All four semi-final fighters have a serious chance to advance into Saturday’s live TUF 13 finale.
With UFC 130 behind us, we can now set our sights on the end of The Ultimate Fighter Season 13, starting with Wednesday's semi-final fights, and then focus on Saturday's finale at The Pearl in The Palms in Las Vegas.
We'll also take a look at the aftermath from UFC 130, as well as examine some of the stories that have been making headlines in the world of MMA.
First off, Rogers Sportsnet is airing Wednesday night's TUF semi-finals, which feature Team Lesnar's Chris Cope vs. Team Dos Santos's Ramsey Nijem, while the second bracket is all Team Lesnar, with Tony Ferguson taking on Chuck O'Neil. While all four fighters have a serious chance at making it to Saturday's finale, I'm picking Nijem and Ferguson to advance. Who are you picking?
The aftermath from UFC 130 continues to make waves, beginning with some lengthy medical suspensions.
Quinton (Rampage) Jackson has been suspended until Nov. 25, with no contact until June 28, due to a broken hand. This does not look promising for Rampage, the UFC or light-heavyweight champion Jon (Bones) Jones, whom Jackson was expected to face next sometime in the fall.
Does this open the door for Lyoto Machida? Or will the UFC give the shot to the winner of Rashad Evans and Phil Davis now? Unless Rampage can get cleared by a doctor soon, it will either be Machida, or the expected title fight in the fall will be pushed back as late as possible to allow the UFC enough time to promote Bones' first title defence with a guaranteed opponent. Bottom line, the UFC generally would like to begin pre-fight production of its posters and video trailers, countdown shows, etc, at least three months in advance.
Also medically suspended until Nov. 25 was Frank Mir, due to possible broken ribs. I ran into Mir the day after at the MGM Grand and we discussed his ribs, his rumoured broken jaw as well as his wrestling strategy against opponent Roy (Big Country) Nelson. Frank told me he felt perfectly fine, and the only ill effects were that he was sore, something obviously normal after a fifteen-minute bout. I do not see his suspension lasting that long and would not be surprised to see him back sooner rather than later.
He also mentioned that he was feeling ill leading up to the bout, a condition similar to what Nelson was experiencing. Just have a listen to the interview I did with Roy at the media workouts to understand that the appearance of a raspy voice was not something intentional; Big Country was not at all 100 per cent, and the same can be said for Frank.
It's often easy to point at Nelson's physical appearance as the culprit for his conditioning, but explain to me why it has never been an issue in the past, considering before UFC 130, eight of his 20 fights went into a third round, four of which he won?
But alas, Roy may be changing things up soon, as he may be working with famed fighter-turned-nutritionist Mike Dolce very soon. Mike's product, "The Dolce Diet," has already done wonders for the likes of Rampage Jackson and Thiago Alves. It will be interesting to see how this relationship between Nelson and Dolce will evolve over the coming weeks and months. If there was ever a win/win situation and a great story for MMA, this is it.
Other suspensions include Stefan Struve (until July 28), Brian Stann (until Nov. 25 due to possible fractured finger), Jorge Santiago (until Nov. 25 left orbital injury), Rafaello Oliveira (July 28) and Michael MacDonald (until Nov. 25, possible left shoulder injury).
As for payouts, Rampage and Mir also topped the list, making $250,000 each. These figures, along with the rest, do not include various bonuses, sponsorship revenue, etc.
Here's what each fighter made: Matt Hamill ($32,000), Roy Nelson ($15,000), Travis Browne ($16,000), Stefan Struve ($21,000), Rick Story ($34,000), Thiago Alves ($ 33,000), Brian Stann: ($46,000), Jorge Santiago ($36,000), Demetrious Johnson ($12,000), Miguel Torres ($30,000), Tim Boetsch($36,000), Kendall Grove ($28,000), Gleison Tibau ($50,000), Rafaello Oliveira ($10,000), Michael McDonald ($12,000) Chris Cariaso ($4000), Renan Barao ($10,000) and Cole Escovedo ($6,000).
Misc. news and notes
-- Lightweight Kurt Pellegrino has decided to step away from the sport, in what appears to be more of wanting to spend time with his family than inside the Octagon. He's also apparently lost the will to compete.
-- I hope he makes a return -- he's one of the good guys in this game. Top-ranked featherweight Hatsu Hioki has relinquished his Shooto Title in Japan and is being rumoured to be attending UFC 131 in Vancouver. Who believes he will be locked up and announced as a Zuffa fighter that week? This guy does.
-- Arianny Celeste would like to see the Octagon girl uniforms updated. She wants rhinestones on the outfits and I already know you agree.
-- Amanda Nunes is out vs. Julie Kedzie at Strikeforce: Overeem vs Werdum. This would have been a great 135-pound female MMA bout. No word if a replacement has been found.
-- For those following the Donald Brashear to MMA story, the former NHL tough guy has a new opponent for his bout on Saturday night, and it's Sherbrooke, Que.'s, Mathieu Bergeron.
