This, the twelfth , season of The Ultimate Fighter finished with a bang this past weekend at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas. It was a great season, that was capped off with a finale that pitted arguably the 2 best fighters of the season against each other.
To get there, Jonathan Brookins had to defeat the seasoned Kyle Watson in a 3 round fight that was predominantly controlled by Brookins. On the other hand, Michael Johnson fought Nam Phan in an all out brawl that could have gone either way. Coach Josh Koscheck had pinned his hopes on his last remaining fighter, Phan, and was presumably very frustrated to see him lose a split decision (one that I had going in Nam's favor). Now the only thing that can redeem Josh Koscheck and his lackluster coaching performance is to defeat GSP in this weekends UFC124.
The Ultimate Fighter finale started with an interesting fight featuring Nam Phan against UFC talent, Leonard Garcia. One may have thought that Garcia would cake walk through Nam, but not me. Although Nam doesn't have KO power or any particularly unbelievable skill set, he was one of the most complete fighters on the show with incredible endurance. Garcia, whose style tends to be a bit wild, was a good match for Nam. The fight started out relatively evenly, although Id score the first round for Nam because his body work did the most damage. The 2nd and 3rd rounds were as clear as day to me. With the exception of 2 meaningless takedowns, Nam destroyed Garcia. He outclassed him standing up, he showed unbelievable poise, and his stamina remained intact throughout. Yet, as we have seen so many times this year, the judges got it wrong and scored Garcia the victor by split decision.
In another televised fight, Cody Mackenzie fought Aaron Wilkinson in an interesting matchup of styles. As usual, Mackenzie came out extremely aggressive and almost had Wilkinson in a guillotine choke 30 seconds into the fight. They eventually get to the mat where Mackenzie works some ground and pound and controls the fight from top position. At the 3:00 mark, he flips Wilkinson and gets him to tap by guillotining his jaw. Another great display of Mackenzies power when he has his opponent in his choke hold.
In other fights, Demian Maia out performed TUF alum Kendall Grove 29-28 in a unanimous decision and Stephan Bonnar manhandled Igor Pokrajac in a unanimous 29-26 decision.
Onto the finale to determine this seasons winner. Although Michael Johnson was Team GSP's top pick, it was clear that Brookins was the favorite as he mowed through competition all season with his constantly improving jiu-jitsu and overall MMA know-how. This fight starts out in typical fashion for Johnson, with him in total control landing vicious shots on a poorly defending Brookins. On several occasions, it looked like MJ might be able to finish the fight but he was unable to land that one decisive punch. And I thought once it went to round 2, he would be in trouble.
As with previous fights, the first round would prove to be Johnsons best and he was a much less complete fighter in rounds 2 and 3. His timing wasn't the same, his stamina wasn't the same, and more importantly his takedown defense wasn't the same. Brookins controlled the final 2 rounds of the fight to eventually win a unanimous 29-28 decision. Its hard watching someone dominate a round like Johnson only to see him lose the next 2 in frustrating fashion, but thats what makes Brookins so good. He has a great chin and if you give him enough time, he will wear you down on the mat.
It was a great finish to this season of the Ultimate Fighter, but the real conclusion will be this Saturday when coaches Koscheck and GSP collide in UFC 124. Although the trash talk wasnt reciprocal, it is obvious that the disdain is. And the last person I would want to fight with bottled up anger is GSP. So he is my pick to not only win, but to destroy on December 11th.
To get there, Jonathan Brookins had to defeat the seasoned Kyle Watson in a 3 round fight that was predominantly controlled by Brookins. On the other hand, Michael Johnson fought Nam Phan in an all out brawl that could have gone either way. Coach Josh Koscheck had pinned his hopes on his last remaining fighter, Phan, and was presumably very frustrated to see him lose a split decision (one that I had going in Nam's favor). Now the only thing that can redeem Josh Koscheck and his lackluster coaching performance is to defeat GSP in this weekends UFC124.
The Ultimate Fighter finale started with an interesting fight featuring Nam Phan against UFC talent, Leonard Garcia. One may have thought that Garcia would cake walk through Nam, but not me. Although Nam doesn't have KO power or any particularly unbelievable skill set, he was one of the most complete fighters on the show with incredible endurance. Garcia, whose style tends to be a bit wild, was a good match for Nam. The fight started out relatively evenly, although Id score the first round for Nam because his body work did the most damage. The 2nd and 3rd rounds were as clear as day to me. With the exception of 2 meaningless takedowns, Nam destroyed Garcia. He outclassed him standing up, he showed unbelievable poise, and his stamina remained intact throughout. Yet, as we have seen so many times this year, the judges got it wrong and scored Garcia the victor by split decision.
In another televised fight, Cody Mackenzie fought Aaron Wilkinson in an interesting matchup of styles. As usual, Mackenzie came out extremely aggressive and almost had Wilkinson in a guillotine choke 30 seconds into the fight. They eventually get to the mat where Mackenzie works some ground and pound and controls the fight from top position. At the 3:00 mark, he flips Wilkinson and gets him to tap by guillotining his jaw. Another great display of Mackenzies power when he has his opponent in his choke hold.
In other fights, Demian Maia out performed TUF alum Kendall Grove 29-28 in a unanimous decision and Stephan Bonnar manhandled Igor Pokrajac in a unanimous 29-26 decision.
Onto the finale to determine this seasons winner. Although Michael Johnson was Team GSP's top pick, it was clear that Brookins was the favorite as he mowed through competition all season with his constantly improving jiu-jitsu and overall MMA know-how. This fight starts out in typical fashion for Johnson, with him in total control landing vicious shots on a poorly defending Brookins. On several occasions, it looked like MJ might be able to finish the fight but he was unable to land that one decisive punch. And I thought once it went to round 2, he would be in trouble.
As with previous fights, the first round would prove to be Johnsons best and he was a much less complete fighter in rounds 2 and 3. His timing wasn't the same, his stamina wasn't the same, and more importantly his takedown defense wasn't the same. Brookins controlled the final 2 rounds of the fight to eventually win a unanimous 29-28 decision. Its hard watching someone dominate a round like Johnson only to see him lose the next 2 in frustrating fashion, but thats what makes Brookins so good. He has a great chin and if you give him enough time, he will wear you down on the mat.
It was a great finish to this season of the Ultimate Fighter, but the real conclusion will be this Saturday when coaches Koscheck and GSP collide in UFC 124. Although the trash talk wasnt reciprocal, it is obvious that the disdain is. And the last person I would want to fight with bottled up anger is GSP. So he is my pick to not only win, but to destroy on December 11th.
No comments:
Post a Comment