The Ultimate Fighter Six Finale was a night of beginnings, and a night of endings. The sun set on the UFC mainstay ‘Big’ John McCarthy. Easily the most recognizable and high-profile referee the sport has seen, McCarthy officiated the main event and final match of his Hall-of-fame tenure. In opposition to the loss of the greatest ref of all-time, The Pearl at the Palms played host to the start of Mac Danzig’s (17-4-1) days in the Octagon, a career he’ll begin as the TUF-6 winner. Roger Huerta (20-1-1) began a new chapter in his story as well with the first of many possible wins against top-flight competition. Following a rear-naked choke submission of Clay Guida (22-6), McCarthy raised the arm of ‘El Matador’ in victory; something it appears Big John has done for the last time.
From the opening bout the night provided excellent fights filled with action. This installment of the TUF finals delivered where UFC 78 and the sixth season itself proved an inability to do so. The night had decisive victories, drag-out wars, submissions and KOs; all capitalized by the sudden comeback win in the feature fight by Huerta. The average class of fighter may not have been equal to some of the stacked PPV cards we have seen recently, but the action couldn’t have been much better; and to think…this was free, not forty bucks.
Entering the night much was made of Huerta’s lack of experience against upper-echelon competition. For marketing purposes (they’re overt) Huerta has been pushed by the promotion in an attempt to further its appeal in the Hispanic community, specifically in our fight-loving neighbor Mexico. Clay Guida represents as near a stylistic likeness to Huerta as there is. The major difference between the two; outside of hair-style; lies in Guida’s track record of tough opponents. Although Guida has had mixed success against other world-class 155lbers, he has never looked outclassed. Huerta was certainly in for his toughest test yet, and he got all he could handle.
Let me say here that it looks like I’m in need of that forty bones I mentioned earlier. I bet against Huerta in tonight’s match and its time to pay up. Through two rounds it didn’t look like the 24 year-old Minnesotan would leave the cage with his perfect UFC record intact, and I thought my money was safe. But for the second time in six fights, a knee by Huerta all but ended a fight. In the opening minute of the third round, Guida shot in for a takedown and was caught on the chin with the blast. The Chicago-native was visibly rocked by the blow, staggering forward and eating glancing punches while desperately groping for a takedown. Guida executed the takedown after a few seconds of anxious pursuit. Once on the ground Huerta was able to reverse, take Guida’s back and lock in the rear-naked choke without much resistance just 31 seconds into the final frame.
It was a sudden, sudden ending to a fight that had been dominated by ‘The Carpenter’ for ten minutes. Huerta was on the defensive from the outset when Guida lifted the phenom onto his shoulders and planted him onto the mat. The next nine minutes saw takedown after takedown as the seasoned vet out wrestled the younger Huerta. More surprisingly was the visible frustration on Huerta’s face late in the second as Guida began to get the best of the action on the feet, something even Clay didn’t expect. It was that frustration fueled by the urgency of being down two rounds to none that put away Guida in the third.
While Roger endured the toughest test of his career, Season Six’s Mac Danzig barely broke a sweat. From the outset of the show, the 27 year old PRIDE veteran appeared head and shoulders above the rest of the competition. Danzig was no secret to the MMA community before being selected to participate in the show. He could have easily been traditionally added to the Zuffa stable of fighters and thrown into the mix. But more lucratively he was granted a slot on the reality show, and will now certainly boast a following as a result of the exposure.
A true lightweight (a la Joe Stevenson), Danzig overcame the glaring size advantage in the championship bout and dispatched Tommy Speer (9-2) with relatively no effort. The two fighters couldn’t be any more different. Danzig is a practicing vegan in L.A., Speer a dairy farmer in a Minnesota town of 800. Despite ten fights, the brutish Speer was a relative rookie to the big scene, while the much smaller and technically sound Danzig had been tested.
Danzig repeatedly made reference to his nerves entering the fight, but Speer was the one who looked to have a gut full of butterflies. Predictably, he rushed Mac looking for the takedown only to have the elder fighter put Speer on his back. Once there, it was all downhill for the pride of Elgin, MN. Danzig smoothly secured mount and battered the larger Speer with punches and elbows until he gave up his back. In textbook fashion, Danzig applied the rear-naked and launched his promising UFC career.
While Danzig and Huerta will receive the attention and accolades on the heels of their equally stellar performances, McCarthy is just as deserving; if not more. The man who coined ‘Lets Get it On’ way back in 1994 (!) resigned from his p\ksition with the UFC to become an analyst for The Fight Network. With 535 bouts officiated, Big John stands alone as an official, and is without a doubt a timeless MMA icon. The progression the sport has undergone since UFC 2 when McCarthy made his debut is immense, and the view the former LA police officer has had throughout is unique. I would love to see Big John write a book on his career and what he has seen; it’d be a fascinating read. We here at MMA-Analyst would like to say thank you for being the best at your trade for over a decade and keeping the sport safe, enabling it to reach the heights it has. We wish you the best Big John, we know you’ll be great. The UFC will go on without you, but will never be able to replace you.
The rest of the card
The broadcast began with a rematch from this season between Ben Saunders (5-0-2) and Dan Barrera (1-1). The Jeet-Kune-Do practicing Saunders got the best of Barrera the first time around, winning a controversial decision over the Team Hughes fighter. Barrera took down Saunders over and over again, but the long and lanky guard of the 6’3” American Top Team fighter staved off the ground and pound of Barrera. By the end of the match, Saunders was dominating the one-dimensional Barrera and took home a unanimous decision victory. At his size, Saunders looks very promising. His range on the feet is superior to anyone else in the division, and his guard looked outstanding; albeit it was against a ‘green’ Barrera. Barrera had virtually no offense throughout, and looked to me like a Matt Hamill without explosiveness and comparable athleticism.
In the second match, George Sotiropoulos (8-2) made short work of fellow cast mate Billy Miles (2-2). Miles charged the Australian from the bell with wild punches. Sotiropoulos rebounded from his KO loss to Speer in the semi-finals on the show and choked out Miles by way of RNC three minutes in. Miles just looked completely outclassed on the ground and in the fighters’ demeanor. It was reminiscent of those desert spiders that just lay in wait and snatch their pray.
Troy Mandaloniz (3-1) put Richie Hightower (7-2) to sleep with a jab late in the first round of their bout. The fight was a see-saw slugfest with Mandaloniz receiving as much damage as he was dishing out. Hightower was too predictable on the feet, continuously throwing the same 1 – 2 left right combo. The Hawaiian native timed Hightower with a jab that landed spot on the chin and followed up on the collapsed fighter with vicious hammerfists, forcing a stoppage. Mandaloniz showed power and a good chin. Those Hawaii boys sure can fight, can’t they?
A case could be made that the fight of the night belonged to Jon Koppenhaver (5-1) and Jared Rollins (6-4). The two shared tension during the show, and the story-line came to a conclusion with Koppenhaver pounding out a TKO win in the third. The fight was back and forth on both the feet and the floor. I had Koppenhaver narrowly winning the first round with scattered GnP. Rollins managed to cut Koppenhaver on the head with elbows that appeared to be borderline illegal (downward strike). From then on out, the blood was effusive. Rollins and the much younger Koppenhaver were drenched in it for the rest of the bout. Just as Rollins appeared to seal the win with a big knee and consequent GnP, Koppenhaver combined a kimura with a sweep and reversed position. One huge elbow and five right hands later Rollins was rendered defenseless. Both of these guys will be back, they put on a great show. The crowd gave a standing ‘O’ before the third round started. That pretty much ensures their return. Again, this was a bloody match that left Koppenhaver looking like he had a cheesy fake tan, Frankie Avalon style.
Matt Arroyo (3-1) submitted John Kolosci (8-5) with an armbar in the first round. It appeared only a matter of time before Kolosci became a submission victim for the third time in as many fights. Arroyo slapped on four or five submission attempts before he nabbed the win. Arroyo appears to be very talented and possibly the forgotten member of the cast. I look for him to make waves moving forward.
In the two dark matches, Roman Mitichyan (4-1) won by ankle lock over Dorian Price (7-3) in just 23 seconds and Jonathan Goulet (21-9) RNC’d Paul Georgieff (5-2) late in the first.