TUF Finale: Now with More Real Fighters!
TUF Finale
Jun 20, 2008
Amir
Sadollah vs. CB
Dollaway (Pictures)
The guy everyone expected meets the guy no one knew existed when blue-chip mega-prospect CB Dollaway (Pictures) faces unheralded but undeniably talented Amir Sadollah in the finals of "The Ultimate Fighter."
After seven seasons of dudes talking big, breaking stuff and
generally acting like rejects from "The Real World," you'd think
there'd be a sense of monotony about this bout.
But we have a new wrinkle.
No one was promised anything about Sadollah (0-0), and most everyone assumed this lanky kickboxer with no MMA experience would get bounced sooner rather than later. After all, no one rocking the Kanye West-meets-fashion-mullet hair could possibly have a future in the UFC. Turns out this tragically coiffured kickboxer has some Houdini in him as he managed not only to submit Dollaway but also beat top contenders Gerald Harris (Pictures) and Matt Brown.
It is a preposterous streak when you think about the struggles that define the neophyte days of MMA for most kickboxers. Proving his win over Dollaway was no fluke will be a tall task considering Sadollah can't bank on Dollaway falling victim to another A-Rod-in-the-playoffs moment.
Then again, Dollaway showed increasingly suspect conditioning and submission defense as the show progressed, and his striking -- though powerful -- is unrefined. Having already been submitted once before by Sadollah, expect Dollaway to be a bit unsure of how to approach a kickboxer who can finish him regardless of where the fight goes.
Watch for this fight to turn into a striker's affair as Dollaway remains hesitant to put himself in harm's way on the ground and ends up getting knocked out for his less-than-inspired strategy.
Either way, I hope Dollaway has found a way to have that perma-smirk surgically removed from his face.
Matthew Riddle vs. Dante Rivera (Pictures)
Staying true to their word of keeping TUF finales free of excess Spike TV alumni, the only other main-card post-season fight features a grudge match everyone has been waiting to see.
After all, you can't have Matthew Riddle and Dante Rivera (Pictures) slinging verbal arrows at each other for weeks on end and never resolve their schoolyard scrum. Even better, with the middleweight division starving for talent the same way Paris Hilton starves for attention, we may end up with a ready- made prospect for the UFC to groom.
It's an interesting prospect for Riddle (0-0), whose record shows that when it comes to paying dues, he hasn't quite sent out all the checks yet. Of course, scoring one of the most brutal televised knockouts of all time will send you moving up the ladder, and Riddle did just that when he sent Dan Simmler to Valhalla with a punch that is still reverberating on Simmler's jaw.
However, one knockout does not a career make and Riddle is taking on a man whose worth in the sport is well documented.
Already a veteran of the IFL and a litany of local promotions, Rivera (10-2) has long been prepared for a UFC run, but the crush of those expectations has buckled more knees than Bert Blyleven's curveball.
Given the bad blood between these two, look for Rivera to look to prove a point on his feet before getting hit on the point of the jaw and laying out faster than Dean Martin at an open bar.
All you kids out there scratching your heads at that one, Google is your friend.
Undercard
Everybody start praying to your own personal deities for some quick main card fights so we can all enjoy the added bonus of catching a few of the undercard bouts set to make your Saturday night more enjoyable than the usual "Family Guy" reruns.
First up on the docket is a welterweight dustup between the self-professed "People's Warrior" Josh Burkman (Pictures) and the always entertaining Dustin Hazelett (Pictures). Even if Hazelett wasn't all that talented, you've got to give it up for a guy who sticks himself with the nickname "McLovin." Better yet, Hazelett is rapidly developing into one of the division's most offensively gifted fighters. Burkman hasn't been able to live up to the promise he showed early in his UFC run.
Burkman's usual ground-and-pound approach will get him twisted like Wesley Snipes' tax return as Hazelett scores a slick triangle choke late in the first round.
There won't be any jiu-jitsu displays when Drew McFedries and Marvin Eastman (Pictures) attempt to recreate the dropping of the Hiroshima bomb using nothing but their fists. While Eastman is certainly capable of coming out and showing the aggression that fans have been patiently waiting for, the more likely scenario is that McFedries pushes the pace early and sends Eastman to the land of bright lights and uncomfortable beds in the second round.
Two UFC youngsters looking to keep their campaigns going are recent TUF graduate Matt Brown and TUF 5 predecessor Matt Arroyo. While Brown showed some striking ability during his run on Dana White's madhouse, Arroyo is the far more versatile fighter and has shown plenty of game on the ground regardless of position.
Arroyo snatches an armbar in the second round for an easy win. All bets are off if Arroyo messes with Brown's tobacco though, one of many lessons learned this past season.
As the new school hashes out their status, Jeremy Horn (Pictures) takes on Dean Lister (Pictures) in an old-school rematch to settle a score left when Horn knocked off Lister at King of the Cage in 2003. Time has been unkind to Horn, and his recent showings left much to be desired. With Horn's gas tank running low and Lister showing plenty of spring in his step, this one will turn out to be a unanimous-decision loss for the man they call "Gumby."
No time machines required to appreciate the post-TUF special featuring Tim Credeur and Cale Yarbrough, who is living proof that being Forrest Griffin (Pictures)'s buddy will get you into the UFC. Unfortunately, that won't get you any actual wins and Yarbrough is being set up for a fall against Credeur, who should have little trouble exploiting the holes in Yarbrough's underdeveloped game. The end comes with a fine display of canvas tapping by Yarbrough thanks to a rear-naked choke.
With that, we close out another successful round of keyboard bashing that will of course give way to my favorite part of the gig: hate mail.
The guy everyone expected meets the guy no one knew existed when blue-chip mega-prospect CB Dollaway (Pictures) faces unheralded but undeniably talented Amir Sadollah in the finals of "The Ultimate Fighter."
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But we have a new wrinkle.
Sadollah already beat Dollaway on the show with a gutsy,
come-from-behind performance that left this season's supposed
"Golden Boy" looking like another overhyped prospect in love with
his own press clippings. Make no mistake, Dollaway (6-0) is a
legitimate talent, but once in the house we never saw him pull off
the "HULK SMASH!" routine that we were promised.
No one was promised anything about Sadollah (0-0), and most everyone assumed this lanky kickboxer with no MMA experience would get bounced sooner rather than later. After all, no one rocking the Kanye West-meets-fashion-mullet hair could possibly have a future in the UFC. Turns out this tragically coiffured kickboxer has some Houdini in him as he managed not only to submit Dollaway but also beat top contenders Gerald Harris (Pictures) and Matt Brown.
It is a preposterous streak when you think about the struggles that define the neophyte days of MMA for most kickboxers. Proving his win over Dollaway was no fluke will be a tall task considering Sadollah can't bank on Dollaway falling victim to another A-Rod-in-the-playoffs moment.
Then again, Dollaway showed increasingly suspect conditioning and submission defense as the show progressed, and his striking -- though powerful -- is unrefined. Having already been submitted once before by Sadollah, expect Dollaway to be a bit unsure of how to approach a kickboxer who can finish him regardless of where the fight goes.
Watch for this fight to turn into a striker's affair as Dollaway remains hesitant to put himself in harm's way on the ground and ends up getting knocked out for his less-than-inspired strategy.
Either way, I hope Dollaway has found a way to have that perma-smirk surgically removed from his face.
Matthew Riddle vs. Dante Rivera (Pictures)
Staying true to their word of keeping TUF finales free of excess Spike TV alumni, the only other main-card post-season fight features a grudge match everyone has been waiting to see.
After all, you can't have Matthew Riddle and Dante Rivera (Pictures) slinging verbal arrows at each other for weeks on end and never resolve their schoolyard scrum. Even better, with the middleweight division starving for talent the same way Paris Hilton starves for attention, we may end up with a ready- made prospect for the UFC to groom.
It's an interesting prospect for Riddle (0-0), whose record shows that when it comes to paying dues, he hasn't quite sent out all the checks yet. Of course, scoring one of the most brutal televised knockouts of all time will send you moving up the ladder, and Riddle did just that when he sent Dan Simmler to Valhalla with a punch that is still reverberating on Simmler's jaw.
However, one knockout does not a career make and Riddle is taking on a man whose worth in the sport is well documented.
Already a veteran of the IFL and a litany of local promotions, Rivera (10-2) has long been prepared for a UFC run, but the crush of those expectations has buckled more knees than Bert Blyleven's curveball.
Given the bad blood between these two, look for Rivera to look to prove a point on his feet before getting hit on the point of the jaw and laying out faster than Dean Martin at an open bar.
All you kids out there scratching your heads at that one, Google is your friend.
Undercard
Everybody start praying to your own personal deities for some quick main card fights so we can all enjoy the added bonus of catching a few of the undercard bouts set to make your Saturday night more enjoyable than the usual "Family Guy" reruns.
First up on the docket is a welterweight dustup between the self-professed "People's Warrior" Josh Burkman (Pictures) and the always entertaining Dustin Hazelett (Pictures). Even if Hazelett wasn't all that talented, you've got to give it up for a guy who sticks himself with the nickname "McLovin." Better yet, Hazelett is rapidly developing into one of the division's most offensively gifted fighters. Burkman hasn't been able to live up to the promise he showed early in his UFC run.
Burkman's usual ground-and-pound approach will get him twisted like Wesley Snipes' tax return as Hazelett scores a slick triangle choke late in the first round.
There won't be any jiu-jitsu displays when Drew McFedries and Marvin Eastman (Pictures) attempt to recreate the dropping of the Hiroshima bomb using nothing but their fists. While Eastman is certainly capable of coming out and showing the aggression that fans have been patiently waiting for, the more likely scenario is that McFedries pushes the pace early and sends Eastman to the land of bright lights and uncomfortable beds in the second round.
Two UFC youngsters looking to keep their campaigns going are recent TUF graduate Matt Brown and TUF 5 predecessor Matt Arroyo. While Brown showed some striking ability during his run on Dana White's madhouse, Arroyo is the far more versatile fighter and has shown plenty of game on the ground regardless of position.
Arroyo snatches an armbar in the second round for an easy win. All bets are off if Arroyo messes with Brown's tobacco though, one of many lessons learned this past season.
As the new school hashes out their status, Jeremy Horn (Pictures) takes on Dean Lister (Pictures) in an old-school rematch to settle a score left when Horn knocked off Lister at King of the Cage in 2003. Time has been unkind to Horn, and his recent showings left much to be desired. With Horn's gas tank running low and Lister showing plenty of spring in his step, this one will turn out to be a unanimous-decision loss for the man they call "Gumby."
No time machines required to appreciate the post-TUF special featuring Tim Credeur and Cale Yarbrough, who is living proof that being Forrest Griffin (Pictures)'s buddy will get you into the UFC. Unfortunately, that won't get you any actual wins and Yarbrough is being set up for a fall against Credeur, who should have little trouble exploiting the holes in Yarbrough's underdeveloped game. The end comes with a fine display of canvas tapping by Yarbrough thanks to a rear-naked choke.
With that, we close out another successful round of keyboard bashing that will of course give way to my favorite part of the gig: hate mail.
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