Let's break down Saturday's finale of The Ultimate Fighter Season 8, which was filled with drama, great fights and weird nicknames.
Sportsnet will be broadcasting "The Ultimate Fighter Finale: Team Nog vs. Team Mir" live, from The Pearl, in Las Vegas, Nev., where two fighters will be awarded a six-figure contract each, with the pre-eminent mixed martial arts organization on the planet -- the UFC.
Season eight of the popular series was filled with drama, sprinkled with some great fights and topped with some of the weirdest nicknames in all of professional sports. From the recycled "Sugar" and "Diamond" to "The Cotton Mouth of the South," let's take a look at each bout on the card.
Phillipe "The Filipino Assassin" Nover (6-0-1) Vs. Efrain "Hecho en México" Escudero (11-0)
While UFC President Dana White has labeled Phillipe Nover as "the next Anderson Silva," I personally don't see it… yet. Based on the limited amount of fight footage I have seen, I will say he was the best the show had to offer. Nover packs a serious punch and his ground game looks to be slick. His opponent, Efrain Escudero has a solid wrestling base but seems to lack the speed and power required to stop Nover. Both men will enter this bout undefeated in mixed martial arts. Escudero will exit with a loss. I see Nover winning by TKO in round 2.
Ryan "Darth" Bader (8-0) Vs. Vinicius "Vinny" Magalhaes (3-2-1)
If you haven't noticed, Magalhaes has quite the chip on his shoulder. He exudes confidence to the point of cockiness, but one thing is for certain: if he takes a fight down to the ground, he can put his money where his mouth is. It remains to be seen where this fight will end up, but according to Vinny, he's going to punch Bader in the face so many times that Bader will fall back to his wrestling. In doing so, Vinny is hoping Bader will go for the takedown, in hope to put him on his back. This is where Vinny wants to be, this is where I believe the fight will go and this is where Vinny will submit Bader by triangle choke in round 2.
Kevin Burns (8-1) Vs. Anthony "Rumble" Johnson (5-2)
This is a tough fight for me to call. I was all about Anthony "Rumble" Johnson after his dominant performance over Tommy Speer. I had him picked to annihilate Burns in their first fight. Instead, Burns pressured Johnson making him look ordinary throughout the bout. I gained a new respect for Burns and I wonder if he's in Johnson's head now. Johnson was expected to walk through him, and instead, was unable to get past all of the road blocks Burns put out. For this reason, I'm hopping the fence and going with Burns by TKO in round 3.
Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald (22-10) Vs. Wilson Gouveia (11-5)
Sportsnet.ca blogger Jason MacDonald told me that Wilson Gouveia is a slow starter and his cardio isn't the greatest. In essence, by the time Gouveia gets going, he he'll get tired. In response to this claim, Gouveia told me that JayMac must have three lungs, as he never appears to slow down, no matter how long the fight runs. Both guys have good striking but much better grappling skills. We'll see where JayMac takes this fight, but I believe he can submit Gouveia via guillotine in round 3.
Junie "The Lunatic" Browning (2-1-0) Vs. Dave "Diamond" Kaplan (3-1-0)
All eyes will be on Junie "The Loonie" when the show goes to air. By far, he was the star of this season's reality show and now is under a huge microscope, perhaps writing cheques his fists cannot cash. After the show, he migrated to Xtreme Couture in Vegas and under the tutelage of Shawn Tompkins, appears to have turned another leaf. It remains to be seen whether Junie will be able to handle the pressure in this huge bout vs. Diamond Dave. Historically (on the show), Browning has proven time and time again that he cannot handle stress and pressure, so if Kaplan can stress him out, he will win a decision. If Kaplan falls asleep at the wheel, Junie will TKO him in round 2.
Krzysztof "The Polish Experiment" Soszynski (16-9-1) Vs. Shane Primm (1-0-0)
Polish born, Canadian raised, now American resident Krzysztof Soszynski should have an easy time in his bout vs. Shane Primm. It appears to me that Primm is simply being used as a filler on this card in hopes to give Soszynski a win on national TV, further building him as "The Polish Experiment." Look for the Soszynski to overwhelm Primm with a KO in round 1.
Eliot "The Fire" Marshall (5-2-0) Vs. Jules "Cotton Mouth from the South" Bruchez (0-0-0)
Take what I said about Soszynski and Primm and multiply it by two. I know getting hit by lighting is something like 244,000 to one and winning the lotto is even more remote and I've also personally said "anything can happen in a fight," but if Eliot Marshal loses this fight to Jules Bruchez, I may fall into utter shock. Again, I can only go based on what I saw on the show, but Bruchez's performance vs. Vinny was atrocious. He lacks the skills and experience to seriously threaten Marshall in any way, shape or form. Marshall was a serious contender to win the show, so if he doesn't submit Bruchez within the first three minutes, it may just be considered a loss for him. I'm going with Marshall by choke at 2:59 of round 1.
Kyle "Kingsbu" Kingsbury (7-1-1) Vs. Tom "Filthy" Lawlor (4-1-1)
This is a fight that I want to see. Two guys who like to throw down and don't care whether they win or lose. It's a coin toss, but I believe Kingsbury will win via a split decision.
"Sugar" Shane Nelson (11-3) Vs. George Roop (8-4)
Something tells me Shane Nelson has been matched up against George Roop because of his silly antics on the show. Roop, by all accounts, is a tough SOB. I see him working Nelson over for a good round before putting him out of his misery via KO in round 2.
Rolando "The Crazy Cuban" Delgado (7-3-1) Vs. John "Buckets of Blood" Polakowski (2-1-0)
Brutal nicknames aside, these two will light The Pearl on fire. I see this being a back and forth battle with both guys giving their heart and soul for a victory. I smell fight of the night here, with Delgado winning a split decision.
