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By Alvin Benjamin Carter III, MMA Torch Specialist
TThe Ultimate Fighter season 11 finale is live tonight on Spike TV from the Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 11th season's middleweight tournament comes to a close as Kris McCray and Court McGee square off in the finals, and I will be doing live round by round coverage of the fights as they air on Spike TV. Here we go...
Fight 1 - Middleweight bout: Jamie Yager vs. Rich Attonito
Round 1:
Yager attacks early and uses his reach advantage. His hands fly and he lands a leg kick. Yager blitzes Attonito and then they lock up. Yager ends up on the cage and Antonitto gets him on the ground, but Yager gets right back up. Yager with a leg kick. Attonito tries to find his range as they dance a bit. Yager throws a leg kick, and Attonito counters with a cross. Attonito goes for a double leg and gets Yager against the cage. They clinch and Yager lands some elbows and they break. Yager moves in with a left hook, and Attonito counters and connects. Yager throws some leg kicks to aggravate, and the bell rings.
Round 2:
Attonito throws a right, and Yager lunges in with a left hook and a straight. He repeats. Attonito tries to get inside and no luck. Yager is leading with that left hook. Attonito is working at getting inside on Yager. He lands a leg kick on Yager. Attonito with a combo, then a left hook. Yager keeps moving, but Yager is slowing down and Attonito lands a left hook to the head. Attonito is landing kicks and fists. Yager's hands are low and he is starting to look gassed. Attonito is landing counters to the body. Yager shoots, but Attonito sprawls and he takes the back of Yager. Hooks are in as Attonito goes for the rear naked choke. Yager gets out and Attonito has mount, and then takes Yager's back again. He has his hooks in again and Yager is flattened out. Attonito ground and pounds the the flattened Yager and the ref stops it.
Attonito def. Yager by TKO (Punches) R2 - 4:25
Post Fight: Attonito says Yager was fast and explosive in the first round. He can't explain the feeling of having his first official win in the Octagon.
Fight Rating:** This was a bit lackluster. Yager gassed and Attonito took advantage. This is still however a great win for Rich Attonito.
Fight 2 - Lightweight bout: Spencer Fisher vs. Dennis Siver
Round 1:
Siver throws a kick. Fisher lands a leg kick and then throws a left that misses. Fisher hits Siver in the groin with a kick and action stops. They restart. Siver throws a leg kick, and Fisher counters with a head shot. Siver lands a push kick to the face of Fisher. A cut is starting to bleed above Siver's left eye. They dance and Siver pushes forward and lands a hook. They both dance and exchange in spurts. This is looking like a boxing match packed with faints. Siver moves back to the leg kicks, and then another push kick to the face. Fisher throws a high side kick that misses, but he keeps Siver a at a distance. Siver throws a spinning back kick that does not land. Fisher checks a leg kick and the bell rings. It turns out that the cut on Siver came from an accidental headbutt according to the instant replay.
Round 2:
Fisher lands a rear leg roundhouse kick to Siver's head. Siver is fine. He throws a leg kick. They dance some more and then Fisher throws a leg kick. Both strikers are looking for the right moment. Fisher lands another head kick. He is circling to Siver's powerhand, the right hand, and Siver swings with it and misses. Siver is active with leg kicks and lands a glancing push kick to the body. Siver catches a kick and lands a right hand that puts Fisher down. He lets Fisher get back up, and then he lands a series of quick leg kicks. Fisher returns, he is dictating the pace. Siver throws a high kick. Fisher lands a let hand and then he receives a kick to the body.
Round 3:
Both come out eager, and then Fisher gets kicked in the groin and action stops. (Now they are even.) There are dancing and staying active. Siver lands a left hook. Siver goes with a combo, and Fisher counters with a single left. This has been all striking, and Siver is swinging for the fences. Fisher lands a combo, but it is still back and forth and very close to call. Siver throws two high kick with now contact. Fisher connects and gets the cut on Siver's eye to flow again. Siver lands a kick to the body, a left hook, and shoots for a single leg as the bell rings.
Siver def. Fisher by Unanimous Decision
Post Fight: Siver says he prepared for this fight by sparring with left handed fighters.
Fight Rating: **+ The striking was calculated at times and very sloppy at others. There was no ground game until Siver's shot at the very last moment of the fight. It had more action than the previous bout, so that counts for something.
Fight 3 - Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs. Aaron Simpson
Round 1:
They touch gloves. Simpson lands a jab. They dance, and Simpson throws a right hook and pushes Leben to the cage. He takes Leben down and then as Leben tries to get up Simpson pushes him to the cage. Simpson tries to lock in a guillotine, and knees Leben in the head. Then they break. They clinch and now Simpson is on the cage. They exchange hands and knees on the cage. Now Simpson has Leben on the cage. Leben reverses and Simpson goes for the choke agian, and then they break and exchange. Simpson goes for the takedown and they work back to the cage. Simpson finally gets Leben down, but Leben works his way back up. They exchange and shots are landing cleanly form both fighters. Simpson is really putting his right hand on the spot, but Leben's chin is pretty tough. Leben is against the fence while Simpson goes for the single leg takedown. The bell rings.
Round 2:
Leben throws a left leg kick, and Simpson counters with a combo. Simpson goes for another takedown, but Leben gets off the cage. They dance, and Leben runs threw Simpson's fists and Leben throws some big shots. He charges in again with some big shots. They are keeping a decent pace. Leben shrugs Simpson off before a takedown attempt comes. Leben lands an inside leg kick, and another. Now they exchange, and Leben is getting the better of it. He landed a strong left and then pounded out a grounded Simpson. Simpson pops up and staggers across the cage and the ref stops it.
Leben def. Simpson by TKO - R2: 4:17
Post Fight: Leben says that Simpson is definitely a better wrestler so he wanted to get keep it standing up. He also said he knew he needed to get past the first round before e could turn the heat up.
Fight Rating:*** They both went for it, and Leben played it smart. He got Simpson to brawl, and it cost Simpson the fight.
Fight 4 - Light Heavyweight bout: Matt Hamill vs. Keith Jardine
Round 1:
Jardine is landing early. They clinch on the cage and Hamill dirty boxes. Hamill charges forward, but Jardine looks ready. Jardine's jab is flying. He is landing leg kicks and short combos.
*Lost Reception*
The venue I was watching the fights at lost satellite reception during Round 1 of Hamill vs. Jardine. I will list fight results for the remaining fights minus the round by round coverage do to the reception problem. (This also happened in a completely different location while I was watching UFC 115 just as a fan; not covering the fights. This is the only reason why I prefer cable over satellite.)
Hamill def. Jardine by Majority Decision
This is a tough loss for Keith Jardine. One has to wonder if he will be able to stay in UFC, or if he should see if Bellator or Strikeforce has any openings.
Fight 5 - Middleweight bout: Court McGee vs. Kris McCray
Court McGee is TUF's Season 11 Ultimate Fighter! He started to cry as he thanked everyone who has helped him, and he dedicated his win to Chuck Liddell.
That wraps up an interrupted night of fights. There will be more coverage of the evenings final two bouts, so please keep an eye out.
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