Well the Ultimate Fighter Season 10 is finally over with the finale this Saturday night. I have mixed feelings about this season because although it was entertaining, the actual fights were not all that entertaining. What did you guys think about this?
As with all of the previous Ultimate Fighter seasons, the “house” moments are always entertaining and comical. I cannot begin to tell you how many times that I laughed at how simple some of these guys were – especially Matt “Meathead” Mitrione. This guy is, without a doubt, lacking in the intelligence department – but maybe that’s what makes him so comical. When he first said he had a shoulder injury, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and believed he was truly injured. But after a while I started to really question the guys heart. I will give him credit that he did put up one helluva fight against Scott Junk but his lack of conditioning (and the entire TUF10 “cast” for that matter) prevented him from finishing Scott Junk…
In all honesty, the biggest surprise for me was seeing Kimbo’s improvements. Whether you like him or not, you can see that the guy really wants to be an MMA fighter. Kimbo could have easily went into boxing (rumor is that he turned down several offers from promoters to go into boxing) but he wanted to stick with MMA. It really is too bad Kimbo did not get into Martial Arts earlier in his life as he certainly could have been so much better. However, I have seen all of his “professional” fights when he was in EliteXC and up until now and I can definitely see an improvement. In Kimbo’s defense, he has spent all of his time after the TUF10 filming training with Rashad Evans and the American Top Team camp in Florida which he should have gained immense knowledge and training to better himself. Let us hope he did better himself because he is not fighting a “bum” this Saturday in Houston Alexander. That should be a good fight!! Ultimately though, Kimbo needs to drop down to Light Heavyweight because you and I both know there is no way in hell that Kimbo would beat any of the top tier guys in the heavyweight division (Lesnar, Carwin, Velazquez, Mir, Noguiera, Kongo) because he’s just too small…
I was really impressed with Marcus Jones. This guy really has the size, strength, intensity, heart, and ground game to be a difficult opponent for quite a few heavyweights with the exception being the elite guys. His stand-up game is pretty weak though and I hope that he sticks with MMA and gets a really good trainer to help with his stand-up game. The only mistake Marcus made when he was fighting Brendan (aside from letting out of the full mount) was standing up with his chin out which Brendan exploited to earn the win. Once Marcus learns to keep his chin tucked along with straightening out those punches and learning to establish a stiff jab – he will be good. Unfortunately for Marcus – he’s already 35 years old…
Ok… Enough about all that… The TUF10 Finale Weigh-In’s came in today – check it out at by clicking (it will open in new window) on HERE… I will go ahead and make my personal predictions here – just for the “main” card and not the prelims – and hopefully you guys will chime in with your own predictions:
Brendan Schaub (240) VS Roy Nelson (263) : I REALLY hope Brendan Schaub wins this won because the way Roy Nelson won his fights in TUF10 were not very entertaining but I suspect that Roy Nelson will end up winning this thing. Once Schaub lands a few good shots on Roy, Roy will just shoot in, take him down, and put the belly on him. Roy Nelson by KO second round or decision victory…
Jon Jones (206) VS Matt Hamill (206) : I think with all the hype surrounding Jon Jones might be legit. The guy definitely looks like he’s going to be really good. He trains with GSP and his people, has a wrestling foundation and is still young. Look for Jones to knock Hamill out in the second round but don’t be surprised if Jones gets a decision. Hamill is going to be a great test for Jones after he dominated Bonnar early this year. Jon Jones by UD…
Houston Alexander (208) VS Kimbo Slice (212) : I kind of think this is a bit of a hand picked opponent for Kimbo – not a guarantee but a hand picked opponent. Houston Alexander is known as a stand-up guy and this plays right into Kimbo’s game. If Kimbo has improved as much as Rashad Evans has said – then this should be a great showcase fight for Kimbo. I personally am pulling for Kimbo to win this one and win impressively so that we could see him with some of the other light heavyweight guys. Alexander is no push over though, and has several highlight KO’s of his own so this is not a “gimmie” by any means. Even still – I say Kimbo KO first round…
Matt Veach (155) VS Frank Edgar (155) : I have seen Frank Edgar fight a few times and he seems to have the total package but Matt Veach is also VERY good. This is more of a pick ‘em for me. But I do think Frank Edgar pulls this one out as he has been on the big stage already and is very well-rounded. Frank Edgar UD…
Matt Mitrione (255) VS Marcus Jones (262) : This is a fight that I am pretty excited about just based on the intensity from Marcus when he thought Scott Junk was not going to be able to fight again. Hopefully Marcus will channel this intensity again and we will see him just manhandle Mitrione. However, if Jones has not learned to keep his chin tucked, Mitrione could easily knock him out. I was pretty surprised by how much Mitrione weighed in at for this fight because to me, it seems like he’s a bit over weight but then again he never had a physique. I like Marcus Jones by submission (likely a Kimura) in second round…