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The Ultimate Fighter 7: Team Rampage VS. Team Griffin
As the dust from one of the most intense UFC Fight Nights on record was settling, the premier of arguably the most anticipated season of The Ultimate Fighter show yet was delivered to MMA fans. Immediately following the fight card the TUF show topped off an insanely spectacular evening of fights to say the very least.
This season of TUF will be showcasing the coaching talents (or possible lack thereof), of UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and the number one contender, for that very belt and light-heavyweight winner from Season 1 of the Ultimate Fighter, Forrest Griffin. Both men have seemingly been enjoying their respective careers, especially, as of late, with both men scoring victories over a who’s who list of international top-level competition. Griffin, scored a 3rd round rear naked-choke victory over the highly touted favorite from the Pride organization, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. By doing so he earned himself his current number one contender status. Rampage of course is the only man to K.O. “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell (in the first round, no less). Rampage also earned a hard fought decision victory over “Dangerous” Dan Henderson at UFC 75 unifying both the UFC Light-Heavyweight and Pride Middleweight belts.
Even before the rolling of the opening credits the newly re-vamped show concept was shaping up to be an excellent treat indeed. From the outset, 32 Middleweights would be vying for one of only 16 beds in the TUF house. This was looking to be an explosive season from the get-go. As the hour began it was clear that Dana and company would never fail at pleasing MMA fans everywhere by bringing top quality prime-time entertainment to fight fans on Wednesday nights.
The 32 fighters once again, seemed to be from all walks of life following in the traditional volatility of previous seasons. This season would certainly not be like any other before it. But alas, this was not entirely the case. The confusion set in between the contenders as to why there was an over abundance of talent, as opposed to previous seasons. It was obvious that the TUF concept had truly been turned upside down. With the coach’s evaluations at the top of the list as always, this would show us the first change to the overall procedure of the show. Additional changes consisted of fighters having to weigh in, and having them fight almost immediately after their arrival, narrowing the cast down to 16 final competitors.
The first of these elimination bouts would pit Prince McLean against Team Quest fighter Mike Dolce (who is also the holder of the fastest knockout in IFL history, thus far). From the start both fighters showed a strong will to succeed. There was an impressive exchange of hands which would end up with Dolce slamming McLean to the mat with Dolce gaining side-control. As McLean scrambled to his feet Dolce landed a vicious shot scoring the K.O. victory in the first round.
Fight two of the hour saw hopefuls Cale Yarbough and John Clarke both aiming to lay their heads in Vegas for the duration of the show. But of course, as always, only one would emerge triumphant from the Octagon. In the beginning of round 1 both men seemed to be utilizing the feeling out process. Soon after both men ended up on the canvas with Clarke working heavily for the Kimura, he eventually gained back control, losing it not long after. After a valiant arm-bar attempt Clarke seemed gassed leaving him open to a flurry of punches that would gain Yarbough the T.K.O. victory.
The third elimination fight of the night showcased Amir Sadollah vs. Steve Byrnes in what was probably the most technically sound ground battle of the evening. With several decent submission attempts from both men, Sadollah, would begin the fight with two solid body kicks, forcing Byrnes to shoot for a takedown. Byrnes achieved the takedown after putting forth a considerable degree of effort. Sadollah would maintain some form of guard until executing a sweep, narrowly escaping an arm-bar from the bottom soon after. With Byrnes once again on top in Sadollah’s guard, he would easily pull out of a rather lack-luster attempt at a triangle choke, forcing Sadollah to block a barrage of punches until the end of the first round. The second round would see both men rolling furiously about the canvas. The fight would only end after Sadollah, executing an arm-bar, forced Byrnes to tap out with Amir being declared the winner.
Out of the four fights that were briefly highlighted in the hour, only three were of some noteworthiness with CB Dollaway pounding out a tremendously quick T.K.O. victory over David Bagett. Additionally Dante Rivera gained a win by Kimura over John Wood, and Nick Klein choke locked on Coach Griffin’s friend David Newborn with a beautiful Kata-Gatame. Paul Bradley also picked up an unimpressive decision victory to gain his spot in the house.
The final fight of the night pitted a close friend of “Rampage”, Dave Roberts, against younger Jeremy May. An early flurry from May, would force Roberts against the cage. Robert seemed to be wobbling a bit already. Continuing to capitalize on his early advantage, May would relentlessly pursue Roberts, forcing him to go for the takedown. Ending up in May’s guard, Roberts would soon succumb to an arm-lock that increasingly looked like a triangle choke once all was said and done. Indeed, May put on a performance worthy of main event status, finishing off Roberts with great haste and skill.
As the show came to a close, I was left pondering how much better this season could get. But only time will tell how it all will turn out, especially with this season being so different from all the others. It is hard to even pick a favorite to win, at this point because there is still another show in which the other 16 fighters will showcase their skills and, hopefully gain entry to the TUF house. If I had to pick now though, I would definitely choose either Dolce or May, for these two, to me, put on the best performances of the night. I personally haven’t seen May fight until his initial appearance on TUF, but I know Dolce has raw talent, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he might be the one who lands the vicious knockout that was foreshadowed in the end credits. But as I said before, only time will tell. I’m looking forward to next week, as I’m sure you all do as well. OttO
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