Tag: TJ Dillashaw

Gambling Addiction Enabler: TUF 14 Finale Edition

The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale is just two days away, and though the bookies haven’t given us much to work with, we decided to throw y’all some last minute betting advice come fight night in case you plan on bluffing the piss out of Johnny Chan in the Palms Casino afterward. Check out the betting lines, courtesy of BestFightOdds, along with the almighty wisdom of the Great Potato, below.

Main Card (Spike TV)
Michael Bisping (-185) vs. Jason Miller (+160)
T.J. Dillashaw (-205) vs. John Dodson (+165)
Diego Brandao (-320) vs. Dennis Bermudez (+250)
Tony Ferguson (-255) vs. Yves Edwards (+205)

The Main Event: Let’s get right to it. Bisping has a lot of advantages going into this fight: he’s never been submitted, which is Miller’s bread and butter, he’s fought more in the past year, and he has considerably less pressure on him than Mayhem, who is out to prove to casual and hardcore fans alike that he is more than just a goofball TV personality. And we all know that Bisping will do anything, and I mean anything, to destroy those who slander him publicly, so Miller will most definitely be facing at a steep hill to climb for his first appearance in the octagon since 2005. But there are a couple crucial outside factors here. As Miller has stated, he is one hard headed son of a bitch, and despite what Bisping’s record says, have we ever seen him truly overwhelm an opponent as tough as Mayhem on the feet? You could argue Denis Kang, but I would respond to that argument with a pat on your head and a condescending chuckle.

The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale is just two days away, and though the bookies haven’t given us much to work with, we decided to throw y’all some last minute betting advice come fight night in case you plan on bluffing the piss out of Johnny Chan in the Palms Casino afterward. Check out the betting lines, courtesy of BestFightOdds, along with the almighty wisdom of the Great Potato, below.

Main Card (Spike TV)
Michael Bisping (-185) vs. Jason Miller (+160)
T.J. Dillashaw (-205) vs. John Dodson (+165)
Diego Brandao (-320) vs. Dennis Bermudez (+250)
Tony Ferguson (-255) vs. Yves Edwards (+205)

The Main Event: Let’s get right to it. Bisping has a lot of advantages going into this fight: he’s never been submitted, which is Miller’s bread and butter, he’s fought more in the past year, and he has considerably less pressure on him than Mayhem, who is out to prove to casual and hardcore fans alike that he is more than just a goofball TV personality. And we all know that Bisping will do anything, and I mean anything, to destroy those who slander him publicly, so Miller will most definitely be facing at a steep hill to climb for his first appearance in the octagon since 2005. But there are a couple crucial outside factors here. As Miller has stated, he is one hard headed son of a bitch, and despite what Bisping’s record says, have we ever seen him truly overwhelm an opponent as tough as Mayhem on the feet? You could argue Denis Kang, but I would respond to that argument with a pat on your head and a condescending chuckle.

Now let’s talk about grappling, shall we? Miller showed that he could roll with the best in his five rounder against Jake Shields, at one point even managing to catch the Cesar Gracie black belt in a rear naked choke late in the second round. Granted he would go on to lose that fight, but it’s not crazy to think that if Miller can take this fight to the ground, then he could hold a distinct advantage. But Miller has said that he plans to keep it standing, so it really comes down to whether you think Bisping can finish Miller on the feet (or at least jab and jog a decision over him) and whether or not Mayhem will allow that to happen.

The TUF Finals: Since we’ve recently been made aware of the fact that Dodson has the ability to KO you back to your hometown, he’s looking pretty good as a modest underdog. He’s easily the quicker of the two, and probably more athletic. But if Dillashaw can do anything, it’s take you to the mat and unleash a clinic of ground-and-pound. And though Dodson has been able to spring to his feet quickly after being taken down in his time on the show, he has still shown the ability to be taken down, and to far inferior grapplers than Dillashaw, nonetheless. The wrestling game is going to determine the winner of this one, and I think Dillashaw will come out on top.

I’m not totally counting out Dennis Bermudez, but I’m pretty damn close to. Diego Brandao is a killer, ladies and gentlemen, and if Akira Corissani was able to tag Bermudez as much as he did, then someone with Brandao’s power will surely put him away. Plus, can any of you remember the last TUF contestant to run through all three of his opponents on the show via first round TKO? I’ll give you a hint; he’s also fighting Saturday, and he won last season’s The Ultimate Fighter. Brandao has got this one.

The Other Fight: Yves Edwards is a tough, well rounded veteran who has the tools to put just about anyone in trouble, and given Ferguson’s lack of octagon experience, we’ve yet to see both his chin and ground game tested. But Ferguson is a precise striker that has an ability to punish your jaw worse than a Now & Later, and since Sam Stout already showed him the road to Edwards’ off button, expect Ferguson to sprinkle that road with the teeth of the “Thugjitsu Master” en route to a second or third round TKO.

Official CagePotato Parlay: We’re going balls out for this one and parlaying the entire main card. Since the fate of mankind lies in his hands (and we’ve always loved a good underdog) it’s going something like this:

Miller + Dillashaw + Brandao + Ferguson

50 bucks gets you just under a 300 dollar payout.

-The Great Potato 

Dodson-Dillashaw, Brandao-Bermudez Lead Completed TUF 14 Finale Pairings

Filed under: UFC, NewsThe Ultimate Fighter season 14 finale is set after Wednesday night’s episode determined the divisional championship pairings to take place at The Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas on Saturday.

In the bantamweight class, John Dodson…

Filed under: ,

The Ultimate Fighter season 14 finale is set after Wednesday night’s episode determined the divisional championship pairings to take place at The Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas on Saturday.

In the bantamweight class, John Dodson advanced to the final and will face TJ Dillashaw, while Diego Brandao navigated his way through the featherweight brackets to meet Dennis Bermudez.

Those were two of the eight pairings announced by the UFC following completion of the series.

Dodson faced heat from his Team Miller group all season long for leaking inside information to the opposition, and fellow semifinalist Johnny Bedford vowed revenge, but Dodson had the last laugh with a spectacular second-round KO.

He’ll face Dillashaw in the finals. Dillashaw had previously defeated Dustin Pague to advance.

Brandao notched his third straight first-round knockout victory in advancing to the final, where he’ll be matched up against Dennis Bermudez. Interestingly, Bermudez also finished all three of his TUF fights thus far, two by TKO and one by submission.

Also taking place on the main card, televised on Spike, is a bantamweight bout pitting the colorful Louis Gaudinot and Johnny Bedford. All three of those bouts, along with a lightweight fight with veteran Yves Edwards against season 13 winner Tony Ferguson will support the main event bout between coaches Michael Bisping and Jason “Mayhem” Miller. The full card is below.

Main Card
Michael Bisping vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller
Diego Brandao vs. Dennis Bermudez
John Dodson vs. T.J. Dillashaw
Yves Edwards vs. Tony Ferguson
Louis Gaudinot vs. Johnny Bedford

Preliminary Card
Stephan Bass vs. Marcus Brimage
John Albert vs. Dustin Pague
Roland Delorme vs. Josh Ferguson
Steven Siler vs. Josh Clopton
Bryan Caraway vs. Dustin Neace

 

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‘TUF 14? Episode 7 Recap: The Easy Road

(Round two of Dillashaw vs. Delorme, via IronForgesIron)

Roland Delorme’s foot is still as red and lumpy as Bruce Vilanch’s face. It still hurts like a bitch, but at least he can’t transmit it to anybody else, whatever it is. And there’s a still a good chance he’ll be cleared to fight, so fingers crossed.

Jason Miller brings in former Chute Boxe coach Rafael Cordeiro — who currently trains Mayhem at Kings MMA in Huntington Beach — to work with the Team Miller guys on striking drills. But Michael Bisping ups the ante, bringing in Tito Ortiz — his coach on TUF 3 — for a ground-and-pound clinic. “It’s not about the money or fame,” Ortiz tells the blue team. “It’s about us being men and seeing who’s the baddest guy alive.” Marcus Brimage is star-struck: “I was like, wow…that’s a big fucking head!”

Brimage and Akira Corassani are still harping on the fact that TJ Dillashaw asked to fight Delorme instead of Dodson, looking for an easy road to the bantamweight semi-finals. So Akira and Diego Brandao hatch a plan to get even with TJ. It’s a pretty simple plan, really — they plan to beat the shit out of him at practice.


(Round two of Dillashaw vs. Delorme, via IronForgesIron)

Roland Delorme’s foot is still as red and lumpy as Bruce Vilanch’s face. It still hurts like a bitch, but at least he can’t transmit it to anybody else, whatever it is. And there’s a still a good chance he’ll be cleared to fight, so fingers crossed.

Jason Miller brings in former Chute Boxe coach Rafael Cordeiro — who currently trains Mayhem at Kings MMA in Huntington Beach — to work with the Team Miller guys on striking drills. But Michael Bisping ups the ante, bringing in Tito Ortiz — his coach on TUF 3 — for a ground-and-pound clinic. “It’s not about the money or fame,” Ortiz tells the blue team. “It’s about us being men and seeing who’s the baddest guy alive.” Marcus Brimage is star-struck: “I was like, wow…that’s a big fucking head!”

Brimage and Akira Corassani are still harping on the fact that TJ Dillashaw asked to fight Delorme instead of Dodson, looking for an easy road to the bantamweight semi-finals. So Akira and Diego Brandao hatch a plan to get even with TJ. It’s a pretty simple plan, really — they plan to beat the shit out of him at practice.

The plan is a success. TJ gets armbarred, leglocked, slammed, punched in the face, etc. It’s an ego-check, no doubt. But finally Dillashaw takes Akira down hard, and Akira walks off nursing his elbow. Still amped up, TJ starts slugging with Marcus, and the sparring session escalates into an all-out war followed by a shouting match. Bisping actually thinks it’s good for their training, but he and Tiki step in to douse the tension and prevent further in-fighting.

Delorme is cleared to bang. His doctor told him not to kick with the swollen foot until the fight, and the illness actually helped keep his weight down. Now, he just needs to knock some rust off before it’s go time.

Mayhem wants to get even for the towing of his car, so he gets some of his blue-collar buddies to haul in highway barricades and block in Tiki’s fancy pickup truck. Tiki sees it, and cries on the inside.

Final pre-fight chatter: Roland had a restaurant outside of Winnipeg, but sold it to pursue his fighting dream. TJ says he’s not one of those typical wrestlers that just wants to lay on you; he wants to have exciting fights. Roland thinks his grappling will be the kryptonite to TJ’s wrestling. Says Dillashaw: “It gives me confidence when guys are scared of my abilities and what I can do.” Delorme has a four-inch reach advantage. Okay? Let’s get to it…

Round 1: Delorme fires a leg kick, Dillashaw catches it and takes him down. Delorme pops up, avoids a guillotine. Dillashaw almost catches another kick. He muscles Delorme to the mat, and starts punching from inside guard. Dillashaw passes to side control and drops some elbows. Delorme spins out and escapes. Nice uppercut from Dillashaw, Delorme returns with strikes. Another takedown from Dillashaw. He tries to take Delorme’s back, Delorme rolls to defend. Heavy ground-and-pound from Dillashaw, who’s landing and smashing Delorme up. Delorme gets up, Dillashaw hangs on to a leg and trips him down. Dillashaw looks for a choke on the ground. Delorme escapes to his feet, lands a body shot and a jab. Dillashaw connects with a right straight. Punch and body kick from Delorme. Dillashaw shoots, lands some knees from clinch. Delorme trips Dillashaw down and tries to work his jits, but Dillashaw reverses and ends the round on top. Big round for TJ.

Round 2: Dillashaw lands a right straight that knocks Delorme on his ass. Dillashaw starts celebrating, but Delorme stays conscious, so Dillashaw has to dive on and continue beating on him. Dillashaw with big elbows and punches from the top. Delorme trying to work his guard, but he’s dazed. Delorme tries to explode out, but Dillashaw stays on him, takes Delorme’s back and ends the fight with a choke. TJ Dillashaw makes it into the bantamweight semis.

Delorme has quite a lump on his face from the punishment Dillashaw was dishing out. He’s emotional. “I wanted it,” he says, choking back tears. “I didn’t get it.”

The score ends up 5-3 in Team Miller’s favor at the end of the quarterfinals, which means that two of his 135-pounders will have to fight each other in the semis. The coaches and Dana White bring in the fighters one by one to get their input.

First, the bantamweights come in. TJ Dillashaw wants “Vanilla Ice,” Dustin Pague, as it would be an exciting fight against somebody with a hole in his game. John Dodson wants TJ, or Johnny Bedford because Bedford fought three of Dodson’s teammates and beat them. Pague and Bedford both want to fight their teammate, Dodson, for being a snake-ass snitch. Mayhem and Bisping both agree that TJ and Dodson are the best 135-pounders, and would produce a great fight. (“Finally we agree on something,” Miller says. “Well, don’t get used to it,” Bisping says.)

The featherweights are brought in next. Bryan Caraway implies that he wants to fight Diego Brandao in the finals, but not in the semis. Unfortunately for him, the coaches both want Caraway vs. Diego and Akira vs. Dennis Bermudez.

The semis are announced. At bantamweight, TJ Dillashaw will meet Dustin Pague, and John Dodson will face Johnny Bedford. Akira says TJ picked the easy road again. Dodson says Bedford is too lanky too deal with him, and Pague compliments Dillashaw on being a “pretty good looking guy.”

At featherweight, it’s Akira Corassani vs. Dennis Bermudez and Diego Brandao vs. Bryan Caraway. Akira says Dennis is scared of his standup. Bermudez wants to pay Akira back for all the pranks in the house. Caraway, as expected, isn’t pleased with his matchup. He thinks him vs. Diego is “the true finals match.”

Says TJ: “Caraway is definitely scared of Diego. I train with Caraway back home and I know how good he is…he has to start believing it too. Diego’s super mentally strong, and Caraway isn’t, and that might be a factor in this fight.”