The Ultimate Fighter | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

‘TUF 11’ Finale Aftermath: All the Right People Win Bonuses; Hamill Overcomes Staph, Broken Hand, Eye-Poke to Beat Jardine

("The best part is, stick this baby in the freezer and it’ll keep your drinks cold on a hot summer day." PicProps: UFC.com)
Matt Hamill fought and defeated Keith Jardine on Saturday night with a staph infection he didn’t know he had as …

("The best part is, stick this baby in the freezer and it’ll keep your drinks cold on a hot summer day." PicProps: UFC.com)

Matt Hamill fought and defeated Keith Jardine on Saturday night with a staph infection he didn’t know he had as well as a broken hand suffered early in the fight round and blurred vision from getting poked in the eye during the second, according to statements made at the "TUF 11" Finale post-fight press conference. That makes it a bit more noteworthy that their three-round battle rightfully claimed “Fight of the Night” honors.

“I thought I was going to be blind and deaf. Enough handicaps,” Hamill joked at the press conference about getting a thumb in the eye that caused Jardine to lose a point in the second stanza. Any laughter caused by that comment could probably best be described as “uneasy.”

Other post-fight bonuses – each amounting to $25,000 – went to Chris Leben for his come-from-behind knockout of Aaron Simpson and Court McGee for choking out Kris McCray in the “TUF” championship. As for the infection – which caused the nasty-looking lesion on his back you may have noticed during the broadcast – Hamill said he planned to get started with some antibiotics ASAP. Yeah, you might want to get on that. After the jump, a picture of Hamill’s foulness.

Heads-Up: ‘TUF 11 Finale’ Live Results This Saturday Starting at 9 p.m. ET

(Props: Hamill the Movie on Vimeo)
If for some reason that hot date of yours falls through this Saturday night, why not swing by CagePotato.com, as our weekend editor Chad Dundas will be running the liveblog of the Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale. The …

(Props: Hamill the Movie on Vimeo)

If for some reason that hot date of yours falls through this Saturday night, why not swing by CagePotato.com, as our weekend editor Chad Dundas will be running the liveblog of the Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale. The show starts at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV, so check your local listings and be wary of spoilers. (And join a MMA FightPicker pool if you haven’t already!)

Speaking of the finale, co-headliner Matt Hamill is now the subject of an inspirational biopic called Hamill, which follows the athlete’s life and career; you can check out the trailer above, and learn more about the film at hamillthemovie.com. The actor who plays Matt is Russell Harvard, who you may remember as the "bastard from a basket" in There Will Be Blood. Plus, Rich Franklin is in the flick as some sort of disapproving wrestling coach, I guess. Now if they would only make a movie based on Court McGee’s life…

‘The New Keith Jardine’ Ready for Rebirth Against Matt Hamill

Filed under: UFCWith wins over Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell and Brandon Vera on his resume, one would think Keith Jardine was past the “coming into his own” stage of his career.

With three straight losses – and four in his last five – heading into …

Filed under: UFC

With wins over Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell and Brandon Vera on his resume, one would think Keith Jardine was past the “coming into his own” stage of his career.

With three straight losses – and four in his last five – heading into his Saturday fight against Matt Hamill on “The Ultimate Fighter” live season finale in Las Vegas, it would be natural to think the UFC light heavyweight was frustrated or even concerned about his future. But Jardine chalks the losses up to a simple slump.

“I’ve been going through some growing pains and I’ve been in a little bit of a funk,” Jardine said Wednesday on a media call for Saturday’s fight. “And I needed to go through those pains to get to here. I’ve showed glimpses of greatness. I knew two years ago, I beat Forrest, I beat Liddell, I beat those guys. But I knew I wasn’t the fighter I wanted to be. I knew I wasn’t ready to carry the UFC torch yet.”

Guest Column: To Cancel or Not to Cancel, TUF Is the Question.

(Ah, the good ol’ days…)
As the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter officially comes to a close this Saturday, we’re left with the same complaints we have nearly every season: The format is stale. The fighters aren’t UFC-level. Hey, weren’t the coa…

(Ah, the good ol’ days…)

As the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter officially comes to a close this Saturday, we’re left with the same complaints we have nearly every season: The format is stale. The fighters aren’t UFC-level. Hey, weren’t the coaches supposed to fight each over? And while any asshole with an opinion can say that something needs to change, notable CagePotato commenter Chris "Viva Hate" Morse actually sent us some concrete ideas on how to fix the show. Read his thoughts below and let us know what you think. So crazy they just might work? Or so crazy that Viva Hate should go back to trolling the comments section?

*****

With yet another dismal season of TUF winding down and fans once against asking if the show has run its course, it is obviously time for some improvements. The past two seasons have featured numerous fights that turned out to be large men hugging and slobbering all over each other due to a lack of cardio. The show that partially helped launch MMA into the mainstream is now weaker and weaker by the episode. Here is a list of ways that could help revitalize and reenergize this dying beast.

Season 4 of TUF was the "Comeback" season featuring UFC castoffs trying to get one more chance at glory. Why not take this one step further with TUF 13: The OGs? Bring back early fighters to train with current fighters for the contract. This would be great for two reasons. One, it would show just how far the sport has progressed from the early days. Two, who doesn’t enjoy a little nostalgia? At least we know Tom Lawlor would be glued to the TV. There is a list of guys who would most likely take the shot based on attempts in recent years to get back into MMA. A few names that come to mind are Dan “The Beast” Severn and Oleg “The Russian Bear” Taktarov. Even giving Royce Gracie the invite which would bring in guaranteed ratings. Sadly, Joe Son and Harold Howard will not be available.

Gambling Addiction Enabler: TUF 11 Finale Edition

(Keith Jardine: The love child of Michael Berryman and this thing. Photo courtesy of ESPN)
You know what time it is, Potato Nation — it’s time to steal some money from your girlfriend’s purse and wire it to a shady off-shore gambling site in th…

(Keith Jardine: The love child of Michael Berryman and this thing. Photo courtesy of ESPN)

You know what time it is, Potato Nation — it’s time to steal some money from your girlfriend’s purse and wire it to a shady off-shore gambling site in the faint hope that A) You’ll win your bets, and B) They’ll eventually send you your profits. Lots of luck, suckers! As tradition dictates, here are the betting lines for Saturday’s TUF 11 Finale, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com

Court McGee (-180) vs. Kris McCray (+175)
Matt Hamill (-138) vs. Keith Jardine (+125)
Aaron Simpson (-334) vs. Chris Leben (+292)
Spencer Fisher (-175) vs. Dennis Siver (+163)
Jamie Yager (-105) vs. Rich Attonito (+105)

John Gunderson (-245) vs. Mark Holst (+285)
Brad Tavares (-205) vs. Seth Baczynski (+200)
Kyle Noke (-185) vs. Josh Bryant (+170)
Chris Camozzi (-125) vs. James Hammortree (even)
Travis Browne (-185) vs. James McSweeney (+155)

So how can we beat the bookmakers on Saturday? Pull up a chair and I’ll lay it all out for you…

Because You Hate Him: Jamie Yager Highlight Reel

(Props: James Blair-BDog7)
You can call him a loudmouth liar with no heart — damned reality-show editing! — but to me, Jamie Yager was by far the most interesting character on the eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter. In the Octagon…

(Props: James Blair-BDog7)

You can call him a loudmouth liar with no heart — damned reality-show editing! — but to me, Jamie Yager was by far the most interesting character on the eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter. In the Octagon, he kept his opponents guessing with wild high-kicks and a relentless pace. (Not that we don’t love a long, drawn-out, wrestling-based grind.) In the house, he had a way of pushing his fellow fighters’ buttons.

Since he’s still so new to the game, the only non-TUF fight featured in the above highlight reel comes from another reality show, The Iron Ring, which he also appeared on. Unsurprisingly, the video doesn’t include the anti-climactic ending of his fight against Josh Bryant. Can Fro Cop redeem himself at this Saturday’s TUF 11 Finale against Rich Attonito?

After the jump: To get that oily Yager taste out of your mouth, here’s another highlight reel that James Blair did for a more deserving fighter…