MMA Crunch

Adding to the allure of UFC’s Fight Night 14 on July 19th will be a match-up between The Ultimate Fighter 7 stars CB Dollaway and Jesse Taylor. At one time, both fighters had the inside track on becoming The Ultimate Fighter but neither was able to seal up that title. Taylor didn’t even get a shot inside the octagon as a drunken tirade through the city of Las Vegas got him kicked off the show. Dollaway actually had his chance, but got caught in an arm bar applied by Ultimate Fighter champion Amir Sadollah.

Dollaway rolled into the finale on a hot streak and even started to take control of the finale through the first couple of minutes. Nevertheless, one false slippage ended his hopes of earning that illustrious six figure contract.

For Taylor, his dismissal from the show was just as deplorable as his the actions that got him booted from TUF. It was a pitiful sight as he shed crocodile tears when Dana White told him he would no longer be part of the show. Nevertheless, that is all part of the past and now each fighter will have a chance for redemption.

The fight could very well be billed The Ultimate Fighter finale that never happened. But regardless of what the fight is being billed, it provides a second chance for each fighter. And although there are no more eliminations, both fighters know that another loss would surely affect his future in the UFC.

The series is over, the backstage cameras are off and now the payday is real. But in order for that payday to balloon in the future, a victory is a prerequisite. While a loss would not necessarily end either fighter’s UFC career, it could limit their appearances in the future.

So even though TUF is over, it is essentially do or die time for both Dollaway and Taylor. They each have another chance to make good on a fight that was supposed to happen. Furthermore, Sadollah’s defeat of Dollaway wasn’t exactly a gripping bout that had fans on the edges of their seats. Perhaps a Taylor-Dollaway bout will finally provide fans with a more exciting bout that will ultimately wrap up the seventh season.

But that season is over and a new one has begun for both Taylor and Dollaway. UFC Fight Night 14 will mark their debut into a new season even though it is already a second chance for both fighters.

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Now that the Jesse Taylor drama is in the rear view mirror, the shock of C.B. Dollaway’s loss has worn off and the reality of Amir Sadollah’s victory has finally sunken in, it is time to look ahead to a new season of The Ultimate Fighter. The eight installment of The Ultimate Fighter will air for the first time on September 17th on Spike TV. One of the fighters to star on the new season already has quite a shadow looming over him.

Shane “Sugar” Nelson trains under B.J. Penn in his native Hawaii. Nelson claims a 9-3 record but may be more recognized for training under the current UFC lightweight champion. And very soon, the entire country will get to see how much Penn’s tutelage has paid off.

The Ultimate Fighter has blossomed into one of the major draws for the UFC and with each new season, the anticipation of the upcoming series is heightened. Furthermore, it has provided the UFC with some very formidable fighters throughout its first seven seasons. Nelson could be the next in line to follow in the illustrious footsteps of the ultimate champions who came before him. Nelson has already been trained by a champion, now he just needs to mimic his mentor and win like a champion.

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The ultimate aspect of mixed martial arts is that any fighter can win at any given moment. Saturday night’s “Ultimate Fighter Finale” between CB Dollaway and Amir Sadollah proved just that. Dollaway came out and took immediate control of the fight and looked to have a handle on the early action. Sadollah hardly had a chance to find himself on the offensive as Dollaway seemed ready to cruise to a victory and become the seventh fighter to be crowned the Ultimate Fighter.

Nevertheless, Dollaway’s fate changed in an instant when Sadollah caught him in an arm bar and forced the heavily favored Dollaway to tap. Just three minutes into the first round, Sadollah had sealed up season seven of the Ultimate Fighter. Dollaway paced across the octagon with disbelief written all over his face. In the world of mixed martial arts, even the heavily favored fighter is susceptible to a loss at any given moment.

It was truly a moment for exultation on Sadollah’s behalf as he walked away with a six figure contract to fight in the UFC. But the road ahead will not lie on a bed of roses. Sadollah will now have to contend with much stiffer competition in mixed martial arts’ most elite organization.

What lies ahead

All Sadollah needed to do was feast his upon the night’s main event to catch a glimpse of what the future has in store. Nearly two years ago to the day, Kendall Grove capped off season three of the Ultimate Fighter with a unanimous decision over Ed Herman. But since then, Grove has struggled to make a name for himself in the UFC.

Following Sadollah’s win, Grove used up all three rounds to win a split decision against an aged Evan Tanner. Grove peppered Tanner with jabs and added a few fierce elbows and knees throughout the fight. Yet, Grove could not finish off his slower, weaker and much older opponent.

The win was a must for Grove coming off two straight first round losses. The win also improved Grove’s post Ultimate Fighter record to a mere 3-2. Although Grove won the fight rather convincingly, the win didn’t convince anyone that he is a force to be reckoned with in the middleweight division. It is a future Grove probably didn’t foresee after he walked out of the octagon as the Ultimate Fighter two years ago.

Simply because Grove has had his share of struggles in the UFC does not mean Sadollah will follow the same path. So how can Sadollah truly expect to compete with fighters of a much higher caliber? The answer to that question came from inside the octagon. Sadollah’s victory of Dollaway is proof that any UFC fighter has a chance at any moment on the mat, especially the more technical fighters.

Granted, Sadollah probably doesn’t entertain visions of struggling to a split decision against an Evan Tanner type two years into the future. But only time will tell how his future will pan out. He is already armed with much more humility than Grove who displayed a bit of arrogance before, during and after his bout with Tanner.

Ultimate Fighters

On Saturday night, the UFC audience was able to witness back to back Ultimate Fighter champions of a very different nature. Yet, as different as every fighter is, they all share one common trait. Any one can fall victim to an arm bar at any given moment.

With so many ways to slip in a submission, it is extremely difficult to ever crown a true Ultimate Fighter. Nonetheless, other fighters will go on to follow in the footsteps of Grove and Sadollah as the Ultimate Fighter series continues. The names my change although the sport will remain the same. For it is not the ultimate fighter that makes the sport what it is, but rather the ultimate fight itself.

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This year’s Ultimate Fighter finale will take place Saturday night in Las Vegas, although there will be a slight twist to the final bout. One of the fighters who earned the right to step into the octagon on Saturday night had that right pulled out from underneath of him. Finalist Jesse Taylor was issued his walking papers by UFC president Dana White after his recent meltdown in Sin City.

White dismissed Taylor after he was caught on video tape kicking out a window of a limousine and subsequently terrorizing women inside a Las Vegas hotel. Furthermore, he boasted to security that he was a UFC fighter, as if that simple fact would excuse his behavior. The move didn’t sit well with White.

A New Ultimate Fighter

As a result, Amir Sadollah will replace Taylor and Take on CB Dollaway for the right to be crowned the Ultimate Fighter during its seventh season. The move showed a lot of grit as well as the execution of class on White’s behalf. In the eyes of many, mma fighters are simply revered as nothing more than bruisers and thugs. And, in some circles, even mindless barbarians.

Taylor’s behavior only gave credence to those theories. Yet, White’s decision to nix Taylor has attempted to contradict those theories. Regardless of what transpires inside the octagon, White sent a clear cut message to the mass public as well as the rest of the fighters in the UFC. That message was simply that such behavior will not be tolerated.

In the world of professional sports, so many athletes tarnish their name and the name of their sport because of their behavior outside of the sport. In the recent past, former NFL quarterback Michael Vick fell victim to off the field problems and as a result, he now resides in an 8×11 cell.

But Taylor also wasn’t the only one to fall victim to the perils of Sin City. Las Vegas seduced the NFL’s “Pacman” Jones more than a year ago and prohibited him from pursuing an immediate future in football. While these may just be isolated incidents, each one grabs major headlines and sticks out in the forefront of most people’s minds. Despite most of the positives generated by these sports, these incidents batter them with a black eye.

Going, going, gone

Nowadays, the name of a home run king cannot be uttered with out the word steroid following that name. In a lesser publicized move, the EliteXC banned women’s fighter Carina Damm for one year after she tested positive for steroids. The move took place this past April and nullified a scheduled women’s bout on the past EliteXC television event. Without many women grabbing headlines in the sport, it was a bold move for the EliteXC to take such a drastic measure.

The WEC also got into the act and issued a six month medical suspension to Urijah Faber because of an injury to his hand that was sustained during his last bout with Jens Pulver. Now how many organizations would prohibit a player/fighter from participating because of a medical injury?

It was pretty much a known fact that former Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre was on a steady diet of Demerol throughout his NFL career. Nonetheless, no NFL representative ever stepped in and even questioned the status of his health, nonetheless how many pills he was popping at halftime.

Although some may look on the sport of mixed martial arts as one of brutality, it is doing an excellent job of showing it is anything but that. White’s most recent move to ban Taylor is just the latest to show that the UFC wants to be recognized as an organization equipped with a conscious.

A lasting theory?

Now, would White had move such a move if Rampage Jackson had kicked out the window of a limousine? That question doesn’t have to be answered even though White gave the impression that such behavior will not be tolerated. And he evidenced the fact, showing that Taylor is not above the law.

A great deal of athletes in this day and age adhere to a mindset that would repute White’s actions. Lucrative contracts, millions of adoring fans and astronomical endorsement deals lead a lot of athletes to believe as though they can behave however they choose. That way of thinking may suffice in other organizations, but White has made a stand claiming that it will not be part of the UFC.

As the sport of mixed martial arts continues to grow, White is likely to get more opportunities to test his theory. For it is only a matter of time before someone decides to let the fame, fortune and perhaps even the luster of Las Vegas get the better of them. It will be then when the world will get to see if White can duplicate the same sentiment he expressed in his decision to dismiss Taylor.

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