The 411 MMA Top 10 06.15.12 The Top 10 TUF Runner Ups
Posted by Alex Rella on 06.15.2012
From Kenny Florian, Stephan Bonnar and Brendan Schaub to Ed Herman and more, 411’a Alex Rella counts down the top 10 The Ultimate Fighter runner ups of all-time!
Top Ten TUF Runner Ups
I am Alex Rella and this is the MMA Top Ten and I'd like to start this week's column off by giving a shout to Sangy Wangy. So this week we will be looking at the top ten Ultimate Fighter runner ups. But first,
Thoughts from last week and other random stuff:
• The main discussion going in the comment section last week was that some people thought Rashad Evans should be ranked over Forrest Griffin. I disagree, I think Griffin's success has been more important to TUF than Evans has been. The historic fight against Bonnar and beating Rampage for the title gave the show a lot of legitimacy.
• But if the debate is who has had the better career, then that is a lot harder to call. Evans has the better record, is still competing at the highest level, and beat Griffin while both fighters were still in their prime. But I'd personally give the edge to Griffin. He was in the best fight ever and his other wins over Ortiz, Rampage, and Shogun were just a little more epic. What do you guys think?
• There were some interesting comments this week. One being from someone named Mad Dog who said I'm on his list of writers to watch (I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not) and requested the shout out to sangy wangy, I don't know either. Though my favorite comment was from Guest#5448 who came up with a new nickname for Roy Nelson. -Roy "Big Country" and "Destroyer of relationships" NELSOOON!
• Also someone said Bob Sapp should have been in the top heavyweight list. His reasoning was that he was a bigger draw than Brock Lesnar. Click here for my response to that.
Back to this week's list
Last week we looked at the top ten TUF winners, so this week we're looking at the top ten TUF runner ups. Then we'll take a break with the TUF categories for awhile. Unless of course you guys want another one soon, I have a few more TUF related ones for the future. Anyway, so this week will be fighters who lost in the finale. So you won't see guys like Maynard or Koscheck on the list. The list of runner ups is a little thin so I thought about changing it but I didn't want to disappoint those who had their hearts set on reading it this week
Honorable Mentions:
Michael Johnson- Season 12 runner up lost to Jonathan Brookins in the finale but hasn't been terrible since then. He's 3-2 in the UFC (11-6 overall) and has put together back to back wins in the lightweight division.
10: DaMarques Johnson
The former Special Forces member has pulled out a decent UFC career so far. Johnson submitted to James Wilks in the TUF season 9 finale and has been solid on the preliminary card since then including submission and knockout of the night honors. Johnson is 4-4 in the UFC (16-10 overall) and has a fight coming up with Mike Swick at Fox 4. Should be a solid close fight, a win would help Johnson rebound after his recent loss to John Maguire. I like Johnson because he's one of those fighters that fights every four months or so and always go for a finish.
9: C.B. Dollaway
C.B. Dolloway isn't as bad as he looked in his last fight against Jason Miller. Yes the fight was miserable but Dollaway was coming off hip surgery and hadn't fought since last August. So he gets a bit of a pass but I don't think he should be saying the win was huge for his career. His next fight will be a better indicator of where he stands today in the middleweight division.
The Doberman (pretty cool nickname) lost in TUF season 7 to Amir Sadollah and has had a solid career since then (12-4 overall). In 2009-10 he was on a three fight win streak that showed potential but then he got knocked out by Mark Munoz in the first round. It'll be interesting to see who he gets matched up with for his next fight.
8: Manny Gamburyan
This judokan started his fighting career in 1999 at 17 years old. He had a 6-1 record when he competed in TUF season 5. The one loss was to Sean Sherk. Gamburyan was considered an underdog the entire season and was written off the entire season because he is only 5'5. After he beat Joe Lauzon, Dana White apologized for doubting him. Gamburyan went up against Nate Diaz in the finals and was winning the fight until he dislocated his shoulder and was forced to tap out. The Anvil would split his next 4 fights before deciding to drop down to featherweight in WEC. Gamburyan would win 3 fights in a row earning him a title shot at Jose Aldo. Gamburyan got knocked out in the second round and has lost his two fights since then. He has a fight with the veteran Michihiro Omigawa coming up at Fox 4
Sidenotes- Karo Parisyan is his older cousin and the UFC changed his nickname from pitbull to anvil because there are like a dozen other fighters with that nickname.
7: Vinny Magalhães
Magalhães did not have a good career in the UFC. He lost to Ryan Bader in the TUF 8 finale and then lost his next fight at UFC 97 causing him to be cut by the organization. Since then he has gone 7-1 (9-5 overall), this includes winning the M-1 Global light heavyweight title. Magalhães has also won gold in over a dozen jiu-jitsu tournaments and last year's ADCC tournament where he beat Fabricio Werdum in the finals. So he's had success everywhere else but the UFC.
6: Brendan Schaub
Things were looking up for Brendan Schaub for awhile even after he lost to Roy Nelson in the TUF 10 finale. Schaub put together an impressive four fight win streak which included wins over Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop. Then Schaub got knocked out by Big Nog and Ben Rothwell. The former tight end in the AFL still has a decent place in the UFC as the heavyweight division is fairly thin and his 8-3 record isn't too bad. Though, Schaub may find himself on the preliminary card as he is no longer considered a prospect.
5: Patrick Cote
Patrick Cote made his UFC debut filling in on 4 days notice to fight Tito Ortiz at UFC 50. He lost by unanimous decision but he looked great considering the short notice and how good Ortiz was at that point in his career. Two years later Cote participated in the comeback season of TUF and was the runner up in the middleweight division. He would then go on an awesome five fight win streak which earned him a title shot against Anderson Silva. Cote showed his awesome chin in his fight as he took a roundhouse kick and a couple knees straight to the face. Unfortunately a knee injury ended the fight prematurely but he was the first person to make it to the third round against Anderson Silva. Cote lost his next two fights and got released but four wins in a row in smaller promotions have earned him a shot at Cung Le at UFC 148. I was originally disappointed because I really wanted to see Cung Le fight Rich Franklin but it should at least be entertaining to see Le's kicks go against Cote's chin.
4: Stephan Bonnar
Stephan Bonnar pretty much earned himself a lifetime contract after his awesome fight with Forrest Griffin at the first finale. Bonnar always has competitive and entertaining fights but he's never been able to break into the top level of light heavyweights. Bonnar is on a quiet three fight win streak so it is possible his next fight could be against one of the better light heavyweights. I'd like to see him fight either a prospect like Gustaffson or a veteran like Little Nog. Bonnar has been campaigning to coach the next season of TUF opposite Forrest Griffin but I have no desire to see a third fight. The first fight was epic and the rematch was pretty good. A third fight would most likely be a much slower version of the second fight and just doesn't make sense for Forrest Griffin at this point in his career.
3: Ed Herman
Ed Herman has had a very solid career since debuting in TUF season 3 and may finally be on his way to the top of the middleweight division. Herman has a very respectable record of 20-7 which included one knockout of the night and two submission of the night honors. Herman is currently on a three fight win streak going back to last June and has a fight coming up with Jake Shields at UFC 150. This is Jake Shields first fight at middleweight since beating Dan Henderson in 2010. I'm really looking forward to this fight, a win for Herman should put him up against a top middleweight in his next fight.
2: Chris Lytle
Chris "Lights Out" Lytle had an exciting career. Lytle lost to Serra in a close fight at the TUF 4 finale. In his next fight he would lose to Matt Hughes but he was able to match up with Hughes' wrestling for the first two rounds. 10-10 record in the UFC (31-18-5 overall), Lytle would beat guys like Matt Brown, Matt Serra, and Dan Hardy. Lytle also has the record for most UFC fight night bonuses with ten: 6x Fight of the Night, 3x Submission of the Night, and one Knockout of the Night. Lytle retired last August so he can spend more time with his family but said in an interview this week that he would fill in on short notice as a replacement if the UFC needs him.
Sidenote- Lytle has a degree in sports management from Indiana University and has a 13-1-1 record as a boxer.
1: Kenny Florian
When it comes to Kenny Florian it seems like most people view him one way or the other. Some rip him for never winning a title and call him a choker and others were saying he should be in the hall of fame after he retired recently. But really, Kenny Florian just had a really nice career. The Season 1 runner up is the only fighter in the history of the UFC to compete in four weight classes and is the only person to unsuccessfully challenge for a title three times. The first record is something to be proud of. Florian was in the main event of multiple fight nights and ppv's over his career and holds wins over guys like Joe Lauzon, Sam Stout, and Clay Guida. The first two title fights were for the lightweight title against Sherk and Penn. His last fight was in October against Jose Aldo for the featherweight title in a unanimous decision loss. Still Florian had a nice career and is by far the best out of all the TUF runner ups.
• So let me know how you guys would rank them.
• As always, let me know anything you would like to see ranked in the future.
• And next week we will be looking at the top ten Brazilians fighters.
