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TV Review: The Ultimate Fighter 2 - Season Finale

November 5 2005, 8:59pm

A warm welcome to Blogcritics.org readers that may be visiting this humble site for part 2 of The Ultimate Fighter 2 season finale. I summarized the show’s action and brought up its shortcomings in part 1 at Blogcritics.org. In this review, I will examine the fights in more detail. Hope you enjoy the anlaysis and share with me your perspectives!

Kenny ‘KenFlo’ Florian vs. Kit ‘Havoc’ Hope When an accomplished striker got pitted against a talented grappler, it promised to be an enjoyable match. During the promotional photos, it was funny to see some unconventional poses with Kit giving Kenny a ‘titty twister’ while Kenny pointed to his elbow, as if saying “watch for it!” In round 1, Kit landed powerful strikes, elbows and rib-crushing knees in the clinch. Kenny’s only hope was to tie up Kit and look for a takedown where he had more advantage. Kit remained strong and was able to stand on his feet through some adequate defense. Inevitably, the first take down occurred with Kenny gaining side mount and transitioned quickly into a full guard. Kit was much stronger than Kenny and was able to work back into a stalemate. Kenny’s mistake was not being patient, working for position to ride up higher on Kit’s body before posturing up. Sitting on Kit’s hip area gave Kit leverage to power up and created space to maneuver. Sometimes, the side mount can be better than the full mount because you can control more of the body. After the second take down, Kenny was more patient and worked until Kit was tired. He than gave it every shot he could and slapped on an arm-bar. Kit tapped out only a split second after bell rang. To correct that lost opportunity, Kenny, like a lion sensing the kill, went after a visibly injured Kit Cope. A rear naked chokehold seconds after the second round began made Kit tap out and awarded the fight to Kenny. Joe ‘Daddy’ Stevenson vs. Luke ‘The Silent Assassin’ Cummo The first pick vs. the last pick! This was a classic striker vs. grappler match-up again. Luke’s defiant tagline was “I was the last person picked, how do you like me now?” Luke seems ready as he came into the ring in a bushido/swat assassin costume. Prior to the fight however, I lost it listening to Joe ‘Daddy’ proclaim to everyone, “Luke, I’m your father!”. Makes me wonder who gave Joe his nickname, was it the UFC Joe displayed a beautiful Jiu-Jitsu hip toss and got round one rolling, so to speak. Luke wisely controlled Joe’s head and tied him up. Joe powered into a side mount while Luke wisely positioned himself to the middle of the ring. For a while, things looked dangerous as Joe threatened an arm-lock but could not follow through with the idea. The two fighters broke-up when Joe fell back, barely missing an ankle lock. Again, Joe obtained side mount position and Luke pushed away from the fence. Luke was fighting a smart fight and had all his senses with him. Luke had been on the defense thus far as Joe was dropping elbows. Ideally, you would want to be the aggressor in case of a judge’s decision and Luke had to find a way to break out! Luke created space between him and Joe to pull into a half guard. When Joe mounted him, Luke did all the smart things to minimize damage. He hugged Joe tightly to lessen the effects of Joe’s blows. It still did not prevent Joe from landing some heavy elbows. In round 2, Luke’s pinpoint right hand rocked Joe Stevenson. Joe bought time for himself by taking Luke down. In the half-guard, Luke tilted his head away from Joe’s elbow. Joe got a full mount early in the round aand it was bleak for the assassin. Luke hip-heisted out but Joe masterfully got back into a full mount and almost finished with an arm-bar. Luke pulled out and walked away defiantly as if saying “you’re not getting me that easily”. Joe touched hands with Luke out of respect. Both fighters recognized the skill levels of their opponent. It was a great match thus far! Joe seemed to be tired, his activity level decreased. Luke wailed away and managed to get on top but he did not have any advantage on the ground. Joe was sucking air as he was held down by a stronger, more conditioned Luke who. Being of a smaller frame, all Joe had to do was shrimp up and grab Luke’s long legs to generate a stalemate. Luke worked very hard to get shots in but realized the futility and walked away. Joe having recovered slightly while on the ground, he shot in with conviction. Reversal after reversal, but what the judges will remember are those powerful slams that Joe lays down on Luke. I did not agree with the judges’ decision. This fight should have gone to overtime. Nothing was really resolved in 3 rounds, and when the prize is a six-figure contract, it should be up to the fighters to decide the result. I’ve seen championship rounds with less quality action. The look of elation and disappointment sharply written on the respective fighters’ face as the Michael Buffer announced the judges’ decision. Dana White called it the “Stephan Bonner and Forrest Griffith” fight of this year, but only on the ground. Though Dana wasn’t so quick to be generous with a second contract as he did last year. What a shame! The light at the end of the tunnel is that the UFC have fully utilized their leverage with the contestants. Kenny Florian and Nate Quarry are too shining examples. I look forward to seeing both Joe and Luke fight again in a future championship match.

Rashad Evans vs. Brad ‘Hillbilly Heartthrob’ Imes I like both Rashad and Brad. Brad is a like a new-born baby, knowing that he is new to the game, because he had only been doing mixed martial arts for approximately one year. Rashad had character, and had been overlooked by many, yet dominated by none. Rashad was dwarfed by the presence of towering Brad Imes. Initially, Brad used his size and strength effectively through the use of the Muay-Thai clinch, but made awkward knee attempts. Rashad Evans neutralized Brad’s reach advantage with his quickness, he dropped Brad with a flurry of shots ending with a right hook. Though Brad was hurt, Rashad could not finish what he started on the ground. I had been impressed with Brad’s ground game throughout the series. Round 2 is a stand-up affair with both fighters testing each other’s chin. Rashad was still landing his hooks and I feel if Brad was more polished and more compact with his punches and hooks, the story would have been different. Brad’s punches only carry his body weight but not much more power than that. Rashad had knocked down Brad twice by the middle of the third round. The two knockdowns was the key to swaying the judges’ vote for the split decision in favour of Rashad. Diego ‘The Nightmare’ Sanchez vs. Nick Diaz The bad blood between Diego and Diaz came to a head tonight. Like every one of his fights, Diego is super-aggressive, cutting off the ring. Though Diego assumes control on top, he could not do as earlier promised - to easily pass Nick’s guard. Diego misses a few punches that if landed could knock any man out. The two fighters are very comfortable on the ground and tumble out and into each other looking to reverse the advantage. Nick remained at the bottom most of the time, trying to avoid Diego’s powerful punches. Diego had to remain perfect for the next two rounds because every step of the way, Nick threatened to end this fight if Diego slipped up. Second round starts with one of those age-old martial arts lesson. Don’t force yourself to kick high if you cannot! Nick tried to do so and landed flat on his butt. To his credit, Nick was still dangerous as he attempted arm-bars and triangle submissions but Diego was too slippery and strong for that strategy to work. Diego was getting smarter, instead of looking for the knockout blow, he was slowly wearing Nick down with body shots. An audience stirring knee and full mount opportunity was lost to Nick’s half guard leaving the second round with no resolution. Nick cuts Diego coming out of the corners. Looking tired, Diego had to try three times before successfully shooting in for the takedown. Blood from the cuts decorated both fighters’ bodies like medals of Honor. However, the cuts were not going to stop the fight this late in the fight though, and it has not been a stand-up fight where cuts would matter. Diego wins the decision leaving Nick Diaz unsatisfied and still disgruntled. Can anyone already see the grudge match in the future?