Author: Andrew Brining

TUF 14: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller Live Results, Analysis of the Final Episode

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller comes barreling down the home stretch tonight when the final episode airs on Spike TV. The live finale at The Palms in Las Vegas is still to come Saturday night, but the reality-show portion of the 14t…

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller comes barreling down the home stretch tonight when the final episode airs on Spike TV. The live finale at The Palms in Las Vegas is still to come Saturday night, but the reality-show portion of the 14th season comes to a close this evening.

And even if ends with a thudding faceplant, the last season featuring pre-recorded mayhem on Spike will have been a smashing success.

Whether intentional or not, the UFC brass have saved the best for last.

By design or by happenstance, several factors came together and conspired to make this installment the best yet.

First and foremost, the organization made an excellent choice when it decided to use the final version of TUF in its current format to introduce the casual fans to the feather- and bantamweight divisions.

The familiarization added another element to the tried-and-true story arcs of (A) highly trained athletes competing for a professional contract; and (B) volatile personalities locked in a confined space to force interaction. Furthermore, the smaller fighters are generally the more active ones so 135- and 145-pounders promised and delivered some scintillating action.

Second, the powers-that-be landed the right coaches—Jason Miller’s surprisingly mellow and cerebral approach to the exercise was the perfect foil for Michael Bisping‘s brash arrogance and emotional appeal.

Finally, there was a healthy dose of good old-fashioned luck.

It would appear the best fighters made it into the house and then progressed through the competition. The most exciting participants avoided upsets and injuries, which meant we got the best possible matchups and the results lead credence to that assertion. Additionally, the house was stacked with colorful personalities, but none so objectionable that things took a dark turn for the worse.

All in all, it’s tough to see a better (realistic) scenario for TUF’s last hurrah on Spike and we still have two fights to go. So tune in tonight at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and join us as Bleacher Report brings you live commentary on the final installment of The Ultimate Fighter.

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TUF 14: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller Live Results and Analysis of Episode 9

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller is slowly drawing to a close ahead of the live finale on Dec. 3 in Las Vegas, but there’s still plenty of action to go.Dennis Bermudez out-blasted and outlasted Akira Corassani to give Jason Miller one…

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller is slowly drawing to a close ahead of the live finale on Dec. 3 in Las Vegas, but there’s still plenty of action to go.

Dennis Bermudez out-blasted and outlasted Akira Corassani to give Jason Miller one half of the featherweight final. Corassani, much like his coach Michael Bisping, had been doing all the pre-fight talking, but it was Team Miller’s competitor who snatched the victory via guillotine choke and got to do the post-fight bragging.

He also gets to advance to the finale at the Palms where he will face the winner of the explosive Diego Brandao and the hectored Bryan Caraway.

Before we fill out the other half of the featherweight pairing, there’s some business to address on the 135-pound side of things.

There are still four bantamweights alive with John Dodson set to grapple with Johnny Bedford and Dustin Pague squaring off against T.J. Dillishaw.

Both Bedford and Pague will be the sentimental favorites given Dodson’s duplicitous performance in the house and Dillishaw’s arrogant, self-centered attitude.

Of course, Dodson and Dillishaw also appear to be the actual favorites, since both have above-average pedigrees and have looked polished in the cage.

Whether or not perception is reality remains to be seen, but it has sure seemed like little John and T.J. boast fight games that are more developed than their opponents.

Which only makes the possibility of an upset more intriguing.

So tune in tonight at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and join us as Bleacher Report brings you live commentary on the next installment of The Ultimate Fighter.

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TUF 14: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller, Live Results and Analysis, Episode 7

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller has been a monster from the first episode and has yet to disappoint as it enters its seventh installment.In fact, this roller coaster might be cresting before another wild stretch.Only T.J. Dillishaw a…

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller has been a monster from the first episode and has yet to disappoint as it enters its seventh installment.

In fact, this roller coaster might be cresting before another wild stretch.

Only T.J. Dillishaw and Roland Delorme remain stuck in the first round (aka quarterfinals), but the two bantamweights are scheduled to throw leather in Episode 7. In other words, the action should get more heated as we enter the semifinals in both the featherweight and bantamweight brackets.

So there’s a storm brewing on the competition front.

But there’s movement on the reality-television front as well.

Dillishaw has managed to rub his teammates the wrong way by exuding arrogance while allegedly ducking more difficult opponents. The volatile featherweight Akira Corassani seems to create a new rivalry with each episode and it would seem the coaches are nurturing some genuine antipathy for each other.

To date, Jason Miller has mostly risen above Michael Bisping‘s constant needling, suffering only in a slight (and provoked) outburst as well as an amicable exchange of pranks. Of course, Team Miller’s sound thrashing of Team Bisping thus far in the head-to-head competition has probably played a significant role in Jason’s calm and the brash Brit wears on even the most patient souls.

Since neither the Count nor Mayhem Miller are renowned for their restraint, that powder keg figures to explode once or twice before the live finale arrives in the firs week of December.

Will it be tonight? Who knows, which means you better tune in at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and join us as Bleacher Report brings you live commentary on all the antics.

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TUF 14: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller, Live Results and Analysis, Episode 6

We’re over the edge now with The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller entering its sixth episode and riding the momentum of scintillating fights as well as our first outbreak of genuine reality-show nonsense.Episode 5 saw yet another exciting…

We’re over the edge now with The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller entering its sixth episode and riding the momentum of scintillating fights as well as our first outbreak of genuine reality-show nonsense.

Episode 5 saw yet another exciting bout between Michael Bisping‘s guy, Akira Corassini, and Jason Miller’s entrant, Dustin Neace.

Corassini and Neace had a thorough and sincere taste for each other entering the Octagon, having nipped at each other over various slights while in the house and actually coming to blows during the fight announcement. That animosity lost none of its vigor when they stepped into the cage, and probably still hasn’t lost much edge considering Team Miller was convinced (not unjustifiably according to the replays) that Akira tapped to a first-round heel hook before eventually winning by unanimous decision.

Regardless, the Count’s squad got its first victory and that promises to add further fuel to the Bisping-Miller flame; one that’s beginning to burn bigger as the 14th season progresses.

We’ve already had exchanges of verbal and prank fire—with the last salvo coming from the Count, who got Mayhem Miller’s car towed from a handicap spot—so things could escalate quickly.

And even if the cooler heads prevail between the coaches, we’ve got the fiery Diego Brandao set to battle Steven Siler, which is yet another grudge match.

In other words, it should be another fast and furious TUF installment. So tune in tonight at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT and join us as Bleacher Report brings you live commentary on all the antics.

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TUF 14: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller Live Results and Analysis, Episode 5

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller keeps chugging along as the 14th season offers up its fifth episode on Wednesday night.The first four installments have left very little to be desired and we haven’t even gotten into the reality-televi…

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller keeps chugging along as the 14th season offers up its fifth episode on Wednesday night.

The first four installments have left very little to be desired and we haven’t even gotten into the reality-television shenanigans quite yet. There have been a few flirtations and teases such as each team using car tires to play a practical joke on the other, but everything’s been good-natured to date. That means we still haven’t crossed over into the reality-TV abyss.

But that moment is rapidly approaching…

As for the in-Octagon action, we’ve seen nothing to dispel the notion that the final season of TUF on Spike TV is the best yet.

The scrapping got off to a fast and furious start with all 16 elimination bouts being featured in the season premiere, and the subsequent fights have only continued the trend. So far, four fighters—Bryan Caraway, Johnny Bedford, Dennis Bermudez and Dustin Pague—have advanced from entertaining first-round challenges. That fact is a source of some consternation for Michael Bisping as the quartet comes from Jason Miller’s stable.

The Count isn’t one for taking a loss gracefully and he’s had to endure four consecutive defeats. Meanwhile, Mayhem Miller rarely steps foot on the high road and the goofy middleweight hasn’t made much of an effort to hide his glee as the wins keep piling up.

The two coaches, already a volatile pairing, figured to erupt at some point and from the promos, we know it happens. It’s just a matter of time and my money is on sooner rather than later.

So tune in tonight at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT and join us as Bleacher Report brings you live commentary on all the antics.

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TUF 14: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller Live Results and Analysis, Episode 3

So far, the UFC on Spike TV is not going quietly into the good night.The organization—intentionally or not—seems to have saved the best for last as The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller has exceeded expectations in its first tw…

So far, the UFC on Spike TV is not going quietly into the good night.

The organization—intentionally or not—seems to have saved the best for last as The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller has exceeded expectations in its first two episodes. It’s already been noted in this space that the reality show will end its run on Spike with this, the 14th season, then hop over to FOX for an even larger podium.

But the finale is shaping up to be a blast.

The introduction of the bantam and featherweights has been thoroughly exciting and last week’s episode was no exception. The fight between Bryan Caraway and Marcus Brimage wasn’t the most entertaining we’ve seen, but both men competed at a high level with Caraway taking the victory.

Additionally, Jason Miller showed some paradoxical wisdom for a man nicknamed “Mayhem” and who’s lived up to it on several occasion. Still, Miller seemed to gain the upper hand on fellow coach Michael Bisping by selecting athletes and matchups that suited his grappling expertise.

Things don’t look good for the Count and his team, but it’s only been two shows and one opening round bout. Plenty of time for the brash Brit to turn things around.

So tune in tonight (actually…right now) for the third episode at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT.

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