The Ultimate Fighter
The Ultimate Fighter 20 Report 12/10: Grauer's final episode breakdown and quick season thoughts
Dec 11, 2014 - 3:45:10 PM The Ultimate Fighter 20 Report 12/10: Grauer's final episode breakdown and quick season thoughts

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By: Yael Grauer, MMATorch Guest Contributor

Last night was the final episode of TUF 20, which had two semifinal bouts to determine who'd get a shot at the strawweight belt tomorrow.

First up was Jessica Penne vs. Carla Esparza, and the two would not look at each other, training on opposite ends of the gym out of mutual respect. As expected, Carla hoped to take the fight to the ground, but then stand up so as not to get triangled or otherwise submitted by Penne. Unexpected was Carla's newfound boxing prowess. Although Penne worked her jabs and occasional hooks, Esparza had nice combinations, decent footwork, and a nice rhythm throughout the bout along. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 Esparza.

Next up we see lone Team Melendez fighter Rose Namajunas face Randa Markos, who nobody ever expected to make it this far. First, though, Randa gets to call her sister back home. Then we're straight into the fight, with Markos landing punches and Namajunas scoring a takedown, ending up in mount, and relentlessly working for a kimura which Markos could not escape. It's Esparza vs. Namajunas for the championship.

Any deep thoughts as to what we've learned this season? I've already said in the past that this division is stacked, and although this season was somewhat catty and dramatic and annoying to watch, with Heather Jo Clark, Randa Markos, and Tecia Torres garnering the most sympathy, Joanne Calderwood and Alex Chambers showing considerable class, and Angela Magana, Felice Herrig, Carla Esparza, and to some extent Bec Rawlings and Rose Namajunas coming across as mean girls, if not outright bullies at times.

But fighting isn't about being "nice," and individual fighters' talent and ability seems completely unrelated to their personalities or cliques or whatnot. In addition, this drama seemed a lot less manufactured than the overhyped Rousey/Tate debacles have been, and we get to keep watching people mainstream America (or at least dedicated MMA fans) now kinda know.

As for the predictions for the title… well, I'll leave that up to Jamie.

Yael Grauer is a freelance writer, you can find more of her at yaelwrites.com/blog