Pretty good night of fights. Let's get right to it.
Court McGee dec Kris McCray via Submission (rear-naked choke) Rd 2
Court McGee is the new Ultimate Fighter and he deserves it. It's pretty crazy how both finalists were previously knocked out of competition; McCray was chosen as the wild card entry (having lost in the quarterfinals), and McGee falling victim to a bullshit decision and getting lucky with Rich Attonito had to bow out with an injury. This match boiled down to who the better wrestler was. McCray had been using his wrestling to rack up victories during TUF, but McGee had shown a bit of a more well rounded game. Well McCray said McGee hadn't faced anyone with takedown defense like his, but whether or not that was true didn't matter because McGee took him down several times and it didn't look too difficult for him. After asserting his dominance early in the fight, it was clear who the better fighter was and it was just a matter time before McGee collected the W. Personally thought this one would go to the judges, but I'm glad it didn't.
Matt Hamill def Keith Jardine via Majority Decision 3rd Rd
I was really rooting for Jardine here just because I didn't want to see him lose 4 in a row, which I'm sure has put him on the chopping block if he isn't already cut. Jardine could be a top 10 fighter if he could just be more consistent and learn that there is such a thing as defense. Jardine always gets exposed by aggressive fighters because his defense is shit, so you know he's going to wilt if you put a lot of pressure on him. He started things off very nicely and displayed a solid gameplan in staying outside and scoring with leg kicks and jabs, but when Hamill wanted a firefight Jardine unwisely obliged. It left him bloodied up and on the defensive later on in the fight. And for the record I think the point deduction for the eye poke was complete bullshit, not that it would've helped Jardine win the decision anyway (he would've lost by split decision instead). If Jardine is actually allowed to stay with the company I think he should be given an opponent who isn't a top fighter and doesn't present a bad matchup for him. His UFC record is pretty lackluster at first glance, but that's because he's given top dogs all the damn time. Cut the guy a break. Hamill hasn't exactly looked fantastic as of late; maybe he needs a fight to get his confidence back as well.
Chris Leben def Aaron Simpson via TKO (punches) Rd 2
I had Simpson winning this fight due to his wrestling pedigree and good chin/heart. I didn't think there'd be much Leben could do to stop Simpson from taking him down and subbing or decisioning him. Once I saw that Simpson couldn't get Leben down I changed my tune. For me Simpson was only really dangerous if he got Leben to the ground, where Leben is a game opponent with a decent guard, but not enough technique to prevent a wrestle stomping from Simpson. Without those takedowns, it leaves us with Simpson's overrated knockout ability (the commentators made him sound like a KO machine...he's not) trying to get the better of a chin made of adamantium. I knew that if Simpson had to stand it was a matter of time before he feels Leben's power and realizes that his strikes aren't going to do much to stop Leben from moving forward. That's pretty much how it went down. I thought the stoppage was weak, but at the same time I don't think Simpson would've turned things around anyway. I'd like to see Simspson rematch Ed Herman as Leben requested, as Simpson hasn't looked so great in his last couple of outings with the step up in competition. As for Leben, I think Demian Maia could be a nice test for him, and vice-versa.
Dennis Siver dec Spencer Fisher via Unanimous Decision rd 3
I thought this was a very close fight that Siver just eked out. He threw a high volume of strikes, but initially Fisher was beating him to the punch by throwing tighter and more precise strikes. As the fight wore on Siver landed more and more, and dictated the pace with well timed kicks and punches. Fisher started to come alive in the 3rd but it was too little, too late. Siver has enjoyed a steady diet of kickboxers, so I'd like to see him take on a grappler next. Someone like Gleison Tibau should give him a challenge. Fisher is still a game opponent, and despite losing two straight I don't think he's fallen too far. A rematch with Aaron Riley would be a helluva fight.
Rich Attonito def Jamie Yager via TKO (punches) Rd 2
I didn't like Yager at all during TUF (mission accomplished for the producers I'm sure), but he was pretty classy in defeat here. He did well in the beginning of the fight as usual by throwing fast and powerful strikes that beat Attonito to the punch; and as usual he slowed down fast and broke down at the first shot that connected with his face. Yager's a talented guy, but he'll get nowhere if he doesn't learn how to take a punch and use skill and technique instead strength and athletic ability alone. Attonito looked relatively sharp and weathered the early storm to take a quality win, though he's still got a ways to go if he really wants to compete with the higher-ups at 185. Next for Yager: who cares? They probably won't even keep him on. Next for Attonito: It'd be interesting to see him take on Court McGee, seeing as how McGee took his spot in the house following Attonito's injury. It would almost prove who the real winner of the competition is.
Travis Browne def James McSweeney via TKO (punches) Rd 1
McSweeney looked pretty good early, showing nice footwork and working a measured range game of striking. Then Browne closed in. Browne dropped him with a right and swarmed in, and although McSweeney held on for a bit, Browne's strikes were too much for him and his position too dominant. The ref had to intervene. I don't know much about Browne other than he's very big and that hes a good prospect. For some reason I want to see him fight Mike Russow. McSweeney is one of those guys I don't know what they should do with. He won't really make it anywhere in the division, but at least he's not terrible to watch with his minutely flashy kickboxing style. Maybe Antoni Hardonk would match up well with him.
I didn't catch the rest of the fights, as they were unaired. The only impressions left on me from the results were that Josh Bryant looked shitty against Kyle Noke (one of the early favorites to win the competition), which was surprising given his performances on the show, which weren't fantastic but decidedly less shitty; and that Brad Tavares had a much harder time defeating Seth Baczynski than was thought. He needed all 3 rounds, and Sherdog even thought Baczynski should have taken the decision. Hopefully it was enough to keep him because I want to see where he goes from here, although I don't see any of the guys from this season apart from possibly McGee (and even then, I'm not holding my breath) amounting to much in the middleweight division. Well that's all for tonight. I'll have to wait to start the WEC 49 recap, as it's now late as hell and I need sleep.
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