other fights televised, but the ones I mentioned were absolutely stellar, in my humble (no, I am not an MMA fighter) opinion.
Regardless of this being called a mediocre edition of the series, the tragic dismissal of Jesse Taylor, and a lot of fans claiming to feel "ho-hum" disinterest in tuning in for the finale tonight, it was a grand finale after all!
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