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The Ultimate Fighter Finale Season 9 Preview & LIVE Coverage By Justin Bolduc
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Along with the season finals, the main card is set to feature TUF 1 middleweight winner Diego Sanchez in his second UFC appearance at lightweight against Clay Guida. TUF 4 finalist and MMA veteran Chris Lytle returns to action against Kevin Burns, while TUF 5 winner Nate Diaz meets up with TUF 2 winner Joe Stevenson.
Diego Sanchez (20-2) vs. Clay Guida (25-9) Diego Sanchez first gained attention with his appearance on the original season of The Ultimate Fighter. Although overshadowed by the personality of Forrest Griffin and Griffin's battle with Stephan Bonnar in the finals, Sanchez quickly rose as one of the premiere fighters in the world.
With an always full gas tank and a tenacious wrestling attack, Sanchez won his first twenty bouts, including six in the UFC. His stock rose quickly with consecutive wins over Nick Diaz, John Alessio, Karo Parisyan, and Joe Riggs before falling to back to back losses to Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch.
Following the losses Sanchez picked up wins over David Bielkheden and Luigi Fioravanti. Most recently however he defeated Joe Stevenson by decision in the main event of UFC 95, marking his lightweight debut.
Clay Guida found himself in trouble early in his UFC career with a 1-2 record with the promotion. He has been able to turn things around however, and is currently riding a three-fight win streak. Despite the setbacks, Guida has fared well with top competition throughout his career, including pre-UFC wins over Bart Palaszewski and current Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson.
In his first two UFC outings Guida defeated Justin James, but fell to Din Thomas. His next loss was a controversial split decision to Tyson Griffin which many people believe was a bad call. He was able to rebound with a win over Marcus Aurelio. Guida was then paired up with Roger Huerta and appeared to be on his way to defeating the popular Hispanic lightweight until strikes ended his night in the third round.
Like Sanchez, Guida possesses excellent cardio and is a relentless wrestler. After getting back on track with a win over Sammy Schiavo, Guida toppled TUF 6 winner Mac Danzig and most recently TUF 5 winner Nate Diaz – each by decision.
Intangibles: Both fighters can fight seemingly forever without tiring, and both are excellent wrestlers. Guida will have the advantage when clinched up and has better control over his opponents, but Sanchez will have the advantage with submissions, striking, and speed.
Breakdown: Expect Guida to strike his way in and work for clinches and takedowns to control the action and grind out Sanchez. Sanchez will use his superior kickboxing and speed to strike from the distance and move in and out while avoiding takedowns. Sanchez takes the fight by unanimous decision in what will likely be a fight of the night candidate.
Chris Lytle (26-17-5) vs. Kevin Burns (7-2) Chris Lytle has had several ups and downs in his career, but has seemed to have had a change of heart recently regarding how he fights. Lytle, who has a professional boxing background and a technical ground game, has begun to fight for himself – aggressively and having fun. Although he has gone 6-5 since the start of 2006, Lytle has always stood as one of the more dangerous fighters in the world.
Featured on season four of The Ultimate Fighter, which was comprised entirely of UFC veterans, Lytle reached the finals and lost a close decision to Matt Serra – who had gone on to defeat Georges St. Pierre for the UFC welterweight championship. Lytle went on to face his own challenges and has been incredibly busy since.
Since 2006 he has lost to former UFC champion Matt Hughes and welterweight contenders Thiago Alves and Josh Koscheck, but has also defeated the likes of Matt Brown, Jason Gilliam, and Paul Taylor. Most recently Lytle lost an exciting split decision to Marcus Davis at UFC 93.
Lytle has faced top flight competition extensively throughout his career, including bouts with Karo Parisyan, Kazuo Misaki, Nick Diaz, and Robbie Lawler.
Kevin Burns has fought in the UFC three times, but is best known for his pair of bouts against Anthony Johnson. After submitting Roan Carneiro in his UFC debut, Burns was matched up with fan favorite Johnson at UFC Fight Night 14. The bout ended after an inadvertent eye poke from Burns dropped Johnson and strikes ended the bout.
Referee Steve Mazzagatti has since admitted to making a mistake, but due to the nature of the rules the Nevada State Athletic Commission was unable to overturn the bout to a no contest. In the rematch Johnson exacted his revenge and knocked out Burns with a head kick twenty-eight seconds into the third round.
Prior to his UFC career Burns had compiled a 5-1 record, losing due to a doctor stoppage, but finishing his other five opponents by TKO or submission. Burns has a background in tae-kwon-do and currently holds a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Intangibles: All around on paper Chris Lytle appears to be the better fighter. Lytle has stronger striking, wrestling, and submissions – although Burns possesses a submission win over Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and Pan-Am champion Roan Carneiro.
Breakdown: Look for Lytle to strike early and often, controlling the fight on the feet with cleaner technique. Once he's softened up Burns, look for Lytle to begin to unload, putting a stop to the fight in the second round.
Nate Diaz (10-3) vs. Joe Stevenson (29-10) Nate Diaz has become known for a few things – being the brother of UFC veteran Nick Diaz, becoming the winner of season five of The Ultimate Fighter, and his emergence as one of the sport's top prospects.
Diaz appeared on The Ultimate Fighter with a professional record of 5-2. His losses came in his second bout against Koji Oishi and his more recent bout with Hermes Franca. On The Ultimate Fighter 5, Diaz reached the finals against Manny Gamburyan. Gamburyan controlled the bout with takedowns and pins but dislocated his shoulder early in the second round. While critics gave Diaz flak over the win, the young fighter proved himself by winning his next four bouts over Junior Assuncao, Alvin Robinson, Kurt Pellegrino, and Josh Neer.
Most recently Diaz lost a split decision to Clay Guida. Guida repeatedly pinned Diaz against the fence and clung to him like his life depended on it. The bout was unsatisfying for fans who gave Diaz a sympathetic win despite his inability to avoid Guida's control.
Like Diaz, Joe Stevenson won his season of The Ultimate Fighter. Already possessing a professional record of 22-6 when he appeared on the show, Stevenson earned his six-figure contract by defeating Luke Cummo in the finale.
Stevenson has compiled a 6-4 UFC record. After defeating Cummo, Stevenson lost a decision to Josh Neer. Having competed on TUF 2 as a welterweight, the loss made Stevenson drop to lightweight. As a lightweight Stevenson won four in a row. He first defeated Yves Edwards with a nasty cut, then picked up a pair of guillotine chokes over Dokonjonosuke Mishima and Melvin Guillard. The fourth-consecutive win was against Kurt Pellegrino.
Stevenson then faced former UFC welterweight champion and current UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn for the vacant lightweight title following a positive drug test against Sean Sherk. Stevenson was beaten, battered, and choked out by the Hawaiian. He has since gone 1-2, catching Gleison Tibau with a guillotine choke, but falling to Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez.
Intangibles: Stevenson is the stronger wrestler while Diaz is the better striker. Diaz also possesses a sizable reach advantage over his stocky opponenet. Both fighters are excellent submission fighters, with Diaz holding a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Cesar Gracie while Stevenson holds a black belt under Robert Drysdale.
Breakdown: Stevenson's best bet is to put Diaz on his back and watch out for guard attacks. Diaz will try to box from the outside and try to use trips and throws when clinched by Stevenson. This bout has the makings of fight of the night. Look for a three round battle ending with Diaz' hand raised in a unanimous decision.
Damarques Johnson (9-6) vs. James Wilks (5-2) Damarques Johnson had a rough beginning to his professional mixed martial arts career, but arose as one of the top welterweights on season nine of The Ultimate Fighter. Johnson has competed professionally since 2005, though he has only faced one notable fighter who defeated him – Brock Larson.
On The Ultimate Fighter, Johnson secured his spot in the house by stopping Ray Elbe with strikes. In the quarter-finals he was able to submit the UK's Dean Amasinger with a triangle choke in 1:40. In the semi-finals he won a three round decision over Nick Osipczak.
Prior to appearing on The Ultimate Fighter, Johnson lost his most recent bout with Ryan Williams by decision. Leading into the bout with Williams, Johnson was on his longest career win streak with five-straight stoppages.
James Wilks represented Team UK on season nine of The Ultimate Fighter, although he resides in Laguna Hills, California. Like Johnson, Wilks has only faced one notable opponenet in Patrick Speight, who defeated Wilks by decision.
Wilks has competed professionally in mixed martial arts for nearly six years. Wilks focused primarily on striking while living in the UK, but after going to the United States he was exposed to high-level grappling. Wilks holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a black belt in tae-kwon-do.
Wilks trains under Erik Paulson out of Combat Submission Wrestling. As part of TUF 9, Wilks defeated Che Mills with a heel hook in thirty seconds to enter the house. In the quarter-finals he defeated Frank Lester with a second round armbar. Wilks then rematched Lester after Jason Pierce was pulled from competition (Lester filled in for Pierce and defeated David Faulkner). In the rematch Wilks finished Lester with strikes in the third round.
Intangibles: Johnson is the harder hitter, although Wilks has the wider range of attack on the feet and on the mat. Wilks has a stronger grappling game. Johnson is the more experienced fighter and has moved down from 185-pounds for The Ultimate Fighter.
Andre Winner (9-2-1) vs. Ross Pearson (8-3) Andre Winner became an early favorite to win the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter. Winner began competing professionally in 2006 and has picked up wins over Sami Berik ans fellow TUF 9 teammate Jeff Lawson. Most recently Winner competed twice in 2008 where he lost to Bendy Casimir and fought to a draw with Abdul Mohamed.
Andre Winner defeated Gary Kelly with a first round knockout to enter the TUF house. In the quarter-finals he stopped Santino DeFranco with strikes in the first round, then scored a first round triangle choke submission over Cameron Dollar in the semi-finals.
Winner got into mixed martial arts initially looking to learn self-defense. UFC veteran Dan Hardy convinced Winner to take the plunge into the sport professionally. Winner auditioned for season eight of The Ultimate Fighter, but was rejected.
Ross Pearson was another lightweight favorite on TUF 9. Like Winner, Pearson holds a win over Sami Berik, but lost to Abdul Mohamed. Pearson has competed in mixed martial arts professionally since 2004. Most recently he defeated Ian Jones with a rear naked choke in 3:33.
Pearson fought his way into the house with a TKO over A.J. Wenn only nineteen seconds into the second round. In his quarter-final match Pearson submitted Richie Whitson with a first round armbar. His semi-final bout went to a decision as he edged out Jason Dent in one of the best fights of the season.
Pearson has a background in Judo, tae-kwon-do, and boxing. He holds a black belt in tae-kwon-do and a brown belt in Judo and has been training in mixed martial arts for seven years.
Intangibles: While season nine of The Ultimate Fighter has been dubbed Team US vs. Team UK, the lightweight finals features two British fighters. Winner is the more dangerous striker with solid grappling, while Pearson is the stronger wrestler with solid striking.
TUF 9 Finale Fight Card Main Card Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida Andre Winner vs. Ross Pearson (TUF 9 lightweight finals) Damarques Johnson vs. James Wilks (TUF 9 welterweight finals) Chris Lytle vs. Kevin Burns Nate Diaz vs. Joe Stevenson
Preliminary Card Gleison Tibau vs. Melvin Guillard Tomasz Drwal vs. Mike Ciesnoleviscz Brad Blackburn vs. Edgar Garcia Jason Dent vs. Cameron Dollar Frank Lester vs. Nick Osipczak
Related Articles:
Ultimate Fighter 9 Discussion & Results
Ultimate Fighter 9 “U.S. vs. U.K.” Q&A with Richie Whitson
Ultimate Fighter 9 “U.S. vs. U.K.” Q&A with Frankie Lester
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