The season that has brought in limited drama and even more limited ratings drew to a close last night with the two semi-final contests that set the stage for Saturday’s Ultimate Finale 13 live from the Palms (that yours truly will be covering for Inside Fights).
We get the recap which focuses primarily on the rumble that went down last week when Tony proved himself to be that guy, you know the one who you just can’t trust after 4 or 5 beers, as he went absolute bat shit in the house and turned pretty much everybody against him by attacking Charlie and his strained custody situation involving his son and his ex.
Chuck, who will fight Tony in the semi-finals seemed to take it more personally than anybody and has made it his mission to stand in Tony’s way and prevent him from realizing his dream. He speaks briefly on how Tony’s meltdown is something that you just can’t come back from, and then he drops the famous “A drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts” line.
Weigh Ins
The first fight we’ll be treated to tonight is Chris Cope vs. Ramsey Nijem.
Chris Cope= 170
Ramsey Nijem= 170.5
We then cut to a scene back at the scene of the crime as in the very room that Tony spewed his most hateful speech he approaches those who he offended and offers an apology. He went through the usual routine, he was blacked out, he doesn’t remember a thing blah blah blah. Luckily for him he’s only a few short months away from getting to see it in all its glory along with the rest of the world. Chuck isn’t having any of it and doesn’t believe a word of it. According to him Tony’s body language is the tip off that he doesn’t mean what he is saying. The fact that he doesn’t find the apology to be credible is very convenient for Chuck because that way he can keep channeling his new found hatred of Tony towards their upcoming fight.
It’s now fight day and I have to say that I think it is hard to imagine Chris stealing this one but I also would have never picked him to get this far in the first place.
Chris Cope vs. Ramsey Nijem
Round 1– Nijem is the aggressor early on and comes charging out the gates with fists a-blazing. When that doesn’t secure him the results he was hoping for he instantly switches to his strong point which is the grappling game. The problem there is that he falls into exactly the same trap that Shamar did a few episodes ago where Cope blocks the takedown and then is able to tee off while Nijem keeps working the takedown. Cope’s punches do seem significantly girlier this time around. That doesn’t last long though as Ramsey switches strategy again and after that he takes control of the round. Referee Steve Mazzagatti calls for a break at one point but Cope is not able to use that to his favor. In the final 30 seconds of so Nijem backs off the grappling and a boxing match begins to develope. Cope lands some nice jabs but it is hardly enough to steal the round. 10-9 Nijem.
Round 2– Once again Nijem comes flying out of his corner with deadly intention. He scores an early takedown but Chris stands up out of it. They circle around and exchange blows but eventually Nijem is able to just swarm the guy and really unload his arsenal on him. He hits him with some big knees and some nasty punches that drive Cope to the mat. Mazzagatti jumps in to stop the fight and send Nijem into the finals. Interesting stoppage that may have been a little premature, also interesting that this airs just days after Mazzagatti caught heat for not preventing Travis Browne from inflicting more damage on a KO’d Stefan Struve.
Ramsey Nijem def. Chris Cope via 2nd Round TKO
Weigh Ins
We move quickly into preparation for the next fight. Remember the fights in the semi-final round are 3 rounds (as all the fights should be. . .but what do I know) so we may have a lengthy one ahead of us.
Tony Ferguson= 170
Chuck O’Neil= 170
The producers keep pounding away at the storyline surrounding these two and as much as I may hate myself for admitting it I am buying into it in a very mark-ish way. Tony isn’t buying into all of Chuck’s bluster as he says that Chuck is too smart to bring his emotions into the cage.
Tony Ferguson vs. Chuck O’Neil
Round 1– It seems to me, and maybe I’m just a sucker for the hype, that O’Neil is bringing the noise early on. And that seems to play directly into Ferguson’s hand as he is all too happy to pick him apart with jabs and vicious looking leg kicks. O’Neil makes a mistake at one point as his body kick is caught and Ferguson drives him backwards onto his back with it. He is unable to capitalize on the moment though and O’Neil is quickly back on his feet. The round ends after more close technical striking. I’m going to give it to Ferguson 10-9, though I’m sure the judges could have seen it going either way.
Round 2– This round really served to display the disparity between these two fighters because as close as the first round was this was a pretty significant blow out. It is probably about as lopsided as a 10-9 round can possibly get. Ferguson continued to stick to his gameplan of counter punching and dodging O’Neil’s shots. I would also say that O’Neil’s fitness probably came into play here as by the end of the round his shots had no zip on them whatsoever. But Ferguson again methodically decimated O’Neil causing some strong blood flow from his nose in the process. 10-9 Ferguson.
Round 3– This round picks up exactly where the last one left out with an exhausted, bloodied O’Neil trying desperately trying to advance in the tournament. Ferguson looks really good out there, physically bigger and stronger but also with smoother head movements and tons more confidence. A few minutes in he drops O’Neil with a right. O’Neil looks spent but Ferguson neglects to pounce and try and finish and instead asks him to stand (and then tries to attack while he was standing up but referee Herb Dean vetoed that notion). The fight goes on for a short while longer before another flurry of punches causes O’Neil to collapse again and this time Dean does the right thing and calls the fight off.
Tony Ferguson def. Chuck O’Neil via 3rd Round TKO
We get a quick face-off in the cage between Tony and Ramsey as they meet this Saturday in one of the more exciting TUF finals in recent memory.
After that we move to a scene filmed well after the fact of Dana White in an office talking on the phone. He recounts how he got a call from Brock Lesnar after the show was taped informing him that his diverticulitis had returned and that he would have to bow out of UFC 131 so that he could have surgery. We of course know now that he had 12 inches of his colon removed last week. From there White looks ahead to the new UFC 131 main event which will now find Junior Dos Santos taking on Shane Carwin.
Final Thoughts
For as much belly aching and hand wringing that we have done over this season of The Ultimate Fighter I still would be sad to see it go. The UFC and Spike TV are coming up on the end of their contract and the sagging ratings of this season certainly put the UFC in a more defensive position. The show needs to be revamped. I know that there is still a large segment of the population who enjoy the 2002 reality TV aesthetic that the UFC employs here but I for one think we need to look towards the future. I don’t believe that the UFC needs this format to build their up and coming characters, I think in a lot of ways it helps but is not essential. The amateur-ish 2 round nonsense needs to go, as does the secrecy surrounding the judging as does the idea that the only way we can grow to love these people is by watching their drunken antics. I know that the idea of the show is to attract new fans to the sport, people who would normally just be watching another brain dead reality show, but if they upped the intelligence of their introduction to the sport (this show) then they could hopefully grow smarter fans over the long term.
In any case, the finale is Saturday and with the exception of the Tim Creuder vs. Ed Herman bout, it should be a strong card. For those of you not in the know a 3rd place contest between Chuck O’Neil and Chris Cope was added to the main card. No word yet on whether or not any or all of the prelims will be broadcast on Facebook.com.
