Brooklyn Is Back In The Ultimate Fighter Finals (Prediction)

That's right ladies and gentlemen. I called it in a previous article. Granted, Amir Sadollah was only born in Brooklyn and raised in Virginia, but my hometown hero Phillipe Nover ripped through everything and everyone that was thrown at him this season and will secure a spot with the UFC win or lose.

Dana White dubbed him as "The Next Anderson Silva" before the season aired on TV. He fights out of Team Insight in Brooklyn, NY where he was born and raised in Mil Basin (About 5 minutes away from me by car actually).

We didn't get to see much of him in the octagon on the show since all of his opponents were disposed of quickly, including the much favored Joe Duarte in his match to get into the house. He had the following to say:

"Dana initially underestimated me. First of all, Joe Duarte had a stacked resume. He had something like over 30 fights, mostly non MMA, but boxing and kickboxing. He was a really tough dude and he sold himself well. He told everyone how bad he was and other guys confirmed it. Here I am fighting this big bad ass and I’m this weak, registered nurse. I played that role from day one. There was no way I could change people’s mind other than showing them in the cage. So I just stayed quiet. The whole time he (Duarte) looked at me before the fight, I pretended to not be able to look back at him. I pretended to have this weak mentality. But as soon as the bell rang, that’s when I turned it on. I knew he wasn’t going to want to be in the cage with me. Dana called me “Fainting Felipe” and I really wanted to prove something after that."

- AtlanticMMA.com

Phillipe takes on Efrain Escuerdo, who is obviously no slouch. He is 10-0 in MMA with 9 submissions to his name (as well as 3 submission victories on the show). The fight will not be an easy task for Phillipe at all, but it is one that I feel that he can overcome. Phillipe is a brown belt in BJJ under his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Teacher Alexandre "Soca" Freitas. He also scored 3 submission wins on the show. I expect a real battle on the ground with Phillipe securing a rear naked choke in the second round.

A special thanks to Phillipe for hosting the viewing parties for his fights over here for all of his fans. Can a Brooklyn born fighter conquer the show two years in a row? We shall see come December 13th.