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UFC TUF 14 Finale Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Bisping vs. Miller
UFCโs The Ultimate Fighter 14 results are in after an entertaining main-event fight between coaches Michael Bisping and Jason "Mayhem" Miller.
One of the most popular fighters on the planet, Miller made his return to the UFC Saturday night against one of the most-hated fighters in Bisping. The contrast in fan reaction was huge before, during and after the fight, particularly after Bispingโs controversial comments toward the fans present at weigh-ins.
Two new The Ultimate Fighter winners were crowned, in addition to Michael Bisping earning an impressive knockout victory over Miller in the main event.ย
Bisping and many others will go down as winners on the official scorecard, but those records donโt always tell the whole story.
Many times people who didnโt even appear on events are affected by the results, so letโs take a closer look into exactly what happened and what it means going forward for everyone involved.
Winner: Bryan Caraway
1 of 19One of the most notable names to make it into The Ultimate Fighter house this year was the boyfriend of Strikeforce bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, Bryan Caraway.
Caraway is a talented young fighter who has some of the superstar qualities that the UFC tends to look for in their fighters.
Tonight he proved he can also get it done in the cage.
Cornered by Tate on this night, Caraway picked apart his opponent and friend Dustin Neace on the feet, utilizing a couple nice left hooks before getting a double-leg takedown about halfway through the first round.
Neace made it through the round, but was unable to get out of the second round, as Caraway brought things to the ground and finished the fight with a nice rear-naked choke.
The victory was the 14th of 16 career wins for Brian Caraway by way of submission.
Winner: Miesha Tate
2 of 19The Strikeforce womenโs bantamweight champion made her UFC debut tonight. Well, kind of. Cornering her long-time boyfriend and training partner Bryan Caraway, Tate stepped into the Octagon for the first time.
Sadly enough, this may be the only way she ever makes it into a UFC cage after the comments UFC President Dana White has made regarding the entire sport of womenโs mixed martial arts.
Come on, Dana...have a heart!
Winner: Steven Siler
3 of 19At 5'11", Steven Siler is one of the taller featherweights in the sport today.
That height advantage was a big factor on Saturday night as he controlled and picked apart Josh Clopton on his way to a unanimous 29-28 decision victory.
Siler utilized one of the best clinches we have ever seen as he did some serious damage with knees both to the body and to the face.
The control he displayed from the position was incredible and could be something that is very, very difficult to defend for many opponents in the future.
He has now won 13 of his past 15 fights, with his only losses coming Cole Escovedo and Chad Mendes.
Winner: Josh Clopton
4 of 19A training partner of Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and the "Scrap Pack," Josh Clopton got his chance in the UFC after actually not making it onto The Ultimate Fighter 14.
The UFC gave him a chance at the finale, though, after he performed impressively in the loss and an injury left an opening on the card.
Clopton didnโt get the win, but making it into the promotion after a loss shows that they have confidence in him having some serious potential. He displayed a ton of heart in the loss to Steven Siler, who significantly out-sized him.
Even though it was his second straight loss, he may still get another chance in the UFC.
Loser: Josh Ferguson
5 of 19The first real "loser" on tonightโs event has to be Josh Ferguson, who was unable to overcome his size disadvantage against Roland Delorme on the undercard.
Ferguson, who fights primarily in the 125-pound flyweight division, moved up to 135 to compete on The Ultimate Fighter in an effort to make a career for himself on the national level.
While the show will certainly help him, his performance on the night left him with a loss on his record.
Though he escaped a triangle and a near-Omoplata in the first round, and actually looked pretty good in the second round with his standup, he took a big punch from Delorme in the third round and was quickly submitted.
Winner: Roland Delorme
6 of 19After defeating B.J. Ferguson in under two minutes to get into the house, Ronald Delorme had the task of defeating B.J.โs brother, Josh Ferguson, at The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale.
Delorme started things off quickly and nearly submitted Ferguson numerous times with a triangle. Though he didnโt get the submission there, he did some big damage off his back with both punches and elbows.
It looked as if Delorme was going to run away with the fight, but Ferguson actually battled back and may have even won the second round with some nice standup, evening things up at one round a piece as we went into the third round.
The fight didnโt last long from there, though, as Delorme tagged Ferguson early in the third round and immediately took his opponentโs back to finish the fight with a rear-naked choke.
Loser: Dustin Pague
7 of 19Dustin Pague had his chance to make a name for himself in the UFC Saturday night, but has to be extremely disappointed with how things went.
Both he and John Albert started off very strong, but it was Albert who took the lead by landing a huge right hand to Pagueโs jaw.
Pague never really recovered and ended up taking quite a bit of damage off his back before referee Herb Dean stepped in and called a stop to the beating.ย
Winner: John Albert
8 of 19Just about any professional MMA fighter has the capability of "catching" his opponent with a punch that ends a fight, but it takes a particularly skilled fighter to do what John Albert did to Dustin Pague.
After catching Pague with a huge right hand to the jaw that knocked him down early in the first round, Albert took the opportunity to snag his right arm and put it in a very frustrating position known as a "gift-wrap."
In this position, Albert used Pagueโs own arm around his neck to control his body while landing big punches from the top. Herb Dean finally called a stop to the fight when Pague was unable to escape.
Though he was mocked for crying when he lost on an episode of The Ultimate Fighter, John Albert came back with a big performance at the finale.
Winner: Johnny Bedford
9 of 19The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finaleย may have been the biggest moment of Johnny Bedfordโs career, as the lanky bantamweight Johnny Bedford completely dominated his fellow The Ultimate Fighter 14 castmate Louis Gaudinot for three rounds.
It wasnโt just the striking; it wasnโt just the wrestling, it wasnโt just the jiu-jitsu. Bedford controlled this fight in every aspect and inflicted some major damage in every round.
Nearly a minute after the fight could have been stopped, referee Steve Mazzagatti finally called the fight midway through the third round as Bedford just destroyed Louis Gaudinotโs body with a vicious series of knees, kicks and punches.
He may not have won the show, but the technique and personality that Bedford showed against Gaudinot should be enough to get him future fights in the UFC.
Loser: Yves Edwards
10 of 19Veteran lightweight fighter Yves Edwards competed in his 60th professional mixed martial arts fight at TUF 14 Finale, losing a decision to former TUF 13 winnerย Tony Ferguson.ย
Edwards didn't look particularly terrible and actually showed some great resiliency by staying in the fight and even landing some nice shots of his own after nearly being knocked out quite a few times late in the first round.
However, as he is now in his mid-30s, Edwards is quickly approaching what should be the end of his career.ย
At this point, a title shot in the UFC may never come again for the very talented 155-pounder.ย
Winner: Tony Ferguson
11 of 19The Ultimate Fighter 13ย winner Tony Ferguson recently made his move to the lightweight division after winning as a welterweight on the show.
This was just his second appearance in the division for the UFC, and he was coming off of victories over Aaron Riley and Ramsey Nijem.
On TUF 14 Finale, though, he faced arguably the most difficult task of his young career as he battled one of the most veteran 155-pounders in the sport in Yves Edwards.ย
Ferguson started off slow in the fight as Edwards out-struck him, but seemed to "wake up" when he got caught with a head kick in the first round. He battled back with some nice striking of his own, finishing the first round by nearly knocking out his opponent on numerous occasions.
Ferguson eventually won a decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in convincing fashion, proving that his raw physical talent is now coming together with mental preparedness to make him a dangerous, well-rounded fighter.
Loser: T.J. Dillashaw
12 of 19Team Alpha Male was represented on TUF 14ย by 25-year-old bantamweight T.J. Dillashaw. Dillashaw earned his way to the finals by defeating Roland Delorme and then Dustin Pague.ย
Dillashaw took advantage of a significant reach advantage, utilizing kicks to keep his powerful opponent, John Dodson, at bay in the finals.
Many believed that Dillashaw would try to bring the fight to the ground, but he seemed perfectly content with standing.ย
That strategy proved to be deadly, though, as Dodson eventually caught him with a left hand behind the ear that rocked him. From there, it was only a few undefended hammerfists before Herb Dean stopped the fight.ย
Dillashaw tried to protest the stoppage, but it was fairly clear that he was out as he wobbled around on his feet, trying to plead his case.ย
Winner: John Dodson
13 of 19Confident and some would even say cocky in his demeanor, John Dodson shot his way into the bantamweight finals of The Ultimate Fighter 14ย with victories over John Albert and then his teammate Johnny Bedford in the semifinals.ย
Dodson had impressed many with his powerful standup game throughout the season, despite his short 5'3" frame.ย
That striking skill came into play again against T.J. Dillashaw as he used his left hand to catch his opponent, like he did in previous fights, and eventually got the knockout victory to become the bantamweight winner on The Ultimate Fighter 14.ย
After being pulled off of Dillashaw, Dodson did a few flips off of the cage which should help him earn some fans, as if his outgoing personality and fighting skill hadn't already done enough.ย
Congratulations goes out to Dodson, who has earned himself a six-figure contract with the UFC!
Loser: Dennis Bermudez
14 of 19"I take losing out of my vocabulary. I don't think about losing," Dennis Bermudez said in the pre-fight interview for the show. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be for him, as he fell to Diego Brandao in the featherweight finals.ย
Bermudez was landing some nice punches early, but got caught by a huge right from the heavy-handed Brandao. This brought memories of his semifinals fight, as he narrowly escaped a knockout only to come back and win the fight in impressive fashion.
Bermudez nearly finished the fight himself with about 45 seconds remaining in the first round, clipping Brandao with a big right hand of his own. Bermudez confidently flew into Brandao's guard where he landed some nice ground-and-pound.
It looked as if Bermudez was about to finish the fight, but Brandao came out of no where with an unbelievable arm bar from the bottom where he quickly achieved a submission, possibly even snapping Bermudez's arm in the process.ย
Winner: Diego Brandao
15 of 19Diego Brandao smashed his way to the featherweight finals on The Ultimate Fighter 14ย where he met Dennis Bermudez for the six-figure UFC contract.ย
Brandao already works with perhaps the best team in all of mixed martial arts at Greg Jackson's camp in New Mexico, and it showed as he appeared to be in control throughout most of the fight.
Even when he got clipped by Bermudez in the second half of the round and it looked as if he might get knocked out, Brandao stayed calm and positioned himself well.
The arm bar that he applied from the bottom was a thing of beauty, and it earned him the biggest win of his career with just seconds remaining in the round.ย
The Brazilian stated that he will use his new-found money to help his mother purchase a house in his home country of Brazil. The amazing story continues for the very first featherweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter!ย
Winners: Dominick Cruz and Jose Aldo
16 of 19The beginning of 2011 brought two new divisions to the WEC when it merged with the UFC, bringing with them the 145- and 135-pound divisions.
With that came the two champions of the divisions, Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz, who were grandfathered in as the first UFC featherweight and bantamweight champions.
Both Aldo and Cruz have dominated their divisions in 2011, leaving both men struggling to find many logical contenders. The divisions are deep, but most of the top fighters have already lost to them.
The Ultimate Fighter 14ย featured these two weight classes for the first time in the show's history.
Though neither Diego Brandao nor John Dodson will find themselves as challengers for Cruz or Aldo in the near future, the show itself helped draw attention to these lighter weight classes as being every bit as competitive and perhaps even more entertaining than the heavier classes.
An added spotlight on the divisions will only serve to help the careers of Cruz and Aldo as they will continue to climb up the pound-for-pound rankings as the undisputed kings of their individual weight classes.
Loser: Jason Miller
17 of 19After acting as a coach on the show, Jason "Mayhem" Miller made his long-awaited return to the UFC at The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finaleย when he battled one of the top 185-pound fighters in the world in Michael Bisping.
Setup as a classic good-guy-versus-bad-guy matchup, Bisping and Miller had absolutely no love for one another going into the cage, even opting not to touch gloves before the fight started.ย
Unfortunately, Miller was unable to appease the fans, as after winning the first round, he took a brutalย beating from "The Count" in the second and third rounds before Steve Mazzagatti finally stopped it.ย
The loss moves Miller down the rankings again after he had finally begun to rise back up in Strikeforce. It also proves that perhaps the middleweight division in Strikeforce wasn't quiteย what some of us thought it was.ย
Winner: Michael Bisping
18 of 19The biggest winner on The Ultimate Fighter 14 has to be coach Michael Bisping, who solidified his position as one of the elite 185-pound fighters in the world.ย
The British superstar knocked out his highly skilled opposing TUFย coach Jason Miller in the third round of their contest after weathering an early takedown against the cage to get back to his feet.ย
It looked as if Bisping was completely out of breath after the first round, which would've made sense given that he actually came in overweight originally and had to drop an additional quarter of a pound before stepping into the cage, but Bisping fired back in the second and third rounds.
The striking game was where most believed the biggest difference in the fight would be, and it turned out to be true. Bisping picked Miller apart in the second and third rounds, utilizing huge body shots to crush his opponent's will to fight while smashing him in the face as well.ย
In the end, it was Bisping's game-planning and cardio, along with his boxing, that earned him the TKO victory in what was the first coach-versus-coach battle in nine seasons of TUF.ย
Bisping now moves on to potentially be the challenger-in-waiting for Anderson Silva at 185 pounds. He most likely won't get the first shot, as the winner of Chael Sonnen vs. Mark Munoz in January is expected to get that opportunity, but Bisping could very well be next in line.ย
Loser: Spike TV
19 of 19The UFC certainly delivered some excellent fights in what will be the last season of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV.
The bantamweights and featherweights showed that while they aren't the biggest, they may be the most exciting divisions in the sport; not to mention, a big-name fight between Michael Bisping and Jason Miller was one of the best headline fights Spike has ever shown.
Unfortunately, Spike did not do anywhere near the amount of promotion for this season of The Ultimate Fighterย nor its finale show.ย
This lack of advertising has to be frustrating for the UFC, as they held up their end of the bargain with one of the best seasons of the show that they have ever had.
With the new FOX deal, future seasons of TUFย will be aired on their child station, FX on Friday nights. The UFC has to be ecstatic to be moving to a channel that has other hit TV shows and will promote their product much more than Spike has recently.ย


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