At the end of the day, the right guys won and lost and gave us some highlights which will be talked about for a long time. Moments like:
- Rampage calling Schoonover ”Titties” on national television the first time
- Kimbo and Rampage dancing
- Kimbo’s debut in the cage
- Justin Wren dominating
- The many verbal altercations between Rampage & Rashad
- The “power of the belly” getting Nelson to the finals
- Big Baby snapping
All of these moments and fights culminated with a great card that gave us a new heavyweight TUF winner and put Kimbo on the map in the octagon. Here is My Take On: The Ultimate Fighter Finale -
Marcus Jones vs. Matt Mitrione- After their heated exchange on the last episodes of TUF, I expected Marcus to come in there and kill Mitrione dead. Sadly, Marcus got knocked out by Matt. Marcus had very robotic standup and it showed in his performance. With a good camp behind him though I see Marcus being a major player in the heavyweight division.
Frankie Edgar vs. Matt Veach-Edgar and Veach gave us a great fight and Edgar continued to move up the rankings, capturing the submission victory. I see Edgar in the title picture in 2010 if he keeps having such solid performances.
Kimbo Slice vs. Houston Alexander-The fight I was most excited to see of course was this one. While I have always liked Kimbo Slice, I admired how he carried himself in the house as well as the humbleness he displayed at having this once in a lifetime opportunity. Honestly, I expected someone getting knocked the fuck out but sadly that did not happen. In the 1st round, Alexander danced around the cage being elusive and trying to bait Slice for the KO. In the 2nd though it was all Kimbo and he was showing some of the new tools in his arsenal such as this :
In the end, Kimbo got the decison win and showed us some of the things we fans can look forward to in future fights. Well done Mr. Slice.
Brendan Schaub vs. Roy Nelson- I fully had Schaub taking this given my dislike for Nelson, but I have to admit I was wrong in my assessment of Roy Nelson. I considered Roy an honest to goodness tub o’ shit that used his girth to squeak by, but I have shame in admitting that the big man has power and knows how to use his size not only to smother opponents, but to aid in his punching power. These tools are what got him the KO victory. While Roy Nelson is by no means a wonderful physical specimen, he, my friends is an Ultimate Fighter! I was surprised at his subdued demeanor upon being awarded his trophy and during his post fight speech. As someone who hates to be underestimated, I really felt bad that I failed to look beyond Roy Nelson’s physique to see an athlete that is a student of the game. I owe Roy Nelson an apology.
Matt Hamill vs. Jon “Bones” Jones – Matt Hamill has been a favorite fighter of mine since his stint on TUF. As someone who is raising handicapped children, it is inspirational to watch him fight with only four senses at the ready and be successful at it. Jon Jones came in to this fight ready to make a statement - and boy did he do so by dismantling the fan favorite with his unique offense . Sadly, the hunger for the victory ended up getting Jones disqualified due to an illegal elbow strike from the 12-6 position. In addition, Hamill suffered a dislocated shoulder. Jon Jones impressed me with his unique moves and strikes. The DQ was unfortunate for sure, but the sky is the limit for the 22-year old Jon “Bones” Jones. As for Hamill I wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him fight again soon.
Awesome takedown by "Bones"
As always these are my opinions and if you agree or disagree by all means leave your comments below.
![Fighter of The Month [April]: Jon “Bones” Jones](http://www.mytakeradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/UFC-logo1-134x90.jpg){kind=logo}
![My Take On: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol [Blu-ray]](http://www.mytakeradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/MI4-BluRay-134x90.jpg)
Good work from Kimbo. I saw his first UFC fight, so I was definitely impressed with his improvement. He needs to continue improving his groundwork and work on improving his stamina. Also he needs to try to develop some kind of kicking game. His fiss are lethal, but he cannot rely on them alone.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
LikeIn the JJ/Hamill gif, it almost looks like JJ is chokeslamming Hamill, lol. Jon Jones impressed the hell out of me! I knew he was a good fighter, and I knew Hamill was a good fighter as well.. but nobody has dominated Hamill the way Jones did. If this kid keeps it up, we are looking at a future LHW champion. I am also very impressed with the way he handled himself after the DQ.. apologetic and made no excuses. Definite future champion material.
Kimbo also showed improvement from training with American Top Team. Kimbo is a fun guy to watch fight, but I don't think we'll ever see him make a serious run for the title, and I don't think that he'll ever headline a major UFC PPV. I could see him headlining Ultimate Fight Nights or free UFC events on Spike.. but as far as PPV main event status... in terms of ability, no.. and unless he shows some extreme improvement and defeats some top level guys, the UFC shouldn't catapault him up there just for the ratings. Keep him on the first or second bouts of the main card, and I'll be happy. With that being said... there are a few top guys that I would like to see Kimbo face. Chuck Liddell vs. Kimbo Slice would make for a really interesting match up right now.
For Roy Nelson and TUF 10.. when I first heard that Roy was going to be on TUF 10, I was a bit excited, but then I got thinking, "why?" I already knew Roy was a good fighter, and was one of those guys that I thought didn't really need TUF to get into the UFC. I saw TUF as a show to help guys who wouldn't normally be able to make it into the UFC. Guys who show promise into becoming great fighters... guys like Rashad Evans, Forest Griffin, Michael Bisping, and Matt Hamill. I saw Roy Nelson at already being at the top of his game, with really little room to improve. I mean, he could definitely use some improvement, but I think Roy's as good as he's going to get right now. Guys like Brendan Schaub, Marcus Jones, and Justin Wren were perfect for TUF, but these were talented fighters who may have what it takes to make it into the UFC with a bit more training.
Anyways.. Roy Nelson does deserve to be in the UFC, he showed that by imposing his will and doing exactly what he said he was going to do when defeating each opponent, but I don't see him being a threat to the UFC title. He might come close to getting a shot, but I couldn't see him ever beating guys like Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, Big Nog, Randy Couture, Cheick Kongo, or Gabriel Gonzaga. Remember, he did get annihilated at the hands of Andrei Arlovski, and was also recently defeated by Jeff Monson (Roy was on an 0-2 losing streak before TUF).
With that being said, he does have the ability to make an exciting fight when he chooses to. The Brendan Schaub fight showed that. In his next fight, I would like to see a Battle of the Bellies since Paul Buentello is back in the UFC (fighting Stefan Struve on Saturday). Both guys being heavy punchers, Paul with a decent takedown defense, and Roy having good takedown and submission skills. Seems like a fitting matchup.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
LikeBuentelllo and Big Country is a fight night main event on it's own. Kimbo has a long roads toward any type of title contention nonetheless he shows a ton of promise. Jon Jones made me a fan with his class and unique fighting style.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
LikeI have to admit they were some great fights on Wed. I too was expecting Marcus to straight annihilate Mitrione....and hoping for it. The Alexander/Kimbo fight was great. I was impressed with how much Kimbo has improved and going toe to toe with the like of Houston Alexander was just as impressive.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
Like