The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale Results
by Robert Sargent
Capping off a wild and controversial season, The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale featured some excellent fights and explosive finishes, with Ryan "Darth" Bader taking the Light Heavyweight crown and Efrain Escudero winning the Lightweight title.
Elsewhere, Anthony "Rumble" Johnson got his revenge with a highlight-reel knockout of Kevin "The Fire" Burns, while Wilson Gouveia defeated Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald.
TUF 8 Lightweight Final
Efrain Escudero vs "The Filipino Assassin" Phillipe Nover
Despite coming into the fight as a considerable underdog, Escudero surprisingly dominated nearly all of this three-round bout, taking the TUF Season 8 Lightweight title with an impressive upset.Both fighters landed kicks in the early goings as they found their striking range. Nover landed an overhand right, but was promptly taken down. Escudero worked from the top and avoided an armbar attempt, then rocked Nover with a quick combination as Nover got to his feet. Escudero tried for a guillotine choke, then gave it up and took Nover's back. Escudero moved to mount and landed a pair of hard rights as Nover regained guard. Escudero lunged forward with a punch and was partially trapped in a triangle. He got to his feet and avoided a standing Kimura attempt from Nover. Escudero scored another takedown and once again avoided a triangle attempt from Nover. Escudero briefly took Nover's back, then drilled him with a huge right hand from a standing position. Escudero landed more strikes before Nover got back to his feet. Both fighters landed knees in the clinch before the bell. 10-9 Escudero.
Nover began round two aggressively with strikes, but was tripped to the mat. Escudero worked from side-control, then stood and kicked the legs of Nover. Escudero scored another brief takedown, but Nover pressed him against the cage. The fighters separated and Escudero landed a series of inside leg kicks, then ducked a wild punch from Nover. Escudero scored a takedown and escaped from a guillotine choke attempt. He worked from half-guard and landed strikes from the top as Nover tried to get back to his feet. Nover looked for a heel hook with mere seconds left in the round, but Escudero stood up and hit Nover with a huge left hook to the body, then scored a takedown as the horn sounded to end round two. 10-9 Escudero.
The fighters traded kicks to begin round three before Escudero scored a takedown. Nover got back up and came forward with a quick combination. Two jabs landed for Nover, and he followed up with two punches and a kick. Escudero took Nover down and worked from half-guard, but Nover looked to lock on a Kimura. Nover gave up the Kimura attempt and switched to an omoplata instead. Escudero held on for quite some time to avoid having his shoulder torqued, but Nover eventually fully secured the omoplata. Escudero rolled backwards to escape and wound up on his back. Nover dove forward with desperation punches, but could not finish Escudero before the bell. 10-9 Nover.
Winner: Efrain Escudero by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 11-0-0 and becomes the TUF Season 8 Lightweight Winner.
TUF 8 Light Heavyweight Final
Ryan "Darth" Bader vs Vinicius "Pezao" Magalhães
Avoiding the dangerous submission game of Magalhães, Bader kept the fight standing and exploited Magalhães's poor striking en route to a quick TKO victory to take the season's Light Heavyweight title.Bader landed leg kicks early on, then followed up with two overhand rights as Magalhães looked to land body kicks. A quick combination landed for Bader, who rushed in with a flying knee. Magalhães caught a kick from Bader and briefly tossed him to the mat, then scored with rushing punches as Bader got to his feet. Again, both fighters landed kicks, and Bader began to find a home for his overhand right. Seconds later, Bader landed a glancing overhand right to the temple of Magalhães, who fell face-first to the canvas. Bader pounced and landed strikes on the ground that finished the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion.
Winner: Ryan Bader by TKO (Punches) at 2:17 of round one. He improves to 8-0-0 and becomes the TUF Season 8 Light Heavyweight Winner.
Anthony "Rumble" Johnson vs Kevin "The Fire" Burns
Avenging what was obviously the worst refereeing decision in years in their first meeting, Johnson got his revenge by knocking Burns out cold with a vicious head kick early in round three.Just as in their first fight, Johnson dominated the duration of this bout, but there would be no controversial win via eye pokes for Burns this time. Both fighters alternated between leg kicks and jabs in the early goings of round one, and both connected with lefts at the same time. Burns got wild with punches and Johnson scored a takedown. Burns looked for a triangle choke, but ate a big hammerfist for his efforts. Johnson moved to side-control, but found himself trapped in a reverse triangle. He escaped the hold with punches, then landed more big shots from the top. Johnson landed more punches until the fight was brought back to the feet, and he sent Burns to the mat after catching a kick. He drilled Burns with a body kick and a trio of punches before the bell. 10-9 Johnson.
The fighters traded kicks and punches to begin round two, and Johnson scored another takedown. Burns looked for a Kimura from the bottom, but Johnson escaped and landed strikes from the top. Johnson continued to punish Burns with punches and elbows from Burns's guard, while Burns offered little in return. This went on for several minutes, with Johnson dominating the action. Late in the round, Burns looked for a triangle and an armbar, but Johnson unleashed a flurry of strikes from the top that sealed the round in his favour. 10-9 Johnson.
Burns pushed the pace early in round three and landed a few short punches, while Johnson countered with leg kicks and a quick combination. Johnson stopped Burns's momentum with a hard left hook, then knocked him out cold with a left high kick seconds later. The win was sweet revenge for Johnson, after the debacle of a decision in their first fight.
Winner: Anthony Johnson by KO (Head Kick) at 0:28 of round three. He improves to 6-2-0.
Wilson Gouveia vs Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald
After missing weight for yet another fight, Gouveia made up for it by stopping his submission wizard opponent with punches and elbows midway through round one.MacDonald avoided punches from Gouveia and locked onto a leg for a takedown, but could not keep Gouveia down. The fighters clinched against the cage, with neither holding an advantage. MacDonald threw body kicks and came forward with a flurry of punches, but Gouveia picked his shots and dropped MacDonald with a pair of counterpunches. Gouveia followed up with hammerfists on the ground, then switched to elbows, which cut MacDonald on the forehead. Seconds later, MacDonald tapped to avoid further punishment from the elbows of Gouveia.
Winner: Wilson Gouveia by Submission (Elbows) at 2:16 of round one. He improves to 12-5-0.
Junie "The Lunatic" Browning vs "Diamond" Dave Kaplan
After embarrassing himself and the sport of mixed martial arts during The Ultimate Fighter Season 8, the aptly named "Lunatic," Browning, did show vastly improved skill and discipline, as he stopped Kaplan with an armbar in round two.Browning's first kick was an inadvertent low blow, and action resumed after a brief break. The fighters traded strikes, and Browning landed a nice combination of kicks and punches. Another solid combination landed for Browning, which cut Kaplan above the left eye. Browning landed a flying knee, but Kaplan caught a kick from Browning and threw him down. Kaplan looked for a heel hook, but Browning escaped and took Kaplan's back. Kaplan got back to his feet, but was bombarded with punches from Browning. Kaplan clinched and scored a takedown, but a failed heel hook attempt allowed Browning to get up. Browning took top position, then moved to Kaplan's back again, but Kaplan got up and looked to strike from the top. Both fighters landed knees and punches in a clinch before the bell. 10-9 Browning.
Browning scored a modified takedown early in round two, then worked from Kaplan's half-guard. Eventually, Browning passed to side-control, then locked on an armbar that forced Kaplan to submit.
Winner: Junie Browning by Submission (Armbar) at 1:32 of round two. He improves to 3-0-0.
"The Polish Experiment" Krzysztof Soszynski vs Shane Primm
Controlling most of the fight, Soszynski locked on a Kimura late in round two and wrenched it back, forcing Primm to submit in great pain.Soszynski landed a big left early on, but Primm scored a takedown. Soszynski got back to his feet and the fighters clinched against the cage. Soszynski separated and landed a quick one-two, then stuffed a takedown attempt. Primm pulled guard and looked for a triangle choke, but Soszynski powerbombed his way out. Back on the feet, Primm landed knees in a Thai clinch, and Soszynski countered with uppercuts. Soszynski stuffed another takedown and spun to side-control. Soszynski looked for a Kimura on Primm's left arm, but eventually gave it up and landed strikes from the top. 10-9 Soszynski.
Primm looked for a high kick early on, and Soszynski fired back with a quick flurry of punches. Soszynski stuffed a takedown attempt, then landed a solid left after a clinch. Both fighters threw wild punches and Primm looked for another takedown, then pulled guard. Soszynski worked from half-guard and once again looked for a Kimura on Primm's left arm. Primm did a good job of defending the submission, but Soszynski eventually managed to wrench the arm behind Primm's back. Primm quickly submitted to the painful hold.
Winner: Krzysztof Soszynski by Submission (Kimura) at 3:27 of round two. He improves to 16-8-1.
Eliot "The Fire" Marshall vs Jules Bruchez
Bruchez, who appeared to have extremely limited skills and had no business being on The Ultimate Fighter in the first place, was handily defeated by Marshall with a rear naked choke early in round one.Marshall drilled Bruchez with a stiff right to begin the fight, then rocked Bruchez with more punches. Bruchez clinched to avoid punishment, but was taken down. Marshall moved right to side-control and looked for a Kimura on Bruchez's right arm. Marshall moved to mount, then took Bruchez's back. Bruchez held on momentarily, but was forced to submit after Marshall locked on a rear naked choke. Extremely dominant performance for Marshall, over a woefully overmatched Bruchez.
Winner: Eliot Marshall by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:27 of round one. He improves to 6-1-0.
Undercard Fights:
Tom "The Filthy Mauler" Lawlor defeated Kyle Kingsbury by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 5-1-0, 1 NC.Shane Nelson defeated George Roop by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 11-3-0.
Roli "The Crazy Cuban" Delgado defeated John "Buckets of Blood" Polakowski by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:18 of round two. He improves to 6-3-1.
Capping off what was easily the most controversial and, at times, embarrassing season of The Ultimate Fighter, the Season 8 Finale event crowned two deserving champions who will look to make their mark in the UFC in 2009.
