The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada - 21/06/2008

The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale
The Finale of the seventh series of The Ultimate Fighter did not disappoint. The main event between the winner of the third series of The Ultimate Fighter Kendall Grove and the former Middleweight Champ Even Tanner ended in an appropriate decision in somewhat puzzling fashion. The younger fighter grove looked excellent against the older veteran, landing shots at will, and punishing Tanner with a multitude of flying knees from the clinch. By the end of the fight Tanner looked as old as I’m sure he felt. Despite the devastating style in which Grove handled Tanner and the lack of damage inflicted on Grove, he won by SPLIT decision.

The co-main event was the deciding bout of the Ultimate Fighter series between Amir Sadollah and CB Dollaway. Anyone who witnessed their first fight knows how tough and talented both competitors are. This being said it seemed an easy victory by arm bar at 3:02 in the first round. The same way he beat CB the first time around. The most impressive thing about this fight was the sheer determination exhibited by the game Sadollah, holding onto CB’s arm as if it was more than just his career on the line. A certain level of controversy ensued when the fight was stopped, with CB tapping Amir's leg once but denying that he did, even Amir pleading to the referee that he didn't. Watching the footage back would suggest that he did, but was it a full tap or a hesitant contemplation? Look at the footage yourself. Overall an impressive victory for a deserving opponent.

Diego Sanchez looked like an entirely different fighter against Luigi Fioravanti. Fioravanti did look good at times, but was rocked on more than a few occasions by the vastly improved stand up skills of Sanchez, winner of the very first series of The Ultimate Fighter. Despite some good combinations and some excellent take down defence Luigi was beaten by TKO just under a minute from the end of the third round.

Even though Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stevens came into this fight having won his two previous fights and looking very impressive in them both, he was completely outclassed by the UFC veteran, Spencer “The King” Fisher. Spencer looked excellent in his fight, landing a very unorthodox and very effective reverse elbow time and time again taking him to a unanimous decision victory.

 Two of the eliminated members of the TUF 7 cast fought in the first televised fight of the night. Matthew Riddle and Dante Rivera had a small conflict in the house when Dante declared that if Matthew ever beat him he would retire from MMA. That being said, Riddle beat him by a unanimous decision. Matthew Riddle isn’t quite world class yet, but is young talented and hungry. With a bit of professional training he may be good enough to push his record past the modest 1-0-0.

Preliminary Fight Results

Dustin Hazelett defeated Josh Burkman by arm bar at 4:46 in the 2nd round
Drew McFedries defeated Marvin Eastman by TKO at 1:08 in the 1st round
Matt Brown defeated Matt Aroyo by TKO at 3:30 in the 2nd round
Dean Lister defeats Jeremy Horn by guillotine choke at 3:58 in the 1st round
Rob Kimmons wins by guillotine choke at 3:52 in the 1st round