My Take on MMA 12.11.07: Final UFC – The Ultimate Fighter VI Finale Thoughts

Posted by Larry Csonka on 12.11.2007

One of the best shows of 2007!



Introduction:

Welcome back to the latest edition of My Take on MMA. As always I am your host Larry Csonka. I am sorry that this is later than usual, but work and real life occasionally put the KIBOSH on my plans. But I am here and it is time for me to get back to work. Let's break down the show!

411's back with another huge podcast broadcast! Lay and Pray Radio debuts here in the MMA zone with Randall Harrison and Larry Csonka as your hosts. They will discuss Sean Sherk being stripped of the UFC Lightweight Title as well as an awesome night of fighting that saw Jon Koppenhaver and Jared Rollins battle in a bloody war, Mac Danzig winning the Ultimate Fighter VI championship in dominating fashion, what his future holds and Roger Huerta defeating Clay Guida in another great fight. The two also discuss the future of the UFC Lightweight Division. Check out the debut of Lay and Pray Radio, right here on 411mania.com!

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Final UFC – The Ultimate Fighter VI Thoughts~!:

The Fight: WELTERWEIGHT BOUT - Dan Barrera (1-0) vs. Ben Saunders (4-0-2)
The Prediction: Saunders, RD3, strikes
The Result: Ben Saunders via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 3.0
Final Thoughts: In my opinion this was the dog of the night. Even the best shows have one on them, and without a doubt this was it. In my opinion Barrera looked completely lost and overwhelmed in this bout, and with that in mind he just didn't have anything to offer. Saunders on the other hand was able to go out there and put on a good enough show that he'll be brought back for future fight nights, and is he does well the under card of PPV's. It will be up to him how far he goes, but he is off to a fine start. I have no need to see Barrera ever fight again.

FIGHT WINNER: (1-1), ROUND: (0-1), WAY OF VICTORY: (0-1)

The Fight: WELTERWEIGHT BOUT - Billy Miles (2-1) vs. George Sotiropoulos (7-2)
The Prediction: Sotiropoulos, decision
The Result: George Sotiropoulos via RD1 (1:32) Submission
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.0
Final Thoughts: George Sotiropoulos looked to be certain to make the finals, but his semifinal fight looked like a different fighter, even before the eye poke and he didn't make it. This was his chance to show that the bout was a fluke and that he was the real deal. Sotiropoulos wet out there and put on a clinic easily defeating Miles, who like Barrera looked lost and not even near the same skill level as Sotiropoulos. Sotiropoulos could be a dangerous fighter if he stays motivated. In the house he was always up early, running and training and was taking everyday extremely serious. It is that dedication could be what helps him rise to the upper ranks of the Welterweight Division. A great outing for Sotiropoulos.

FIGHT WINNER: (2-2), ROUND: (0-2), WAY OF VICTORY: (0-2)

The Fight: WELTERWEIGHT BOUT - Richie Hightower (7-1) vs. Troy Mandaloniz (2-1)
The Prediction: Hightower, decision
The Result: Troy Mandaloniz via RD1 (4:20) TKO
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.0
Final Thoughts: Going into this bout many people felt that Richie Hightower would dominate the fight and walk away with his first UFC win. By all accounts I agreed with that. Not so much in domination, but I felt that he could do enough to get a decision victory. And for 3:45 he did that, he dominated and looked like he could end it much earlier. Unfortunately for Hightower Troy Mandaloniz made what could best be described as a pro wrestling comeback, the first of three on the show, and got a stiff jab that dropped Hightower, and when Troy Mandaloniz started to rain down with shots, the fight was stopped and Hightower's night was ruined. I don't know what the future holds for these men as I really need to see more, but Mandaloniz showed that he could come back after being dominated, and that is a good trait to have.

FIGHT WINNER: (2-3), ROUND: (0-3), WAY OF VICTORY: (0-3)

The Fight: WELTERWEIGHT BOUT - Jon Koppenhaver (5-1) vs. Jared Rollins (9-3)
The Prediction: Koppenhaver, strikes, RD1
The Result: Jon Koppenhaver via RD 3 (2:01) TKO
Larry's Enjoyment Index: I LOVED THIS FIGHT! On any other show it would have been fight of the night and talked about for months afterwards, unfortunately there was a main event that disagreed with them, but that being said, this fight rocked my socks. WARMACHINE did a good job of taking Rollins down in round one, and was landing good shots. But the thing was that he could not pass from the guard, which led to Rollins getting the greatest elbows from the bottom I have ever seen. For a fight that was primarily on the ground it was very exciting and at the end of round one, both men were busted open badly and we had a war on our hands. Round two looked more of the same as it started to break down into one of the more bloody MMA affairs I have ever seen. They were almost laying in a puddle of blood. Rollins again worked the tremendous elbows while WARMACHINE couldn't escape the guard. The fight nearly ended in the second round as Rollins finally got a position of power and rained down with a ton of shots, but the bell rang. So we went to round three, and both men looked as if they could barely walk. WARMACHINE would shoot and go back to the guard, Rollins would be able to again get a to position in guard and then WARMACHINE made pro wrestling comeback #2 as he was able to, in a last ditch effort, roll out, get he mount, rain down and the fight was stopped as THE STASH dove in for the save, I LOVED THIS FIGHT!
Final Thoughts: 10.0

FIGHT WINNER: (3-4), ROUND: (0-4), WAY OF VICTORY: (1-4)

The Fight: WELTERWEIGHT BOUT - Matt Arroyo (2-1) vs. John Kolosci (8-4)
The Prediction: Arroyo, sub, RD1
The Result: Matt Arroyo via RD1 (4:42) submission
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 6.0
Final Thoughts: Matt Arroyo made pretty easy work of John Kolosci in this night with a first round submission victory. It is a decision that a lot of people predicted, so it was no surprise. What was a surprise was that it took Matt Arroyo so long. He had two really good submission attempts in the round and couldn't get them in enough or let them go for some reason. Finally he was able to get a sick arm bar and about took off Kolisci's arm. What I hated was that Arroyo celebrated like he just won a UFC title. Yeah, good work Arroyo, you beat a dude coming off of four losses! Wow man, you did your job. Good fight, just not that memorable.

FIGHT WINNER: (4-5), ROUND: (1-5), WAY OF VICTORY: (2-5)

The Fight: THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER SIX CHAMPIONSHIP WELTERWEIGHT BOUT: Mac Danzig (17-4-1D) vs. Tommy Speer (9-1
The Prediction: Danzig, strikes, Rd2
The Result: Mac Danzig via RD1 (2:01) submission
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.25
Final Thoughts: One thing I have hated about TUF is the fact that we often don't get a very clear-cut winner, and then often times we'll see two contracts handed out. I am a clear-cut guy. I want the winner to be dominant, to go out and kick another man's ass and prove that he deserved to win. Many people have said that this was Mac Danzig's show to win, and he went out there Saturday night, overpowered and took down the bigger wrestler and owned him. Humbled him the old country way as a matter of fact. Took him down, got mount, got the back with the hooks in, flattened out the man and it was done. That is what I want to see, that is what the winner should be and I am good with that. He is officially dropping to lightweight and now just adds to that stacked division.

FIGHT WINNER: (5-6), ROUND: (1-6), WAY OF VICTORY: (2-6)

The Fight: LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT - Roger Huerta (21-1-1) vs. Clay Guida (22-5)
The Prediction: Guida, decision
The Result: Roger Huerta via RD3 submission
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 10.0
Final Thoughts: Onto the main event of the evening and IT WAS AWESOME! You had Roger Huerta, a man that has been BASHED for being on the SI cover and for "not winning against high level opponents." The fact is that he was undefeated in the UFC and that is a major point. It may not have been "top level" talent to some, but you have to go out there and win, he did that. Guida is a very exciting fighter with a good record, and would be Huerta's strongest challenge to date. The first round was A HELL of a first round. I was torn as Huerta got some really good submissions tries and counters near the end, but so did Guida overall and he had the takedowns. I went Guida 10-9 in an extremely close round. Round two was another tremendous round that was much more of the same greatness of the first. I had it 10-9 Guida and 20-18 overall for Guida. I had picked Guida to win by decision, and as of this point I was looking good. We went to the third round and Huerta had finally decided that he had enough of the add whooping. He finally realized Guida's plan and went he shot in, Huerta crushed him with a knee and that is what was the downfall of Clay Guida. This again was very pro wrestling like. Huerta gets beat down for two rounds, Huerta's up and comes in to dismantle Guida. This was a hell of a fight, one of the best from the entire year. Also in this case both guys win, because after a performance like that Guida will still get booked and Huerta gets the monkey off of his back, that being that he couldn't face a difficult challenge. THIS WAS AWESOME! If you have a friend that you want to show them what MMA CAN be, then show them this card and especially this fight.

FIGHT WINNER: (5-7), ROUND: (1-7), WAY OF VICTORY: (2-7)

OTHER: Just some random thoughts here, and that is there were tow things on the show that I did not like. First of all, UFC had already intended to strip Sean Sherk of the Lightweight Title. They really should have announced that and stated that Penn vs. Stevenson was for THE title. I hate that they sometimes try to cover it up, but the fact is that the other "real sports" always talk about their suspensions, and UFC should as well.

Secondly, I really wish that after the main event they would have had a small ceremony or small thank you for Big John McCarthy. He has been synonymous with UFC and MMA as a whole for a long time, and I feel that it would have been the classy thing to do in that situation. Unfortunately the UFC didn't agree with me.

The Overall:
Best Fight(s): LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT - Roger Huerta (21-1-1) vs. Clay Guida (22-5) and WELTERWEIGHT BOUT - Jon Koppenhaver (5-1) vs. Jared Rollins (9-3) 10.0
Worst Fight: WELTERWEIGHT BOUT - Dan Barrera (1-0) vs. Ben Saunders (4-0-2) 3.0
Final Thoughts: Easily the best free TV MMA event of the year, and really a contender for overall show of the year. I would have had no problem paying $39.95 for this show.
Show Score: 9.0

Larry's PICKEMZ Final Results w/Prelims~!

FIGHT WINNER: 7-9 (77.8%)
ROUND: 2-9 (22.2%)
WAY OF VICTORY: 4-9 (44.4%)
OVERALL: (48.1%)