Contributors/Columnists
SHAWN ENNIS
JASON BENT
MATT PELKEY
ALEX WILLIAMS
JED GOODMAN
FRANK HYDEN
JASON BENT
JOHN TAYLOR
MAYNARD SWEENEY
MARC PATCHING
MIKE JARSULIC
BRUCE MITCHELL APPLY TO JOIN OUR TEAM
UFC TUF Finale 7
June 21, 2008
Las Vegas, NV
The Palms
UFC Middleweight Division
Matthew Riddle defeated Dante Rivera by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Round 1 - Early in the round, Rivera landed a few knees from a front headlock. Riddle escaped and used the cage to control the clinch. Herb Dean broke the fighters up from a stalemate. After another clinch in the fence, Rivera landed a knee to Riddle's forehead. Near the end of the round, Riddle finally succeeded in getting Rivera to the mat and was able to land a few elbows on the ground. 10-9 Riddle.
Round 2 - Riddle got another takedown to start the second round and began attacking Rivera's legs with cut kicks while he was in the downed guard. After Riddle let Rivera to his feet, both fighters clinched in the fence. In the clinch, neither fighter had an advantage, but Riddle was obviously the stronger fighter. Rivera slipped throwing an overhand right and ended up mounted. Riddle landed some strikes on the mat, but gave up the position by attempting an armbar and Rivera ended up in his closed guard. A triangle choke attempt by Riddle comes close to finishing, but Rivera escaped as time expired. 10-9 Riddle.
Round 3 - Rivera looks tired coming out for the third round. Riddle lands a nice knee to the body and gets another takedown. Rivera defended using a rubber guard, but Riddle passed to half guard. After eating a elbow from the bottom, Rivera escaped to his feet. Riddle got another takedown using a whizzer and ended up in rubber guard for a second time. Horrible standup by Herb Dean after only seconds on the ground. Rivera attempted a standing kimura, but ended up getting mounted again with second remaining in the fight. 10-9 Riddle.
Analysis: Matt Riddle did a nice job throughout the fight of controlling the action in both the clinch and on the mat. His wrestling ability allowed him to keep the fight standing and hold the dominant positions on the ground. More importantly, it allowed him to avoid working from the bottom which would have heavily favored Rivera. While Riddle is still very green inside the cage, he earned his first win over a strong veteran fighter.
UFC Lightweight Division
Spencer Fisher defeated Jeremy Stephens by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Round 1 - Fisher got the first takedown and began to work from Stephens' closed guard. Both fighter were active on the ground with Fisher striking from the top and Stephens threatening with an armbar from the bottom. Fisher passed to half guard after fighting off a triangle choke and landed some elbows from the position. Eventually, Fisher transitioned to full mount and got Stephens' back, but Stephens was able to escape and recover guard. Fisher has an ugly cut on his right forearm. 10-9 Fisher.
Round 2 - Stephens landed some nice inline elbows when he had Fisher clinched against the cage. After escaping the clinch Fisher landed with a few combinations. Stephens got a bodylock, but was unsuccessful at getting a takedown and the scramble ended up with Fisher in side control. On the mat, Stephens recovered guard continued to take punishment from the bottom. As time expired, Stephens forced a standup and got a takedown of his own with a double leg. 10-9 Fisher.
Round 3 - Stephens began to find his distance and land with strikes from the outside. Fisher got caught in a guillotine choke while attempting a double leg, but escape by passing to side control. He was able to obtain full mount, but gave up the position for half guard. The fight returned to the neutral position and Stephens got a takedown to end up in Fisher's guard. From the top, Stephens began to inflict damage with some ground and pound. As time expired, Stephens had a tight guillotine choke locked in while Fisher was trapped in his guard. 10-9 Stephens.
Analysis: Exciting fight that featured a good performance by both fighters. I was somewhat surprised that Fisher did not seem to utilize his grappling advantage. For example, he was satisfied to give up the full mount to work from half guard in the third round. The fight was also odd in that Stephens did not seem to have much of a wrestling advantage as I would have expected. Fisher is known for having poor takedown defense, especially when it comes to lower body takedowns. The guillotine choke applied by Stephens at the end of the third round looked close to finishing the fight.
UFC Welterweight Division
Diego Sanchez defeated Luigi Fioravanti by TKO at 4:07 of Round 3
Round 1 - Long feeling out process to start the fight. Sanchez landed a hard uppercut and followed up with a flying knee while Fioravanti was stunned. Fioravanti is doing a nice job of stuffing Sanchez's takedown attempts. However, he is not having much luck winning the standup battle. Uneventful round. 10-9 Sanchez.
Round 2 - Fioravanti looks to have twisted his ankle early in the round. Sanchez dropped Fioravanti with a right cross and the fight went to the ground. Fioravanti defended well and brought the fight back to the feet without taking much damage. Sanchez staggered him again with another right cross and fought off a Fioravanti takedown attempt with a standing kimura. From the outside, Fioravanti landed with a combination of hooks as time was expiring in the round. 10-9 Sanchez.
Round 3 - Neither fighter did much at the beginning of the third round. Sanchez was very wild in chasing Fioravanti around the cage looking for a takedown. After a scramble, Sanchez got Fioravanti's back, but was unable to maintain the position. A left roundhouse kick by Sanchez staggers Fioravanti. Sanchez follows up with a flying knee and some ground and pound to force Josh Rosenthal to stop the fight.
Analysis: While the fight had its moments, it was not particularly exciting. I was very impressed with Fioravanti's takedown defense throughout the bout. However, Sanchez was able win the battle on the feet with a very unorthodox attack. Although Rogan and Goldberg talked up Sanchez's improved striking throughout the match, he is still very sloppy at times. He had trouble using strikes to work his way inside and he seemed satisfied to allow the fight to degenerate into a brawl. However, Sanchez's roundhouse kicks looked great in terms of height, power, and accuracy.
UFC Middleweight Division
Amir Sadollah defeated CB Dollaway by submission at 3:02 of Round 1
Round 1 - Dollaway got the first takedown and began working from Sadollah's full guard. Although Dollaway was able to pass to side control, Sadollah was able to force a scramble to recover guard. Dollaway was having success landing strikes by stacking Sadollah in his guard, but he left his arm extended and was forced to tap to an armbar from the bottom. Dollaway complained about the stoppage. However, the replay showed that he did signal the submission.
Analysis: Another great performance by Sadollah in picking up his first professional victory. While CB Dollaway is a tough wrestler, he is very one-dimensional, especially when it comes to ground and pound technique and submission defense.
UFC Middleweight Division
Kendall Grove defeated Evan Tanner by split decision (28-29, 30-26, 30-26)
Round 1 - Tanner immediately went to the clinch to negate Grove's reach advantage from the outside. Tanner got a takedown straight to side control, but he was unsuccessful in holding Grove on the mat. Grove landed a hard knee and an inline elbow that cut Tanner above his left eye. As Tanner was attempting to finish a single leg, Grove landed a flying knee. From the bodylock, Tanner changed levels and got a takedown with a double leg. Grove got back to his feet and scored a takedown of his own. Tanner reversed the position, but was nailed in the face by an upkick thrown from Grove's downed guard. 10-9 Grove.
Round 2 - Grove landed a hard right cross early in the round and followed up with two knees from the Thai plumm. Tanner got in deep on a single leg, but was unable to finish. Grove continued to land the jumping knee off of Tanner's single leg attempts. Finally, Tanner was able to finish the takedown and began working from Grove's full guard. Grove used the cage to get back to his feet and delivered an inline elbow that stunned Tanner. As the round comes to a close, Grove begins picking Tanner apart on his feet with knees and roundhouse kicks. 10-9 Grove.
Round 3 - Grove begins the third round by controlling the distance and landing from the outside. Tanner clinches against the fence and fights to work his way inside. They break and Tanner begins to land from the outside with cut kicks before forcing another clinch in the fence. In the final minute, both fighters went all out in trying to finish their opponent on their feet. 10-9 Grove.
Analysis: Throughout the fight, Grove overwhelmed Tanner on his feet by using his reach and making Tanner work hard for takedowns. On the ground, Grove does a great job of cage walking to get the fight back to a standing position. Tanner also looked good in the fight, but is well past his prime and can no longer compete with middleweights at this level. Al Lefkowitz was the judge that scored the bout in Tanner's favor, which is inexcusable since Grove dominated every aspect of the fight.
UFC Middleweight Division
Drew McFedries defeated Marvin Eastman by TKO at 1:08 of Round 1
Round 1 - McFedries stunned Eastman early with a hard left hand and Eastman was unable to recover. Although he was stunned, Eastman tried to slow the pace of the fight by shooting in for a single leg, but he took a lot of damage and Steve Mazagatti stepped in to stop the fight.
Analysis: Good performance by McFedries. Marvin Eastman has always had his most success when he can control the pace of the fight, but McFedries came out hard and never allowed him the opportunity to implement his usual gameplan.
Prelim Results:
UFC Middleweight Division
Rob Kimmons defeated Rob Yundt by submission at 3:58 of Round 1
UFC Middleweight Division
Dean Lister defeated Jeremy Horn by submission at 3:52 of Round 1
UFC Welterweight Division
Matt Brown defeated Matt Arroyo by TKO at 3:40 of Round 2
UFC Middleweight Division
The Tim Credeur vs. Cale Yarbrough bout has been canceled
UFC Welterweight Division
Dustin Hazelett defeated Josh Burkman by submission at 4:46 of Round 2
