Saturday, December 03, 2011

The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale: Picks & Prognostications


The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale
December 3, 2011
The Pearl at The Palms Hotel and Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada

Bear with me as we plow through another TUF Finale filled with the disappointment of another cliche season. Besides TJ Dillashaw, I see nothing worth liking which does not include the "Master of Thugjitsu," Yves Edwards, who has come to add some needed talent to this card. The "Main Event" features decent Middleweights who are annoying personalities and noted MMA cheaters. Enjoy.

Main Card (Spike TV):
Michael Bisping (21-3) vs. Jason Miller (24-7) The "Count" returns from illegally kneeing Jorge Rivera and spitting on his corner man and thus getting a celebrated coaching spot on TUF yet again. Bisping catches a lot of hate and rightly so, but you can't deny the guy has gone 11-3 for Zuffa defeating a decent list of names including, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Dan Miller, Denis Kang, Chris Leben, and Matt Hamill. "Mayhem" has been wandering the out lands jumping between DREAM and Strikeforce losing to the likes of Ronaldo Souza twice (rematch should be a DQ not a NC), Jake Shields, and even Frank Trigg while not facing threatening fighters who he could beat mixed in. Considering Miller's game is grappling guys on the ground, Mike will use his very good guard game to rise when needed and easily hunt and peck Jason when striking. It may be close and the longer this potential 5 round fight the more I will worry about Bisping's gas tank, but, the "Count" should amass enough points to near that controversial title shot while "Mayhem" goes on to talk a lot but do very little to ruffle the Middleweight division.
WINNER-Michael Bisping by Decision

TUF 14 Featherweight Final
Diego Brandao vs. Dennis Bermudez Brandao just came out like a whirling dervish blitzing people before the bell finished its chime. Dennis can take a beating and survive to win on points, which is the exact opposite skill set needed to force Diego to fight more than five minutes at a time. Dennis just ain't the guy to do it.
WINNER-Diego Brandao by Rd.1 TKO

TUF 14 Bantamweight Final
TJ Dillashaw vs. John Dodson TJ was the only bright spot on another boring eye rolling season taking care of business with his staunch Team Alpha Male wrestling. Dodson was the Judas spark plug who is super fast, super annoying, and is trained by Greg Jackson. TJ must weather the early storm dragging the cardio suspect John into deep waters and forcing Dodson to make his standard mistakes.
WINNER-TJ Dillashaw by Decision

Tony Ferguson (12-2) vs. Yves Edwards (41-17-1) The "Master of Thugjitsu" has gone 3-1 in his latest UFC run while looking to put the final stamp on a vaunted career. Tony is the new rising star from TUF 13 who found his long range at 155 putting two men down in one round each. Ferguson has good solid power and will touch Yves up on the feet if he doesn't KO him. The wily veteran needs to get things to the floor and confuse the rookie to stay competitive in this fight. I want Edwards to pull one out again but the younger fresher rookie is going to maul him all night.
WINNER-Tony Ferguson by Rd.2 TKO

Louis Gaudinot vs. Johnny Bedford We know Louis as the green haired kid while "Brutal" gave inspiration to the meth community. Gaudinot will out heart Johnny but he's a Flyweight in the wrong division. Bedford by length and size.
WINNER-Johnny Bedford by Decision

Prelims (Facebook):
Marcus Brimage vs. Stephen Bass "Brim" reps ATT while "Bigfish" comes in a sweet 10-0. Marcus has zero wrestling in his game but his team should improve that and Bass has a bit of an inflated record having faced nobody.
WINNER-Marcus Brimage by Decision

Dustin Pague vs. John Albert The "Disciple" showed some decent chops hanging with TJ Dillashaw using his kickboxing and length, which he will do again with ease.
WINNER-Dustin Pague by Rd.2 TKO

Roland Delorme vs. Josh Ferguson In one of the least important bouts of the evening which is saying a ton, Delorme by L&P.
WINNER-Roland Delorme by Decision

Steven Siler vs. Josh Clopton The "Gentleman" rolling with the Skrap Pack comes in to face the "Micah Miller Killer." Siler showed me something against the dreaded S.S. and I'll give him the nod here as well.
WINNER-Stephen Siler by Decision

Bryan Caraway vs. Dustin Neace "Kid Lightening" trains with Team Alpha Male and if Justin hasn't done anything in 41 pro fights, he won't do it now.
WINNER-Bryan Caraway by Decision

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