The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 Finale from the "The Pearl" at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, which went down earlier this evening (Sat., Dec. 5, 2009), is in record books.
Roy "Big Country" Nelson and Brendan Schaub were featured in the main event of the evening, competing for the "six-figure" contract and the top spot in the 16-man tournament.
Nelson -- a grizzled veteran and former International Fight League (IFL) standout -- was the preseason favorite. And tonight he lived up to those lofty expectations.
He went for an early takedown to try and implement his smothering ground and pound. He was successful, for a minute, but when Schaub made it to his feet fast Nelson was forced to switch to "Plan B," which proved to be way more effective.
Nelson dropped Schaub with a big shot behind the ear that turned his lights off. Schaub went limp, but just in case he was just playing possum, Nelson drilled him with a punch on the ground that ended the fight for good.
Roy Nelson is now the latest in a long line of "Ultimate Fighter" winners.
Perhaps the only difference between him and his distinguished company is that he doesn't need any "tune up" up fights to build up his name. On the contrary, UFC President Dana White -- who by his own admission isn't the biggest Nelson fan -- will likely throw him to the wolves and hope he gets eviscerated.
Much to White's chagrin, don't be surprised if he keeps on rolling with his own Burger King-fueled fat self.
Wrestling standouts Matt "The Hammer" Hamill and Jon "Bones" Jones hooked 'em up in a 205-pound bout that more than likely had big implications for the winner moving forward.
That's perhaps no longer the case after tonight's odd result.
Jones completely tooled Hamill as soon as he got TUF alum to the ground. He secured full mount and, essentially, pounded him mercilessly for minutes. He even looked up at the referee, Steve Mazzagatti, to stop the rape.
He eventually did, but it was only after Jones landed an illegal "12-to-six" elbow to the nose of Hamill. The fight was then called when Hamill refused to continue. Sounds relatively normal, right? Not really.
Here's the kicker: Hamill couldn't continue because of a shoulder injury ... not the "illegal" elbow.
Jones was gracious in defeat, but probably because he, as well as everyone in the universe watching, realizes he didn't really lose.
Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson was out to prove that he was serious about his mixed martial arts career, making his Octagon debut opposite the heavy-handed Houston "The Assassin" Alexander. Both fighters promised fireworks and we believed them because their ground games are virtually non existent.
Suckers.
With the exception of a great second round from Slice, the entire fight was basically Alexander keeping his distance and circling the former Elite XC posterboy. Make no mistake, Slice, when he was able to get close in that second round, looked like he had improved tremendously since his backyard barbecue beatdown days in Miami.
But it was far from a slugfest. And by the time the third round rolled around, both fighters were clearly spent.
Great display of mixed martial arts? Far from it. But we didn't expect that. We did expect a dog fight, which never materialized.
Nonetheless, Slice was able to pick up a big win against a UFC veteran in his debut for the biggest promotion on the planet. He passed his first test without controversy.
That has to count for something. Just ask Nielsen.
Perennial lightweight contender Frankie "The Answer" Edgar was supposed to battle fellow New Jersey native Kurt Pellegrino in an important 155-pound match up that could have vaulted the winner to the front of the contender pack to start the 2010 fight campaign.
"Batman," unfortunately, sustained an injury, which opened the door for up-and-comer Matt Veach to step up and make a name for himself against "The Answer."
It didn't happen.
Veach stormed out of the gates early and scored several takedowns, including a few slams that had the crowd ooh-ing and ahh-ing. His Gray Maynard-esque gameplan appeared to get Edgar, a top-notch wrestler himself, out of his game and perhaps a bit frustrated.
Not for long.
Edgar came out strong to start the second and stuffed Veach's early takedown attempt. It took him about two minutes, but Edgar finally found an opening ... and he took full advantage.
All it took was a flush right hand that connected on the chin of Veach to turn the tide for Edgar. His killer instinct kicked in, and in a matter of seconds, had the H.I.T. Squad product tapping from a rear naked choke.
Edgar was in a no-win situation before the bout even began, but did what he was expected to do in the end ... and then some.
Slow start, great finish for "The Answer."
Marcus Jones wanted to disrespect fellow castmate Matt Mitrione, just like the former Minnesota Vikings lineman did to him inside "The Ultimate Fighter" house this season.
Not tonight.
Mitrione found Jones' off button super early in the second round, putting the former first round NFL draft pick crashing to the canvas like a rotten Redwood.
Perhaps Jones knew that his chin was suspect because he appeared that he wanted no part of the stand up game. He angled for takedowns early and was successful with most of them, which more than likely had him ahead on the judges scorecards heading into the second round.
It didn't matter.
Mitrione took care of business, disrespecting "Big Baby" once again, but this time with his fists. Not sure if Jones will once again mull retirement after this latest setback, but if not, he needs to find a way to keep fists from touching his chin
That’s enough from us — now it’s your turn to discuss TUF 10 Finale in the comments section below. Sound off, Maniacs. Let’s hear what you have to say.
For complete TUF 10 Finale results and detailed blow-by-blow commentary of the televised main card fights click here.
Get the latest gear
