But I'll save Fight Master discussion for another day. For now, let's discuss TUF. Everyone seems to have preordained Uriah Hall (see above) as the season 17 champion. Some people are already claiming he will be a contender for--read this as if you were Muhammad Ali--the Greatest Of All Time! Nevermind the fact that he has yet to fight in a single official UFC match. Remember, all the fights on The Ultimate Fighter are considered exhibition matches. They don't count on the fighters' professional records. Even though Uriah, Dylan, Kelvin and Josh will have all fought four times on the show, none of those fights will count! I could spend a lot of time discussing why it's set up this way, but that would make this far longer than it needs to be.
While it is far too soon to be speaking about Uriah being one of the greatest of all time, it is not too soon to talk about his likely making it to the finals. He has been matched with New Zealander Dylan Andrews. Dylan has shown great all-around skills and a tremendous heart. His fight with Luke "Big Slow" Barnatt was an eye-opener. Few gave Dylan a chance in that fight and he proved all of us wrong. In that fight he displayed an iron chin, and he will need it against Hall, who has sent every man he's faced on the show to the hospital. Dylan's best chance at winning is to take Uriah down and work his ground-n-pound and submissions. However, I think Dylan has a warrior's spirit. He will want to test his stand-up game against Uriah. And that will cost him.
Though I don't think Uriah will finish Dylan with one shot like finished Adam Cella and Bubba McDaniel, I do think he'll put together enough punishing strikes to win via lopsided decision or even via doctor's stoppage.
But the fun doesn't stop there, ladies and gentlemen! There's still another semi-final match airing tomorrow night. This one pits Josh Samman against Kelvin Gastelum. Josh Samman (seen above, landing a jab against Tor Troeng) has received more air time than anyone in the house. Even more than Uriah Hall. My gut tells me that's the producers' way of letting us know he is an important player in this tournament. And to his credit, he has finished every man they put in front of him on the show. No one else has accomplished that--not even Uriah. With that being said, I think Kelvin is a bad match-up for him. Kelvin has shown strong wrestling, striking and jiu-jitsu. Jimmy Quinlan controlled Josh with his wrestling for much of their fight. If Kelvin can get Josh to the ground, he may be able to rack up some points. These exhibition fights are only two rounds; if Josh starts slow, Kelvin may be able to do enough to earn a decision. He could also knock Josh out. He knocked out Collin Hart in his last fight with a single well-placed left hook. Who's to say he couldn't do it again?
However, Josh is an experienced guy with more than twice as many professional fights as Kelvin. His teammates seem to have accepted him as their team leader, which means he has earned himself an alpha male role in the group, probably by beating the crap out of them in practice. That's saying something given the talent level of this cast. His self confidence often crosses the line into arrogance, but so long as he backs up his talk, he can continue his love affair with himself forever for all I care.
I think we'll see Josh defeat Kelvin by decision, which will set up the finale everyone has wanted since the first episode: Uriah Hall vs Josh Samman.
That's it for now. Thanks for reading, and please check out my next blog later this week.
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