MMA: The Ultimate Fighter Finale Promises Full Card of Exciting Fights Tonight

Posted on | December 4, 2010 | No Comments

By: Rich Bergeron

The Ultimate Fighter Finale will feature seven of the show’s stars fighting on tonight’s UFC card from The Palms in Las Vegas. Most of them will be fighting against each other, but this time they’ll all be scheduled for three rounds and there will be a huge crowd watching. Nam Phan is the exception tonight, drawing an opponent outside the TUF circle and dropping 10 pounds for this bout against Leonard Garcia at 145. Phan’s split decision loss to Michael Johnson in the semi-finals could have gone either way, and it’s clear his talent is being spotlighted with this match-up.

The main TUF final between Johnson and Jonathan Brookins is supposed to be the true battle for the UFC contract, but if Phan beats Garcia his own contract will get signed quickly. Phan is a real MMA journeyman, and his record (16-8) actually looks very similar to Garcia’s (18-6-1). The difference is most of Phan’s fights have been on smaller shows while Garcia’s been a standout WEC star over the years. In many ways Phan’s fight is a bigger challenge that either Johnson or Brookins is facing tonight by going to battle against each other.

Phan will have to use his incredible striking ability, which will surely be more potent against a smaller opponent than he’s used to. Garcia favors submissions, but he can strike with the best as well. Phan is a phenomenal boxer, utilizing excellent head and body movement, and landing several crushing body blows in the TUF competition. One of them led to the ultimate TKO of Cody McKenzie in the quarterfinals. Phan can certainly pull off a major upset here, but Garcia’s experience might also be the difference. This is a tough fight to pick a winner, much like the actual contract fight.

Michael Johnson (9-4) showed he clearly could use some improvement after eking out a split decision win over Phan in the semi-finals of the show. After the filming ended, he went straight to the most well known coach in the business: Greg Jackson. His game should be astronomically better against Jonathan Brookins (12-3), but if Brookins also took advantage of the time off to perfect his already superior game, this is going to be an all out war. The key for Brookins is his balanced attack. The fight history widget on Brookins’ UFC page tells the story by the numbers, literally:

http://www.ufc.com/fighter/Jonathan-Brookins

Takedowns, striking, and submissions are all in harmony when it comes to this guy’s fight style. Though Kyle Watson gave him some early fits in his last fight on the show, Brookins showed a level of poise and control no other fighter in the house seemed to have in the cage. Look for Brookins to have his toughest fight yet and Johnson to show he can hang and wants to stick around whether he wins or not.

The rest of the cast fighting on the card is contained within two matches.

Cody McKenzie (11-0) vs. Aaron Wilkinson (6-3)

Sako Chivitchian (5-0) vs. Kyle Watson (15-7-1)

Watson and McKenzie are the easy favorites in these two fights, and if both can continue to adapt their styles and get better they will make great new fixtures in the UFC.

Two other TUF grads will make up the main event and co-main event on this card, which should be a pair of absolutely incredible fights.

Stephan Bonnar (15-7-0), one of the most famous and talented TUF alumni, will enter the octagon against one of the toughest on-paper opponents he can be matched up with right now. Igor Pokrajac (22-7) could certainly beat Bonnar on a good day, but nobody can count out “The American Psycho” and his amazing ability to take punches and return fire even under the worst assaults. If it becomes a battle of striking, Bonnar wins hands down. If Pokrajac makes it a more complete fight and brings a comprehensive, balanced attack he could steal a decision or get a submission win and put himself on the map. Bonnar, known for one of the most thrilling slugfests ever fought in the UFC (against Forrest Griffin), will be sure to leave it all out there in this one. Even if he happens to lose, it will still be exciting.

Kendall “Spider” Grove (14-7) faces Demian Maia (13-2) in the co-main event, and this fight is going to be Grove’s greatest challenge yet. Despite having 6 inches in height and the advantage in striking, Maia is an all-around craftsman, illustrated by his excellent record. His only losses came against Nate Marquardt at UFC 102 and Anderson Silva at UFC 112 this past April. He went the full distance with Silva, which is something only one other UFC fighter has ever been able to do against Silva (Thales Leites at UFC 97). Grove simply hasn’t fought the same caliber of opponents in his career and will have a tough time making up the talent gap.

The rest of the card features:

Dave Branch (7-1) vs. Rich Attonito (9-3)

Fredson Paixao (10-3) vs. Pablo Garza (10-1)

Nick Pace (5-1) vs. Will Campuzano (8-2)

Ian Loveland (13-7) vs. Tyler Toner (11-2)

Jimmy Hendricks (9-0) vs. Rick Story (11-3)