...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By Rich Hansen, MMA Torch Columnist
The Ultimate Fighter first aired in 2005. It was designed to save the UFC, and to create stars. And of course, it did both. And for several seasons, the show continued to create stars. Not just good fighters, but legitimate stars. Fighters from four of the first five seasons have fought for UFC gold, with Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans each becoming UFC championships. Season three, while not yet breeding any championship contenders, unearthed the notorious Michael Bisping. Even season 14 in 2011 bred a title contender in John Dodson.
All in all, there's still clearly room for The Ultimate Fighter in today's MMA world. Maybe we need to stop telling the world Uriah Hall and Felipe Nover are the next Anderson Silva. Maybe we need to stop expecting every champion to become Rashad Evans. There's no shame in developing into the next Ryan Bader, Mac Danzig, or Nathan Diaz. Simply put, The Ultimate Fighter gives exposure and a chance to fighters who might not otherwise get that exposure, and there's nothing wrong with that.
On Saturday night, FX aired the seventeenth season's finale show. Atop the card was Urijah Faber vs. Scott Jorgensen, but that fight felt almost like a swing fight after the two fights that preceded it. The finale fight between Anderson Silva, Jr. and Kelvin Gastelum, and the women's bout between Miesha Tate and Cat Zigano set the building on fire, maybe at least in part because they both had TUF ramifications. The winner of Hall vs. Gastellum was to be awarded a low paying contract that binds them for years, not to mention a motorcycle they aren't allowed to ride (thank you very much, Mister Aldo). And of course the winner of Tate vs. Zigano would be coaching the next season of TUF opposite Ronda Rousey, not to mention earning a title shot at the conclusion of the season.
The Ultimate Fighter builds stars, but sometimes not the stars that the pre-defined narrative would hope. If the UFC were scripted like professional wrestling, Uriah Hall would have continued his KO streak with an uppercut for the ages, and Miesha Tate would have defeated Cat Zigano with a first round armbar submission in order to set up her season with Ronda Rousey. Instead of the narrative, we've got Kelvin Gastelum who should immediately drop to welterweight, and Cat Zigano who has the name value of Jason Helman. No, I don't know who Jason Helman is either, that's kind of my point. On to the fights...
- Urijah Faber did what Urijah Faber does in order to choke out Scott Jorgensen in the fourth round. Unfortunately, the crowd was completely burnt out by the two fights that came before, which is their loss because Faber and Jorgensen put on a technical clinic. Faber was quicker, Jorgensen was stronger. Jorgensen was able to take the fight down, but Faber thrashed him more often than not once the fight got down there. Ultimately, unlike the Gastelum and Zigano fights, it was a meaningless fight. It was a fantastic fight, but still meant nothing in the end. Faber is still the #1 BW behind Cruz and Barao. Jorgensen still beats who he's supposed to beat and loses to the elite. Had this fight been canceled on Saturday morning, other than entertainment for the fans and paychecks for the fighters, nothing on the UFC landscape would have changed. That said, I loved this fight, and it's a shame it'll be lost to history due to the more meaningful (and excellent) fights that it followed.
- Kelvin Gastelum, age 21, defeated Anderson Silva, Jr. 2, to win the most reason installment of The Ultimate Fighter. Gastelum fought totally unafraid, and it was his brain and his heart that won him this fight. Hall is the better athlete with the greater talent level, but he fought as if he didn't belong in the cage with the peasant that the UFC dared to put in front of him. Hall, sorry, Anderson Silva, Jr. 2, had his moments where he showed the world he's a better talent, but he was unwilling to exert 100% of what he can be. Gastelum has a bright future, but he's going to have to drop to 170 eventually.
- Cat Zigano vs. Miesha Tate was one of my favorite fights of all0time. My god, what a clash that was. They just never stopped coming forward. When the fight was on the canvas, they showed more violence than almost any Julian Lane, Junie Browning, Chris Leben stand-and-bang specials. Tate was relentless with her takedowns. Zigano was technically flawed but strong as hell. Zigano has holes in her standup defense, she doesn't know her escapes as instinctively as she should. But she's a wonderful athlete, strong as a bull, and she didn't tire out. I can't due justice to it, so just watch the fight again, and daydream about the possibility of what Zigano vs. Rousey *might* become.
Miesha Tate claimed that the first of the finishing knees occurred while she was down. She's right. Tate absolutely had the tip of her left middle fingernail on the canvas when Zigano began her onslaught of knees. So, according to Tate, because she hasn't had a manicure in the last 6 months, Zigano should have been DQ'd? Can we please get rid of this loophole in the rules? The idea of a fingernail on the canvas making knees ot the head illegal is ridiculous, and credit Kim Winslow for not falling for it.
- If we're going to bitch about fouls that go uncalled, how about Travis Browne? In his first round KO of Gabriel Gonzaga, Browne grabbed the fence (unnoticed by commentary and the referee), and then landed either three or four out of six elbows to the back of Gonzaga's head. Chris Tognoni missed the fence grab, and he didn't seem to realize that the part of your body just above your spine is by ALL definitions, wait for it, the back of the head.
At the 0:51 mark, Browne landed two elbows to the back of Gonzaga's head. Tognoni audibly told Browne to watch the back of the head.
At the 1:02 mark Browne grabbed the fence. Tognoni audibly yelled at Browne to not grab the fence.
Between the 1:06 mark to the 1:10 mark, Browne landed 6 elbows to Gonzaga's head. Some of them hit the ear, some of them hit the back of Gonzaga's head. Even after being warned, Tognoni didn't have the stones to follow up on his earlier warning for the same offense.
Even if you wish to (incorrectly) debate that only the final elbow was on the back of the head, and that Gonzaga was already on queer street by that point, the sixth and final elbow (which was undisputably illegal) should be disregarded as such since Gonzaga was also out. In short, illegal strikes should be allwed if the fighter is already in the most vulnerable state possible; unconsciousness. By that logic, why stop there? How about a billy club? Maybe Browne can whack him with a club. After all, illegal strikes are okay once the other fighter is unconscious. Maybe Browne can leave the cage and set Gonzaga's house on fire too? Where does it stop? Again, this is only working under the false premise that only the sixth elbow was illegal.
OK, all of that aside, Travis Browne has savage power who is as dangerous on his feet as anyone in the division. He won that fight as much because he kept Gonzaga from taking him down as he did from his incredible finishing elbows. He is to be commended for what he did, as no one, not even this writer, think those illegal shots were illegal intentionally. After Roy Nelson dispatches of Cheick Kongo, Nelson vs. Browne would be great.
- Bubba McDaniel fought Gilbert Smith.
- OK, so not every article can end on a high note.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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