TUF 12: Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck Contestant Power Rankings
EpisodeĀ seven of the Ultimate Fighter season 12Ā is gone and past, the wild card is set and the final push is underway. This season has been in favor of the Canadian Georges St. Pierre's team. Much to the malign of Josh Koscheck and hisĀ team, team St. Pierre is 5-3 against theĀ guys in yellow.
Heading into the home stretch and having seen every fighter compete let us have a look at where the remaining fighters rank amongst each other.
Marc Stevens Lost In Under 20 Seconds!
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Marc Stevens is one of two guys still aroundĀ that lost his second fight on the show. Luckily forĀ Marc, Josh Koscheck pulled forĀ himĀ to beĀ one of the wild cards and Dana White confirmed it later on in episode seven.
Unfortunately, Marc Stevens took that spot from a much improved fighter Dane Sayers who took highly touted judoka Sako Chivitchian to a decision. The fight between Dane and Chivitchian was very close and had Chivitchian not cheated and grabbed the fences on two occasions that Dan went for the take down, who knows what could have happened. Georges St. Pierre pulled very hard for Dane Sayers and unfortunately for team GeorgesĀ St. Pierre and Dane Sayers, Dana White chose Marc Stevens instead.
Stevens probably looked like the more experienced guy when comparing him to Sayers, but the fact of the matter is that Cody McKenzie choked Stevens out in 18 seconds.
Marc Stevens is lucky to have a second lease on life in the show, but he is going to have to win his next fight before moving up in the rankings.
The McKenzi-Tine Is Lethal, But Is It Enough?
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Cody McKenzie is 11-0 in mixed martial arts and despite all of his opponents knowing he is 11-0 with 9 victories by way of guillotine choke, opponents still managed to get caught in his modified guillotine.
The only issue with Cody McKenzie's finishing move is the fact that when the competition gets thicker fancy finishes like McKenzie's are harder to come by. Expect to see Cody McKenzie have his other skills tested as The Ultimate Fighter wears on.
Of courseĀ fans haven't seen much of McKenzie's all around game, so maybe he has a few surprises up his sleeve, but for now McKenzie remains a one trick pony.
Cody does have two guillotines in the show thus far, but both opponents Amir Khillah and Marc Stevens decided to try and fight McKenzie in his domain, on the ground. Fighters going up against McKenzie who think twice before going for the take down and decide to test his stand up probably have a good chance at comming away with the victory.
Sako Civitchian Ground Out a Decision Against The Second To Last Pick
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Sako Chivitchian appeared to be a highly touted prospect comming into the competition mainly because of his 5-0 record and strong Judo background. Chivitchian is a black belt in Judo and accumalated 11 U.S. national titles and two junior Olympic championships. Of courseĀ Sako isn't the best Judoka to have set foot in the octagon, but his accomplishments in the discipline are nothing to scoff at.
Unfortuanetly for Sako, his firstĀ fight on the show after qualifying in the preliminaries was against Georges St. Pierre's last pick, Dane Sayers. Sako couldn't have looked anymore mediocre, he did not manage one throw on Sayers, he barely landed any strikes and when he did have Sayers on the ground, Sayers always found his way back to his feet. In fact if it hadn't have been for Sako's grabbing of the fence, Sayers would have easily executed two takedowns and who knows what would have happened from there. Sako won the fight primarily by holding Sayers against the fence similar to Randy Couture, but forgot the dirty boxing.
Chivitchian could still prove to be dangerous, but after his last performance, one cannot consciously put him higher than seventh in the competition. There are manyĀ guys leftĀ with more talent than Dane Sayers in this competition.
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Bruce Leeroy Loves To Smile and Play Games, But Does He Have The Skills?
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Alex Caceres a.k.a. "Bruce Leroy" and always smiling, even when getting hit in the face. Caceres is the kind ofĀ guy that shows up in every season of The Ultimate Fighter not just because of their ability to fight, but because they bring an attitude that spices up the show for better or for worse.
Caceres is a young guy and has a lot to learn in the fight game and the game of life. That being said, he is 2-0 on the show and both of his fights were finished by way of submission. Not to shabby for the kid who considers himself the re-incarnation of the master himself Bruce Leroy.
Mr. Caceres comes in at sixth place mainly because the caliber of his opponentsĀ are not on the same level as theĀ five guys ranked ahead of him. His submission offense and his defense on the ground looked top notch, it is Caceres' stand up that leaves one questioning his talent, he is a wild striker and doesn't come off as extremely technical guy on the feet.
Despite his ranking, Caceres is definitely a dark horse in the competitionĀ and we have seen him surprise the masses before.
Who Would Have Thought Free Spirited West Coast Beach Bums Could Fight?
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The title is obviously a joke, nonetheless, Brookins managed to impress in his second fight of the competition, choking out Judo and Sambo practitioner Sevak Magakian in the first round. Is it just me, or do the Armenians love their judo?
Anyways Brookins hasn't beenĀ overly visible on theĀ show and afterĀ listening to what he has to say one can see why. Brookins appears to be a very spiritual guy,Ā claiming to meditate a lot and treating life as an experience as oppose to a test. Jonathan probably has the most likeable personality on the show andĀ something tells me he isn't the kind of guy who is attractedĀ by the limelight. Brookins is so mellow and happy go lucky that it comes to the great surprise of many that this guy likes to fight.
In any case Brookins' win over Sevak shows that he has the skills especially on the ground, but against guys with crisp stand up he may be in trouble and that is why he is holding down fifth position in the competition.
Nam Phan Great For The UFC
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Nam Phan isn't the oldest of the group at 27 years, but he does haveĀ more fights under his beltĀ sporting a record of 16-7.
Of Phan's 16 wins,Ā sevenĀ are by way of knockout, fiveĀ by way ofĀ submission and four decision victories. Nam Phan is a well rounded and experiencedĀ fighter and the guys who go far in the ultimate fighter are the guys who have the kind of skill set Phan possesses.
Phan thoroughly dominated both of his previous opponents in the stand up and looks sharp with his striking.
The main issue for Phan is his length, at 5'6" he is one of the smaller guys in the competition and could definitely benefit from the fact that the UFC has absorbed the WEC's 145Ā pound division. If he wins the competition or is offered a fight after the show, don't be surprised if he fights at 145 pounds instead of 155. Being slightly undersized is really the main reason Nam Phan isn't ranked higher in the competition.
The UFC could also benefit from Nam Phan's heritage, Phan is veryĀ proud of his Vietnamese heritage and often walks out to fights in a gi featuring the American and South Vietnamese flags. Dana White has been talking about moving into the Asian markets and having an Ultimate fighter winner of Asian decent would be an excellent asset to the UFC when the company decides to make that push.
The Brett Favre Of The Competition, Kyle Watson
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Kyle Watson is the oldest fighter competing on the show and he is the grizzled veteran at 31 years old with a fighting record of 12-6-1. Kyle Watson isn't just the oldest and one of theĀ most experienced in the competition, but he is also one of the biggest atĀ six feet tall andĀ has foughtĀ at welterweight in the past.
Watson is extremely competent on the ground with ten submission victories to his name and two wins via submission on the show. Watson can handle the striking game, but there are better strikers than him in this competition.
To count out a veteran of Watson's caliber wouldn't be smart and that was evidenced in this show back when veteran fighterĀ Roy Nelson won the heavy weight edition of the show in 2009. Watson's experience and size are why he is ranked third place in the competition.
Can Woflsair Fighter Aaron Wilkinson Follow in Michael Bisping's Footsteps?
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Some may wonder why a wildcard fighter who has already lost in this competition would be second place in the rankings and the answer is simple, talent.
Wilkinson fought and lost to the first pick overall, Michael Johnson in whatĀ Aaron's coach Josh Koscheck felt should have ended after round two because he felt WilkinsonĀ won the first two rounds. Michael Johnson finished the fight in the third round, but Wilkinson definitely looked like he could have won the fightĀ with his early display.
Wilkinson was lucky enough to get a chance to return on the show and don't be shocked if we see thisĀ guy in the final. Wilkinson is well versed on the ground, but also has very good standup to round out his game.
Michael Johnson Is The Athlete In This Competition
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Ok the photo is deceiving, we aren't talking about Michael Johnson the highly decorated American sprinter, we are talking about the fighter, but if there is one thing in common besides their name it is the fact that they are both athletes.
Michael Johnson is what Georges St. Pierre is to the welterweight division a great athlete. Of courseĀ Georges St. Pierre is one of the most dominant forces to set foot in the octagon and Michael Johnson has a long long way to go before reaching that status, but St. Pierre must have seen shades of himself in Michael Johnson to have picked him first overall in the competition.
In his second fight on the show, Michael Johnson had a tough fight against the Brit Aaron Wilikinson. Many people thought Johnson lost the first two rounds, regardless when the fight did go to the third round Johnson cameout with an explosive attack landing big shots and taking Wilkinson down where eventually sunk in a rear naked choke.
Johnson may be a little rough around the edges, but he is persistent having tried out for the show twice before being accepted and his speed and explosiveness make him a tough opponent for anyone. Both Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck were hoping to have this guy on their team and there is a reason why Johnson was picked first overall.
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