The Ultimate Fighter finale has come and gone, and the ending was not what most expected. After the much-hyped “scariest knockout in TUF history” was revealed to be Uriah Hall decapitating Adam Cella, Hall walking away with a plaque and a n…
The Ultimate Fighter finale has come and gone, and the ending was not what most expected.
After the much-hyped “scariest knockout in TUF history” was revealed to be Uriah Hall decapitating Adam Cella, Hall walking away with a plaque and a not-as-great-as-it-sounds “six-figure UFC contract” seemed like a good bet.
Then when he punched out Bubba McDaniel, it seemed pretty certain. Then, after besting Dylan Andrews with strikes, it seemed like an inevitability.
The thing is, guarantees of any kind are imagined in MMA. Any given fight can end any given way. Title shots are equally up in the air. Day in and day out, nobody knows what’s going to happen with anything in MMA, a curse and a blessing for fans and media alike.
Josh Grispi becoming a top-10 pound-for-pound fighter was something that seemed sure to happen. Brandon Vera was going to join Randy Couture and BJ Penn as the next two-division champions. EdsonBarboza? Definitely more than just one kick.
Obviously, these lofty projections failed to come even remotely close to fruition. In that same vein (but not nearly as absurd), Uriah Hall, the next Anderson Silva, is now lumped into the same demographic as Brad Imes, Phillipe Nover and Damarques Johnson.
One would think we, be it fans or media, would have learned at this point. Hell, even at its most basic level, this was a match between a striker and a wrestler. Rarely does that work out for the former.
Alas, we have not, and likely never will. With Hall vanquished by a solid, but by no means amazing wrestler, we are now back to square one in finding the next big thing.
Who the fans and media latch on to next is tough to call. There are many prospects to hook on, be it Gunnar Nelson, Myles Jury, KhabibNurmagomedov or any of the young-yet-great fighters that are floating around the UFC right now. Regardless, there will be somebody who is totally, really, definitely, no really this time, going to be a champion.
Will it work out? Maybe. Probably not, though.
Even if it doesn’t, it won’t kill our spirit. We’ll get it right some day, right?
The UFC takes another trip abroad and has more tough calls to make when it comes to the future of its fighters. With several intriguing matchups and a slew of fan favorites appearing on the card, there is a lot to talk about here. For now, though, we’l…
The UFC takes another trip abroad and has more tough calls to make when it comes to the future of its fighters.
With several intriguing matchups and a slew of fan favorites appearing on the card, there is a lot to talk about here. For now, though, we’ll just take a look at what’s next for the winners from UFC on Fuel TV 9.
The lightweight division has been one of the best, if not the best, divisions in the sport for years now, but that hasn’t kept Ben “Smooth” Henderson from climbing to the top of the pile. MMA, now more than ever, has a group of seemingly in…
The lightweight division has been one of the best, if not the best, divisions in the sport for years now, but that hasn’t kept Ben “Smooth” Henderson from climbing to the top of the pile.
MMA, now more than ever, has a group of seemingly insurmountable champions. Dominick Cruz has defended his bantamweight belt four times in the UFC and WEC. Jose Aldo? Six times. Georges St-Pierre? Eight. Anderson Silva? 10.
Even the champions that haven’t stacked bodies for years on end are proving to be miles ahead of their top contenders.
Demetrious Johnson has already beaten the top-three ranked flyweights, and the drop from Ian McCall to John Moraga is not a short one in terms of accomplishment (though Moraga is still a tough test for Johnson). Cain Velasquez, meanwhile, made former champion Junior dos Santos look downright amateurish as he dominated him with non-stop wrestling, and is slated for a rematch against a guy he horribly disfigured months ago.
In that way, Benson Henderson is the most likely champion to get dethroned. That, however, remains somewhat unlikely.
In his time with the UFC, Henderson has completely run through opponents (with the exception of his squeaker against Frankie Edgar at UFC 150). Even top lightweights like Jim Miller and Nate Diaz were both shown to be a little more than speed bumps for Bendo. Hell, in the WEC, he twice beat Donald Cerrone and fringe top-10 fighter Jamie Varner.
How long, though, is the list of fighters that could conceivably take the belt from Henderson? That is a tough question to answer.
How good is Henderson’s next opponent, Gilbert Melendez, remains something of a mystery, as he put forth less-than-impressive efforts in his final fights with Strikeforce (though he was admittedly under-motivated after the Zuffa acquisition).
Gray Maynard, though, is the biggest threat to Henderson stylistically. Henderson has high-level striking and grappling, but has used his relatively large size to physically dominate fighters like Nate Diaz and Clay Guida. Maynard has a stronger wrestling pedigree than Henderson, and is comparably sized, which would make it very possible for him to eke out a decision over “Smooth,” but is coming off an ugly split decision win and a knee injury.
Featherweight champion Jose Aldo is going to be moving up to lightweight by the year’s end, and will face the winner of Bendo vs. Melendez should he beat Anthony Pettis. Even if he loses to Pettis, Aldo is a scary challenge.
Past the current contenders is a laundry list of rising prospects, such as TJ Grant (who will face Maynard in May), Rafael dos Anjos (who is on an impressive three-fight winning streak and faces Evan Dunham at UFC on FX 8) and undefeated KhabibNurmagomedov (who has already wrecked three veteran lightweights). How good those three are remains to be seen.
So, can Henderson end up stringing together as many wins as the other dominant champions on this list? While Bendo has many doubters, it’s very, very possible.
He matches up very well against both Gilbert Melendez and Jose Aldo. Melendez and Henderson are about even grappling-wise, but Henderson is well ahead in terms of striking. Meanwhile, though Aldo has fearsome power standing, Henderson is more technically sound, and will have a major size advantage on top of his ludicrous submission defense in the grappling department.
Looking further down the road is difficult, but among the three prospects mentioned earlier, both dos Anjos and Grant are formidable submission experts, but works-in-progress standing. That just won’t hack it against Henderson. KhabibNurmagomedov, meanwhile, is considerably more well-rounded, but has not truly been tested yet.
Any of them, however, could grow in a major way over a year’s time.
While it’s tough to compare anybody to Anderson Silva, it’s deceptively possible that we could see a very lengthy title reign from Bendo. His next two fights (assuming they come against Melendez and Aldo) could very easily be his toughest. If he overcomes both those opponents, the sky is the limit for him.
We experience this in life all the time. Certain people are just harder to work with than others. The UFC is no different. Certain fighters just end up causing problem after problem for the UFC and its top dogs. Sometimes it’s intentional, but other ti…
We experience this in life all the time. Certain people are just harder to work with than others.
The UFC is no different.
Certain fighters just end up causing problem after problem for the UFC and its top dogs. Sometimes it’s intentional, but other times it’s just coincidental.
Who are the guys that have caused the most headaches for the world’s largest MMA promotion? Find out here!
Stephan Bonnar. Royce Gracie. Hermes Franca. Mo Lawal. Chris Leben. Nick Diaz. Dave Herman. Nate Marquardt. Forrest Griffin. Josh Barnett. Sean Sherk. These are just a few of the fighters hit with suspensions while fighting for the UFC, PRIDE or Strike…
Stephan Bonnar. Royce Gracie. Hermes Franca. Mo Lawal. Chris Leben. Nick Diaz. Dave Herman. Nate Marquardt. Forrest Griffin. Josh Barnett. Sean Sherk.
These are just a few of the fighters hit with suspensions while fighting for the UFC, PRIDE or Strikeforce for using banned substance. Dozens more are not listed.
PED use is a major problem in any sport, and various sources seem to indicate that fighters are, easily, getting away with using these pills, creams and patches. It is a problem that will, some day, inevitably lead to tragedy. However, it does not need to be this way.
There are a few simple steps that would effectively force fighters into completely giving up PEDs, and would force cheaters out of the sport. Unfortunately, there is a serious push against these steps against the unsatisfactory status quoMMA currently maintains.
So what can promotions, fighters, athletic commissions and companies do to stop this problem? Why won’t they? Find out right here.
Right or wrong, warranted or unwarranted, debate over The Ultimate Fighter’s place in the sport and the discussion over what direction the show gets taken in season over season is something that will never end. Last night, amid the FX portion of the UF…
Right or wrong, warranted or unwarranted, debate over The Ultimate Fighter‘s place in the sport and the discussion over what direction the show gets taken in season over season is something that will never end. Last night, amid the FX portion of the UFC 158 card, Dana White made a fairly big announcement about the UFC’s reality show and fighting tournament hybrid.
While most would expect the biggest news that could come out over a season of TUFwould be the coaches, that wasn’t close to being the case here. He announced the coaches, sure. Ronda Rousey will star opposite the winner of Cat Zingano vs. Miesha Tate (their fight is slated for the TUF17 finale on April 13).
That in and of itself is big. Rousey is an MMA A-lister these days, and having her on the show will likely meet or increase the ratings that have been driven up by the current coaching duo of Jon Jones and ChaelSonnen after the TUF16 flop.
The biggest news, though, was the announcement that the house would be stocked with bantamweight men…and bantamweight women.
The reactions were immediate, swift and ranged from negative to cryptic.
Purely from a talent perspective, this is a wonderful move for the UFC. The Ultimate Fighter rarely ventures outside the lightweight, welterweight or middleweight divisions. This has driven down the overall quality of the fighters appearing on the show and has netted the promotion very few high-impact additions to their roster over the last few years.
The 135-pound women’s division is the newest addition to the UFC, and the most in need of talent. Meanwhile, the men’s bantamweight crop is downright aching for new blood, with very few legitimate contenders outside the division’s top five and a downright refusal by the promotional brass to pursue top free-agent fighters like Tyson Nam and BibianoFernandes. It would also likely add a solid flyweight or two to the UFC’s smallest division (fighters like Mike Ricci, John Dodson, Jonathan Brookins and many more have competed above their natural weight class to ensure a spot on the show).
What has people reacting is the co-ed nature of the show and the assumption that it will ultimately become like every other reality show there is on television—melodramatic and rife with alcohol-fueled promiscuity. Worse yet, many are predicting that the show could stir up lots of controversy if one of the men jabs one of the women in the nose while sparring.
Worst yet, what if it happens outside sparring?
It’s a valid concern. After all, how many times have we seen guys like Julian Lane and Junie Browning become violent with little provocation?
That said, keep in mind that the UFC often chooses fighters to enter the season for that specific purpose. That in mind, it’s very easy for the UFC to simply avoid adding that sort of element to a season.
The show’s current crop of fighters does not seem to have “that guy.” It is almost like the FX producers opted to do what the show is actually designed for (that is, seek out and groom budding talent for the purpose of adding fighters to the UFC), rather than going down the TUF16 route of picking opposing personalities and locking them in the same building. There is still conflict, as will be the case whenever you have more than one person in the world, but it’s substantially more relatable than everyone hoping for a problem child to get his comeuppance.
Many, though, are suggesting the show will end up more Jersey Shore and will end up focusing on what the fighters do out of the cage (and in the bedroom). Anybody who claims that thought didn’t cross their mind is probably lying.
That said, the UFC is probably going to be more choosey about the TUF18 cast than ever before. I’d be willing to bet we’ll see 16 strictly-business fighters. That’s assuming the execs don’t just outright tell them to keep any physical contact on the mats on the threat of being blacklisted by the world’s largest MMA promotion.
So while this season will, indeed, be groundbreaking, don’t expect The Ultimate Fighter to go completely into “trash TV” territory. Having men and women together in the house will be unique, and it will probably result in the show going into new territory.
Contrary to what reality shows typically suggest, however, one thing doesn’t always lead to another in real life.
The Ultimate Fighter finale has come and gone, and the ending was not what most expected.