The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale took place this past Saturday night at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the span of two hours, we saw Jame Yager’s first and last fight in the UFC, Chris Leben resurrect his career with a Knockout of the Night victory, Matt Hamill establish himself as a top 20 light heavyweight, and Court McGee become the newest Ultimate Fighter.
12 fighters entered the Octagon hoping to fulfill their dreams and propel themselves to the top of the UFC. Some succeeded, some failed. Here is where those 12 mixed martial artists stand following TUF 11 Finale.
TUF 11 Finale: Televised Preliminaries
James McSweeney vs. Travis Browne
Loser: James McSweeney – McSweeney has now been stopped in 3 of his last 4 fights, and aside from the fact that he trains with Rashad Evans at Greg Jackson’s MMA Academy, he doesn’t have much going for him. Predominately a kickboxer, McSweeny lacks sufficient speed and/or power to be a threat to any top 25 heavyweight fighter. With another loss in the Octagon, McSweeny will likely be out of the UFC for good.
Performance Grade: F
Winner: Travis Browne – As per usual in a fighter’s UFC debut, Browne showed some early jitters that a McSweeney right hand helped shake off. Once Browne got comfortable, he displayed his punching power, plowing through McSweeney and knocking the Englishmen to the ground where he promptly finished him off with some vicious ground and pound. Browne has now amounted 10 straight victories, KO/TKOing his last 5 opponents in the process. It was a solid debut for the heavyweight prospect, and one that could propel him into a fight with TUF 10 finalist Brandon Shaub to determine where Browne stands in the heavyweight pecking order.
Performance Grade: B+
UFC 115: Main Card
Jamie Yager vs. Rich Attonito
Loser: Jamie Yager – Yager has the charisma, but he sure doesn’t have the skill or drive to be a UFC fighter. Once again Yager demonstrated a lack of cardio, gassing in the 2nd round of the most important fight of his career and allowing Attonito to get his back and pound him out. Being only 26, Yager has plenty of time to fine tune his skills, but taking into account his decision to not come out for the third round in his quarterfinals bout with Josh Bryant, and his wilting under the pressure of Attonito’s strikes, we may never see Yager’s potential come to light.
Performance Grade: D
Winner: Rich Attonito – For all the heart Yager lacked, Attonito made up for. In the first round, Yager was clearly the stronger more powerful fighter, landing the more damaging blows and controlling the pace of the fight. But Attonito refused to give in, and was rewarded, when Yager started to gas and drop his hands. Attonito is still very raw, but at 33, he’s already well into, and quite possibly, past his prime. With a limited skill set and no clear strengths, Attonito’s future in the UFC may not extend all that far beyond beating the Jamie Yager.
Performance Grade: B
Spencer Fisher vs. Dennis Siver
Loser: Spencer Fisher – It was a disappointing performance by Fisher Saturday night, one that left a lot to be desired from the UFC vet. Not only did Fisher come into the ring looking soft, with a Pillsbury doughboy belly, but he fought soft as well. Instead of utilizing his superior grappling abilities, Fisher decided to try and slug it out with the Russian kick boxer, which may have worked out better had he come to the Octagon as sharp as he usually does. For the first time in his 14-fight UFC career Fisher has dropped two bouts in a row, and a third, may mean a pink slip for the man who submitted top welterweight contender Thiago Alves just fives years ago.
Performance Grade: C+
Winner: Dennis Siver – Siver fought a smart fight, picking his shots carefully, and winning the fight on points. He still lacks the technical skills required to be anything more than a gatekeeper at 170, but as Fisher has demonstrated the past five years, being a gatekeeper in the UFC is no small achievement. With this win, Siver saved himself from the dreaded “2 and out” policy the UFC employs with most of its fighters, and will get at least a couple more opportunities to showcase his spinning back kick in the Octagon.
Performance Grade: B-
Chris Leben vs. Aaron Simpson
Loser: Aaron Simpson – Before his fight with Tom Lawlor at UFC Fight Night 20, the Simpson hype train was cho-choooing along, but then Lawlor exposed Simpson’s vulnerabilities and people began to question whether the hype was warranted; Saturday night, Leben succeeded where Lawlor failed, and derailed the Simpson hype train for good. It was nearly parody Saturday night as Mike Goldberg spoke about how excellent Simpson’s cardio is just as the Arizona State wrestler began to gas and drop his hands. Unable to take Leben down, Simpson was a fish out of water, as Leben’s hard punches sent him flopping around the cage. At 35, time is not on Simpson’s side, and with such vulnerabilities on the feet, and insufficient fuel in the tank, Simpson will likely never be anything more than hype.
Performance Grade: C
Winner: Chris Leben – Leben showed a great maturity in this fight, sticking to his game plan, and wearing out the former two-time NCAA All-American wrestler until finally putting him away for good. Most surprising of all, was Leben’s ability to stuff the takedowns of Simpson in the second round, as most expected it to be an easy take-em-down and pound-em-out victory for Simpson. But Leben had other plans, and in his most impressive victory since knocking out current Sengoku Champion Jorge Santiago four years ago, Leben put everyone on notice that “The Crippler” still has some fight left in him.
Performance Grade: B+
TUF 11 Finale Co-Main Event: Matt Hamill vs. Keith Jardine
Loser: Keith Jardine – Four losses in a row all but certifies your exit from the UFC, but I have a feeling Jardine will be sticking around for at least one more chance in the Octagon. Some will argue that Herb Dean changed the momentum of the fight when he deducted a point from Jardine for an accidental eye-poke; following the point deduction, Jardine went for broke, and paid for it as Hamill opened up a viscous gash down the center of his forehead. From that point on, the fight was clearly in Hamill’s favor, and the judges agreed, awarding Hamill with a unanimous decision victory. Jardine looked solid for the first round and a half, getting off first and utilizing an in-out game plan that had him clearly in control of the fight. But as time went on, and the point was deducted, Jardine lost focused, started to burn unnecessary energy, and ultimately lost the fight.
Jardine is a top 25 light heavyweight, but he just hasn’t been able to put it together in a big fight since he beat Brandon Vera at UFC 89. A fight with Luis Cane in a “loser leaves town” match could be next for Jardine, and hopefully for him, he can turn his once promising career around.
Performance Grade: C+
Winner: Matt Hamill – A staph infection and a broken hand didn’t stop “The Hammer” as he gutted out a victory in the Fight of the Night. Hamill looked confused in the first round, with Jardine’s unorthodox striking and faster hands disrupting Hamill from establishing any form of attack. But Hamill toughed it out, and once Jardine began to slow, it was Hamill who landed to damaging shots. Hamill was set on proving himself as a top ten fighter coming into this fight, and while a victory over Jardine doesn’t help him crack the 10 spot, it does move him into the top 20. A fight with top 15 fighter Ryan Bader, who KOed Jardine at UFC 110, would give Hamill the opportunity to move ever so close to cracking the prestigious light heavyweight top 10 rankings.
Performance Grade: B
TUF 11 Finale Main Event: Court McGee vs. Kris McCray
Loser: Kris McCray – McCray put forth an amazing effort to make it to the finals, fighting literally every week on the show, but he was clearly overmatched in the finale. From his last fight on the show against Josh Bryant to Saturday night’s fight against McGee, there wasn’t much improvement shown by McCray. His gas tank still seemed to implode in the second round, and his striking and wrestling was still mediocre. With only five pro fights before entering the show, McCray is a raw talent, but the fact that he showed little improvement from his previous fight doesn’t bode well for his future prospects. I expect the UFC to baby McCray along for a couple of fights before giving him a shot against top flight competition, something that can’t be said for most of his cast mates who won’t be seen under the UFC banner for quite some time, if ever again.
Performance Grade: C-
Winner: Court McGee – Court took him the Submission of the Night with his rear-naked choke victory over McCray. While many “experts” expected McGee to win the fight, few believed he would do it with superior wrestling. Unlike McCray, McGee showed solid improvement from his previous fight, both in the grappling and striking department. But it was the improvement in his wrestling that made the fight look so easy. McCray’s game plan throughout the show was to take the fight to the ground and implement some Tito Ortiz inspired ground and pound. 4 out the 5 times he competed, it worked. But against McGee, McCray was unable to secure the takedown, and with that, his whole rhythm was thrown off.
McGee is a good fighter with a solid upside. At only 25 years of age, he will have plenty of time to mature and grow as a fighter under the UFC umbrella, but like all Ultimate Fighter winners, he will eventually be tested against the best in the world, whether or not he’s up for the task is still to be determined.
Performance Grade: B+
Rising Prelim Fighter: Travis Browne
Biggest Loser of the Night: James McSweeney
Biggest Winner of the Night: Court McGee
By Jeffrey Concerto
DFN Sports MMA Writer