TUF 14 Finale : Team Bisping vs Team Miller

After a successful season which produced many great fights, season fourteen of The Ultimate Fighter came to an end on Saturday night. This season saw eight featherweights and eight bantamweights move into the house to compete for a UFC contract, with the two coaches going head to head being the outspoken and generally disliked Michael 'The Count' Bisping coming up against the outspoken and generally well liked Jason 'Mayhem' Miller. Each coach had two fighters in the final, with Diego Brandao (Team Bisping) fighting Dennis Bermudez (Team Miller) for the featherweight title, and T.J Dillshaw (Team Bisping) coming up against John Dodson (Team Miller) in the bantamweight final.


Michael 'The Count' Bisping -vs- Jason 'Mayhem' Miller

Six years after his last bout in the UFC, when he took on GSP in April 2005, Mayhem Miller finally made his comeback to the octagon. Miller spent time in organisations such as Strikeforce and DREAM, recording victories over fighters like Tim Kennedy and MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba and losing to Jake Shields via decision and returned a better fighter but in Michael Bisping he faced a very well rounded opponent.

Mayhem began the first round pushing the pace, and landing some shots on Bisping, before getting the takedown midway through the round. He managed to land a few shots while he had had Bisping's legs trapped in a triangle, but when he tried to transition to a mount Bisping managed to get back to his feet.

It was in the second round Mayhem suffered a adrenaline dump. He began looking tired, and his shots didn't have the same speed or precision as the first round. This could be attributed to the fact Miller hadn't fought since September of last year. Bisping started finding his range, with Miller taking some heavy shots and knees pressed against the cage. To his credit, Miller has a good chin, but the fight could possibly have been stopped by the end of the second when Bisping was on top him using his ground and pound. Miller didn't have any answer for Bispings shots the entire round and all four of his takedown attempts were easily stuffed.

The fight followed the same story line in the third, with Miller eating some big shots and Bisping stuffing any takedown attempt. Miller eventually curled up in the middle of the octagon covering himself while Bisping landed some knees to the body. It soon became clear Mayhem wasn't defending himself, and the referee called a stop to the fight three and a half minutes in to the third round.

Diego Brandao -vs- Dennis Bermudez

During the entire season one thing became apparent, and that was none of the featherweights wanted to fight Diego Brandao. The Brazilian, fighting out of Greg Jackson's gym in New Mexico, knocked out each of his opponents on the show.

Bermudez took the fight to Brandao at the start, and caught him with some early shots. One thing we never seen during the series was Brandao fight from the back foot, and he didn't look too comfortable. But it looked like this fight would end like all his others when a huge overhand right connected with Bermudez, followed by a left hook and also a flying knee attempt. But if fans were expecting Brandao to find the finish they may have been surprised when Bermudez connected with a right of his own, flooring the Brazilian. But as he began to throw down hammer fists he left his left arm open, allowing Brandao to show his slick Jiu Jitsu skills, finding the armbar after a swift turn, leaving Bermudez to tap out.

Such was the performance of both fighters they manged to win Fight Of The Night, and with Brandao leaving with Submission Of The Night as well as the UFC contract.


T.J Dillashaw -vs- John Dodson

He may not be a team player, but John Dodson is going to cause a lot of fighters in the UFC problems. T.J Dillashaw, a teammate of Urijah Faber at Team Alpha Male, has a wrestling pedigree and one can only assume his game plan was to take Dodson to the ground. Easier said than done. When faced with somebody with good takedown defence such as John Dodson, you have to set up your takedowns with strikes. Dillashaw's problem? He couldn't get near Dodson. Every time he threw a punch Dodson would just jump out of the way, and jumped back into range immediately, such was his speed.  Then, almost two minutes in to the first round, Dodson connected with the back of the head of Dillashaw to win the UFC contract. It may have been a questionable stoppage but Dillashaw's legs had gone to jelly and Dodson caught him with two follow up strikes.


It proved to be a clean sweep for Greg Jackson, as both Brandao and Dodson train at his gym, adding to numerous other UFC fighters in the camp.


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UFC 139: Shogun Vs Henderson

Fans who tuned into UFC 139 on Saturday night were treated to the best card of the year. It didn't hurt that the main event will go down as one of, if not the greatest fight the sport has witnessed. The fact that people had been waiting for Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua to step into the cage (or ring back in the Pride days) added much to the atmosphere of the event, but even without the history of the two fights that never came to fruition this was always going to be a massive fight. The event also saw the debut of Cung Le, known in the world of MMA for possessing some of the most dangerous kicks in the sport.

Urijah Faber Vs Brian Bowles:


It's not often you will see Urijah Faber fighting even before the co-main event, such was the strength of the card. Although it was thought to be an even match up, Faber was in complete control from the start with his speed causing Bowles major issues, evident when Bowles threw a 1-2 that Faber ducked under to get the double and put him on his back. Bowles tried defending with a guillotine, but Faber was never in trouble.

It got even worse for Bowles in the second, when twenty five seconds in Faber connected with a mammoth uppercut. Bowles certainly felt it, and as he backed up against the cage Urijah unleashed numerous blows, landing knees and elbows. Once grounded, Bowles pretty much hands Urijah his neck, with Faber finding the guillotine, then rolling over into a mount position to eventually get the submission. The win sets up the rubber match with bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz. Does Urijah get too many title shots? Brian Bowles thinks so, but as this fight proved, the reason he will be getting another title shot is because he is the best in the division, and yes that includes Dominick Cruz.

Wanderlei Silva Vs. Cung Le:


To be honest, before this fight I thought Wanderlei Silva should retire. The Wanderlei we have witnessed in the UFC was never the one we saw in Pride. Having been knocked out in four of his previous eight fights, the most recent coming in his last fight against Chris Leben, there have been questions as to whether we would see him back. But we did. We also witnessed the debut of former Strikeforce champion Cung Le, who many MMA fans have wanted to see in the UFC for a long time.

Silva obviously wanted to stay out of the range of Le's devastating kicks, and managed to do so well. He got caught a few times, but he was never in trouble. Le caught him with a good spinning back fist. It dropped Silva, but he quickly got back to his feet. There was a chance for Le to swarm Silva and try and put some real damage on him, but it seemed he didn't want to get too close to Wanderlei.

Remember the old Wanderlei from the Pride days? Well, we found him in the second round. He dropped Le with a solid right hand and, unlike his opponent, took the opportunity to swarm and put a beating on him. In the clinch, Silva landed some devastating knees, one of which broke the nose of Cung Le. Le then shot for a single, but had taken a severe beating at this stage, and didn't go for it with any conviction. Silva began to drop hammer fists until the fight was called to a stop.

Although this was a great victory from the Axe Murderer, the point still stands. This a perfect time for him to retire. He's not at the level he used to be, and Cung Le was coming off a long lay off from MMA while he starring in films. If Silva were to come up against one of the top contenders in the division, I don't see it going as well.

Shogun Vs. Hendo:


I'm going to get straight to the point. This is the best fight I've ever seen in the UFC. When Hendo came out of the block and start blasting Shogun I thought this was going to be the Jon Jones fight all over again.

Hendo managed to get a guillotine but never seemed like he was in a position to finish the fight. What followed  was a barrage of huge hits from Henderson, with Shogun pressed against the cage doing is best to cover up yet staying in the line of fire. at this point it seemed like Hendo was going to find this finish but credit to Rua, who took everything thrown at him. Toward the end of the round rua managed to drop Henderson witha right of his own, but Hendo managed to grab a single.

What followed in the second was more of the same, with both Henderson punishing Rua against the cage with some mammoth blows. Shogun covered up but Hendo landed a NASTY uppercut. Shogun already looked battered at this stage, but anyone who had seen some of his fights in Pride know how dangerous his hands are, and he only needed to connect once for it all to change.

It was the third round though were this fight was teetering on being stopped. After catching Rua with a inside leg kick, Henderson blasted Shogun with his signature right hand, and following up with some vicious strikes on the ground. But the fight continued, with Shoguns only hope being that Henderson might punch himself out. If taking a beating can be exhausting, so can dishing one out. Henderson slowed down just enough for Shogun to catch a heel hook. He was never in a position to finish the fight with it, but it gave him a break from the barrage of nasty strikes. As Henderson managed to get out of the heel hook, Rua used the opportunity to get back to his feet, and to get a takedown for good measure.

By this point Henderson was zapped of all his energy, and looked lethargic in his movement. Shogun was bloody and beaten but slightly fresher, and it helped him take the next two rounds. Shogun took Henderson down at will, and mounted him six times in the final two rounds. Shogun never looked like finishing the fight from mount, but continued to do some damage. Both men were clearly exhausted, evident in how Henderson had no answer for Shogun's ground and pound. All he had to do was hang in there. He felt he had done enough in the first three rounds to get the decision, and in truth the probably did. Shogun spent almost the entire fifth round on top of Henderson, with no energy to go for the finish.

This was a war. A fight that fans have sought for the past ten years, it seems it was worth the wait. Perhaps a draw would have been a fair result, it was a tough call for the judges. There are many arguments online right now about 10-8 rounds, but at the end of the day what we witnessed will go down in MMA history. Outside the main event, this was the best card of the year. Would this have made a better introduction to the fox viewers? Dana white says no, that they wouldn't have been ready for a fight like that. I don't think any of us were. But that's the attraction of the sport, and why it's the fastest growing sport in the world. Look at last week for example. How many of us expected a KO sixty-four seconds into the first round?



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UFC On Fox 1

On Saturday night Junior Dos Santos became the new Heavyweight Champion of the UFC, with the Brazilian stopping Cain Velasquez sixty four seconds into the first round. Junior's game plan was no secret. Stuff the takedown, then unleash his devastating hands. When the fight began, Junior landed two straight rights with Cain replying with two leg kicks. But as soon as the booming right hand of Dos Santos connected behind the ear of Velasquez, it looked as if possibly the most hyped fight in UFC history was over inside a minute. Velasquez was dropped, with Junior unleashing over ten unanswered shots on Cain before referee John McCarthy called a stop to the fight.


Cain Velasquez hadn't fought in over a year, since his victory over Brock Lesnar to win the title at UFC 121, due surgery. A case could be made that Cain may have been suffering from 'ring rust', and that could be true. He didn't look as in shape as we are used to, weighing in at 249 pounds. But that is to take away from a great victory by Junior Dos Santos, who's boxing skills will strike fear into any opponent. Just ask Shane Carwin or Roy Nelson. 


By winning on Saturday night, Junior also became the third Brazilian currently holding a UFC title, along with Anderson Silva and Jose Aldo. Dana White has already stated the Brazil has become the UFC's new Canada, with more events in the country planned for next year as well as a season of The Ultimate Fighter based in Brazil. Coupled with exciting prospects such as Renan Barao coming through the ranks it is no surprise that mixed martial arts has become so popular in country, with a reported sixty million viewers tuning in to see Junior Dos Santos win the title.


For those who were new to the world of MMA, and maybe experiencing UFC for the first time this weekend, they may be forgiven for thinking this was the only fight of the night. But before the two heavyweights took to the cage, there was the lightweight bout and, maybe more importantly, battle of the hair between Clay Guida and Benson Henderson. Most definitely fight of the night, this three round battle may have been more fitting for those experiencing the sport for the first time. Although it was an easy decision for the judges (is there such a thing?) it was a thoroughly entertaining fight, with Benson Henderson coming out with the victory. Guida done his best to draw Henderson into a brawl, and succeeded. But Henderson's wrestling and clinch work were superior, and his conditioning was on par with Guida, meaning he could keep up any pace Clay put on him. But it was Guida's inability to submit Henderson that proved his downfall, first making a mistake in pulling guard when he had guillotine, then unable to pass Henderson's brilliant submission defence in the last thirty seconds. The result of which means that Henderson will now get a shot at Frankie Edgar's lightweight title at the UFC's event in Japan next year. It is sure to be an excellent fight.