Ultimate Fighter Finale

Another weekend of UFC, and another night of good scraps. Some new blood, and some familiar faces step into the octagon Saturday night. With no further ado, here we go.

Jamie "Chosyn.1" Yager vs Rich "The Raging Bull" Attonito
middleweight (185)

Attonito apparently won the "I Want to Beat the Crap out of Jamie Yager" lottery, after Yager irritated nearly the entire house during the six weeks of The Ultimate Fighter. Attonito looked good in both of his fights on the show, with a dominating unanimous decision win to get into the house over Lyle Steffens. His second fight he started strong, despite a broken hand, but was awarded the disqualification win after Kyacey Uscola hit him with illegal knees toward the end of the first round. A very strong, and well rounded fighter, he is going to need to avoid the home run shots Yager throws, and get inside to utilize some dirty boxing and clinch work, or even get the fight to the ground to take advantage of Yagers suspect ground game.

On a show with a history of bad guys, Yager immediately rose to the upper echelon of jerks. After two big wins in his get into the house fight, and his first fight after being drafted by Tito Ortiz, the weakness in his ground game and cardio became evident once he refused to answer the bell after two rounds of being stalked and pounded on the ground by Josh Bryant. An extremely dynamic striker, he doesn't lack in the bravado department, but he may need to keep a more measured pace against the tenacity of Attonito.

Attonito is going to need to fight smart, and stick to whatever gameplan his camp has laid down. Getting in close to negate the condor like reach of Yager, and working for takedowns to exploit the lack of grappling and submission defense seem to be the orders of the day for "The Raging Bull". Yager must have improved upon his cardio, or will need to go for the knockout win. Fortunately, he is more than capable of the latter. With a staggering arsenal of kicks from almost every position and angle, Attonito is going to have his hands full.

Yager is a little full of himself and his abilities, and Attonito is just the fighter to let the air out of his ego. A more experienced fighter, and much more grounded, Attonito will just prove to be too much, and get the stoppage win in the second round.

Attonito via TKO, Rd. 2

Spencer "King" Fisher vs Dennis Siver
lightweight(155)

With a couple of men who like to throw leather, and fight with the gas pedal all the way down, this bout looks to be electric, and quite possibly a Fight of the Night front runner. With the superb boxing and stout ground game of Fisher, and the array of nasty kicks, and brutal ground and pound of Siver, this is one fight MMA fans are going to make sure they don't miss.

Fisher has long been one of the fighters to beat in the lightweight division. Once only one fight away from competing for the lightweight championship, he has faced some of the best in the division, and looks to get back to his winning ways after being stopped by Joe Stevenson back in October.

Also coming off a loss, Siver is responsible for one of the most devastating highlights of 2009 when he dropped Paul Kelly with a spinning back kick to the body. Siver was defeated by unanimous decision by Ross Pearson in March, but will try to add a third Knockout of the Night to his list of accomplishments.

Both fighters are more standup oriented, but the interesting area is where their strengths are on the ground. Siver is much better when he can try and post up from the top, and unleash a barrage of elbows and punches, but as he showed in his fight against Pearson, his takedown defense, and fighting from his back are not his strongest skillsets. Fisher, on the other hand, is strong on top, but also very dangerous from his back. He submitted Thiago Alves with a triangle choke, and has the ability to create space and scrambles from the bottom to get submissions and sweeps.

Standing, both men are solid, and if the fight stays standing, it would be a toss up. However, with Siver's substandard takedown defense, and the grappling acumen of Fisher, it's hard to bet on the Deutschman. We will see an extremely exciting fight, with Fisher getting the judges nod after three outstanding round.

Fisher via Unanimous Decision

Chris "The Crippler" Leben vs Aaron "A-Train" Simpson
middleweight (185)

Two durable sluggers with a penchant for grinding opponents into dust, and looking to advance in a very tough middleweight division, this should be an entertaining, if not technical tilt.

After a tough couple of losses, Leben put together an impressive unanimous decision over Brazilian brawler Jay Silva, and is trying to string together consecutive victories for the first time in over two years. Simpson on the other hand, is looking to prove that his undefeated record is no joke, and that his last victory was no fluke.

Simpson burst onto the scene with a nasty KO win over Tim McKenzie, and then was soundly pummeling Ed Herman, before the match was stopped due to a knee injury to Herman. In his last fight, Simpson was having a very hard time with the standup of Tom Lawlor, but managed to win a controversial split decision.

Can Leben avoid the trouble he's had with wrestlers in the past, and plant the hunk of masonry he calls a left hand on the chin of Simpson? Can Simpson avoid the meteorite on the end of Lebens left arm, and work his nasty ground and pound? Leben has shown that unless your name is Anderson Silva, if you punch him in the face, it's just going to piss him off. Simpson possesses more power than most in his fists, but his real strength is using his wrestling to set up his devastating ground and pound. Leben has some decent ground skills, but definitely wants to keep this fight standing. I hate picking against "The Crippler" but look for Simpson to keep taking him down, and doing just enough to win a tight decision.

Simpson via Split Decision

Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine vs Matt "The Hammer" Hamill
lightheavyweight (205)

Two very tough men are going toe to toe with a lot on the line in this fight. Both alumni of The Ultimate Fighter, and both in need of a win, this should be a very interesting fight.

Jardine is in dire need of win after dropping three straight, or he could be facing getting pink slipped. Hamill won his last fight, sort of. After getting thoroughly manhandled by Jon Jones, Jones was disqualified for illegal elbow strikes. Hamill himself hardly considers it a victory, and is looking to rebound himself. A heavy handed wrestler, and the man who practically defines unorthodox? Recipe for very intriguing fight.

Hamill is a former Division 111 wrestling champion who's striking improves every time he fights. Before the Jones fight, he had racked up two straight KOs, one of which garnered him KO of the Night. Against Jardine, he's going to need to avoid going for the home run too often, due to Jardine's astute counter punching. Jardine's underrated ground game may give him problems if he decides to resort to his wrestling, but "The Hammer has solid ground and pound, even from the guard, so Jardine is going to need to read carefully.

"The Dean of Mean" doesn't just want a win, he very badly needs it. Despite his losses coming against top flight competition, four straight will almost definitely send him packing from the UFC. He has very tough takedown defense, creative punches, and some of the nastiest leg and body kicks in MMA. His weak spot is his chin, or lack thereof. Of his seven career losses, five have come via knockout, and four of those have come in his last six fights. Hamill has a sturdier chin, and a nasty overhand right Jardine needs to avoid like the plague, but if Hamill falls in love with his own striking, the blueprint to defeating him already exists. Rich Franklin brutalized the legs, and particularly the body of Hamill to the tune of a third round stoppage win in September of 2008. Jardine will look to pepper Hamill with leg and body kicks much like he did Chuck Liddell, while dodging the chin seeking missile Hamill likes to throw.

WHEW! That was a mouthful. It all comes down to who has a better game plan, and who can stick to it better when they get into trouble. Training with Greg Jackson, and the fact that his job is on the line tilts favor towards Jardine, though it will be a tough, hard fought win. Hamill will start fast, and maybe even put Jardine in danger early, but "The Dean of Mean" will battle back, and begin roughing Hamill up throughout the second and third on his way to a very exciting decision victory.

Jardine via Unanimous Decision

The Ultimate Fighter Main Event

Kris "Savage" McCray vs Court "Crusher" McGee
middleweight (185)

The finale to what has been a somewhat hohum season, looks to be anything but that. Both McCray and McGee are tough as nails fighters, with tremendous amounts of heart and determination, this should be one of the most closely contested bouts in TUF history.

McCray had to overcome more adversary than almost any finalist in the shows history. Fighting five times in six weeks, he set the record for most fights during one season. After every fight, he came back more determined, and more disciplined than before. His wrestling is solid, and his chin is durable, despite being pounded on for six weeks straight.

McGee has had his share of hardships, but has shown the mental strength, and physical durability necessary to get through the six week season and come out on top. He did have a loss on his record, a hotly debated majority decision loss to Nick Ring, who he was set to fight but was replaced by James Hammortree when Ring had to pull out of the fight with a knee injury. He has good cardio, and heavy hands. McCray is in for a heck of a fight.

With both contestants being evenly matched in the skill department, one area that looks to tip the scales, is size and reach. Though not as tall as McGees last opponent Brad Tavares, McCray will look to take advantage of the height and reach disparity between them. McGee is going to need to try and grind "Savage" out, and get in close if he gasses, and start throwing bombs to try and put McCray to sleep.

This should be a back and forth fight which will be won by the fighter who wants it more. As evenly as these two are matched, McGee has more experience, and better cardio. Despite the reach disadvantage, he has shown that he can get inside and go to town with dirty boxing, and maybe even get the fight to the ground. I have two predictions for this fight; 1, McGee will win a split decision victory, ans 2, both men will be awarded contracts after the fight.

McGee via Split Decision.