The Tool Review 10.21.08: The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 (Discs 4 & 5)
Posted by on 10.21.2008
After twelve episodes inside the house, it’s time to put the fighters in front of a live audience for the Finale! This historic broadcast includes the now legendary bout between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar, as well as the middleweight final between Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian! We’ve also got Ken Shamrock taking on Rich Franklin in our main event, and the rest of the cast gets to fight on the undercard!
We have reached the end of this first set. If you need to catch up, disc one is here, disc two is here, and disc three is here. The house has been abandoned and now it’s time for all of the fighters to perform in front of a live audience so we can finally decide who will get the UFC contracts and becomes The Ultimate Fighter.
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER SEASON 1 (DISC 4)
- April 9, 2005
-Live from the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, NV
Mike Goldberg welcomes us to the show and announces that this is the first time the UFC will be live on cable TV. He introduces Joe Rogan and they recap the success of the show. Joe and Goldie break down the fights on the card and talk about how only two of the fighters will be awarded the UFC contracts. Of course we now know that’s not the case, but still.
Goldberg narrates a recap of the season. I’m sure you’ve been reading all of my recaps so I don’t need to go over this stuff again. Stuff happened, and now we’re here.
It’s time for the middleweight finals, but first we take a closer look at both guys.
FINALS: MIDDLEWEIGHTS - Kenny Florian (4-1) vs. Diego Sanchez (14-0)
Round 1
Our referee in charge is Steve Mazzagatti. They circle for a bit and Diego lets his hands hang down to invite Florian in. Almost a minute in with nothing happening and the crowd starts to boo. Diego charges in and grabs Kenny, looking for a takedown. Kenny keeps his legs apart to stay up and Diego throws a knee inside. Kenny answers back with a knee and they split apart. Diego shoots in again, and this time he gets Kenny down. Diego gets side control for a moment before standing up and looking for a big shot. He comes in with a nice right and Kenny tries to land a few upkicks. Kenny rolls and gives up his back, but Diego can’t get the hooks in. They scramble and Kenny quickly tries for an armbar before Diego gets back on top and mounts him. Diego starts to drop some big punches and short elbows, briefly considers a head and arm choke, then goes back to punches and Mazzagatti steps in to stop it.
Winner: Diego Sanchez, TKO (strikes), round 1, 2:49
Diego gets presented with his trophy from UFC President Dana White, as well as the two coaches Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell. He also gets a new Scion, a dirt bike, and a SWANK~! new watch. Oh, and a six-figure contract with the UFC.
Diego gets some face time with Rogan, and he starts off by thanking God. He thanks his training partners, his family, and everyone in the entire state of New Mexico. He also speculates on going down to 170 (which he would) and says he’s coming for the champion.
Mike and Joe put out the word on season 2 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” They pimp the main event and Joe Rogan says that we’re seeing the best Ken Shamrock we’ve ever seen. They talk about how the sport has evolved since Ken’s early days and put over Franklin as the cream of the new crop. Before we can get to the main event, we have another contract to award. Once again we have a nice little package on the two finalists.
FINALS: LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS - Forrest Griffin (9-2) vs. Stephan Bonnar (9-1)
Round 1
Our referee will be Herb Dean. Forrest lands a good right hand early. They exchange quickly and Stephan throws a leg kick. Forrest tags him with an overhand right. They exchange and Griffin lands a nice right hook that catches Stephan. They tie up but Stephan can’t land the knee inside the clinch. Forrest presses forward again but can’t really connect. Stephan lands a spinning back kick and they slug it out on the feet. Forrest grabs a clinch and throws some knees to the body. Stephan wades in with some punches but Forrest answers back with some bigger punches. Forrest grabs the clinch and tries to throw a few knees but Stephan trips him up and takes him down. They don’t stay down long as Forrest is able to power up. They exchange some more on the feet and Bonnar lands a nice right. Forrest tries to clinch but Stephan is able to get out of it. Forrest misses a few punches and Stephan lands a nice counter. Forrest grabs the clinch and gets a knee inside but Stephan answers back with a left. They exchange again and tie up against the cage. Forrest takes Stephan down into half guard and starts to throw a few punches. Stephan rolls and gives up his back. Forrest tries to get a choke in but Stephan pulls out. Forrest tries for an armbar but can’t sink it in before the round ends. Some crazy back-and-forth action and a tremendous way to start the fight. I have no idea how you would score it but with the strong finish I could see giving the round 10-9 to Forrest.
Round 2
They start out a bit slower in the second, before Stephan tries to come in and land a few punches. They exchange and Stephan starts to land, but Forrest backs away. They tie up and Forrest takes him down into half guard. Forrest tries to deliver a few punches but Stephan is using his legs to keep him at bay. Forrest has a cut and is starting to bleed pretty bad so Herb Dean calls a timeout to check the cut. They restart back on the feet and Bonnar throws some nice punches. They slug it out and Bonnar ties up. Forrest delivers a few knees inside before they separate. Bonnar tags him with the jab and then a few left-right combos. Forrest shoots in but when he can’t get Bonnar down he goes to the clinch. Forrest delivers a few knees inside but Bonnar does a nice job of blocking them. They tie up in the center and Stephan delivers a BIG knee to the head. Forrest keeps a hold of him and takes him down, but Stephan gets right back up. They tie up against the cage and the crowd starts to erupt. Forrest gets him with a knee inside and the break apart. They slug it out again and Forrest gets the better of it. Forrest swings big with the right but Stephan is still answering back. Stephan starts to unload so Forrest grabs the clinch and lands a nice knee to the head. Both guys are looking tired as they tie up in the center. Forrest lands a straight right as the round ends. The crowd gives both fighters a standing ovation. Once again it was an action-packed round and that’s going to make the judges’ job that much harder. Stephan seemed to be the one doing more damage in that round so I’d give it a 10-9 to him, and the fight stands at 19-19.
Round 3
In between rounds Goldberg and Rogan speculate that there may be three contracts given out tonight instead of two. Forrest lands a big leg kick, and Stephan tries to answer. Forrest grabs the kick and delivers another one of his own. Forrest misses a leg kick and they briefly exchange. Stephan tries the clinch but Forrest reverses it and delivers some good knees inside. Stephan breaks away and Forrest misses an uppercut. Stephan presses forward and delivers some nice punches. Forrest grabs a Thai clinch and tries to get some knees in, but Stephan breaks away. Forrest lands a good right, followed by a leg kick. They exchange and Bonnar lands a good jab. Another quick exchange and Forrest is pressing forward while Bonnar tries to circle. They exchange again and Forrest seems to get the better of it. Forrest lands a great right hand but Stephan tags him with the counter punch. They tie up against the cage and slug it out quickly as they break away. Forrest charges in but he eats a few shots from Stephan. Forrest lands another leg kick and Stephan throws a quick combination. Stephan tries a wheel kick that misses, and they tie up again. Neither man can get the advantage and they break away. Forrest gets a clinch and throws a couple of knees inside, but Stephan gets away. They slug it out one last time as the round comes to an end. I don’t say this very often, but that was one of the best fights I’ve ever seen. This is the kind of fight that makes me glad I’m not a judge, because I’m not really too sure how to call that last round. Forrest was the aggressor more often than not so I’d give him the round 10-9 and the fight 29-28.
It really is impossible for me to sum up the significance of this fight. Dana White himself calls it the most important fight in UFC history. This was the fight that showed the world exactly what MMA is all about. It was so successful in that regard because the ratings actually increased during the fight, meaning word of mouth spread and more people tuned in as the fight went on. There’s a reason for that of course, because it is one hell of a fight.
Afterwards Forrest is presented with his winnings from Dana, Chuck, and Randy. Dana then throws everyone a swerve and announces that Stephan is also going to get a six figure contract in the UFC.
Forrest talks to Joe and he starts off by thanking Stephan and saying it was a great fight. He thought Stephan would take him down more but he’s happy to keep it standing since that’s what the fans want. Joe talks to Bonnar who asks if he can try out Forrest’s new car. Stephan says there were a couple of shots he landed that he thought would let him get the finish but “this tough son of a bitch just wouldn’t drop.”
Goldberg recaps the paths of the two winners. Joe talks to UFC fan boy and “King Of Queens” Kevin James, who talks about how exciting the Griffin/Bonnar fight was and how great the UFC is.
MAIN EVENT: LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS - Rich Franklin (18-1) vs. Ken Shamrock (26-8-2)
Round 1
The referee in charge for our main event is “Big” John McCarthy. Franklin throws a high kick that misses, then fakes the jab a few times. They exchange and Shamrock lands a nice left hook. Shamrock fakes a shoot and slips, and Franklin is there to jump on top of him. Franklin throws a few punches then grabs Ken’s arm and tries for an omoplata. Shamrock gets out and grabs a hold of Rich’s leg, trying for a leg lock. Franklin gets out and they both get back to the feet. They circle for a bit and Franklin presses forward with a left hand. Rich lands a kick to the body. Shamrock tries for a high kick and slips. Franklin pounces on him and starts unloading. Franklin lands several clean shots before John McCarthy can stop it.
Winner: Rich Franklin, TKO (strikes), round 1, 2:44
Rich talks to Joe and he says he didn’t think he would be able to finish Ken in the first round. Joe asks what Rich’s future plans are and Franklin says he’ll be heading back to 185 to get the belt from Evan Tanner (which he would). Joe also talks to Shamrock and Ken puts over the young kids, saying it’s an honor to be here with these guys that are the future of the sport.
Goldberg gets in another pimp for UFC 52 and the meeting of the two coaches, and we are out.
The DVD includes another 40 minutes of fighter profiles, so if you really want to learn more about Florian, Sanchez, Griffin, or Bonnar, here ya go. We’ll move on to the rest of the fights from the Finale, but for that we’ll need to switch over to disc five.
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER SEASON 1 (DISC 5)
This disc is labeled as bonus material, with the biggest bonus being the rest of the fights that took place at the Finale.
MATCH ONE: WELTERWEIGHTS - Josh Rafferty (7-3) vs. Alex Karalexis (4-0)
We start off with two of the guys that lost to Diego Sanchez on the show.
Round 1
The referee is Steve Mazzagatti. Josh lands a kick to the body early. Alex presses forward with strikes and they tie up. Alex presses him up against the fence and lands a nice right to the head. Josh trips him down but ends up on his back. He jumps up and tries for a guillotine but Alex pulls out and drops some punches. Josh grabs a hold of Alex and holds him close to avoid damage. Alex stands up and tries to measure for a big right, and he misses with the first one. He lands the second though and looks up at the referee to say something. He drops another big right and Josh is OUT. Steve Mazzagatti steps in to stop it.
Winner: Alex Karalexis, KO (punch), round 1, 1:40
In his post-fight interview Alex says he saw Josh’s eyes roll in the back of his head and he looked up at the ref to tell him Josh was out, but Mazzagatti told him to fight on. Nice job there, Steve. Grow your ‘stache back so you can have some decent refereeing skills won’t you?
MATCH TWO: MIDDLEWEIGHTS - Mike Swick (6-1) vs. Alex Schoenhauer (10-0)
It’s interesting to note that both of these guys competed as light heavyweights on the show, despite the fact that there was also a middleweight tournament. Also for you wrestling fans out there, Alex’s nickname is “The Big Show.”
Round 1
Herb Dean is our referee. Mike comes out quickly and throws a kick to the body. They exchange briefly and Mike starts to really let his hands go, landing several clean shots. He overwhelms Alex against the cage and once Alex goes down, Herb Dean can’t stop it fast enough.
Winner: Mike Swick, KO (punch), round 1, :20
Another interesting fact is that Swick’s nickname was announced as “Lightning Kid,” but shortly after this one he would start to be called Mike “Quick” Swick.
MATCH THREE: MIDDLEWEIGHTS - Nate Quarry (11-1) vs. Lodune Sincaid (15-2)
These guys were both on Team Couture, but Sincaid competed at light heavyweight. Quarry had to leave the competition after an injury suffered in training.
Round 1
“Big” John McCarthy is the man in charge. Nate presses the action early and lands a nice right hook. Nate throws a few shots and Lodune misses a low kick. Nate circles around and throws a few jabs. He lands a good looking front kick and goes back to the jab. Lodune charges forward and lets his hands go, but Nate circles around and throws a few good punches of his own. Lodune misses a few punches and eats the counter from Nate. Nate throws the leg kick a few times and then comes in with combinations. Lodune tags him with a leg kick but Quarry continues to press the action. Lodune lands a leg kick and Nate lands the SHOT TO DA LIVA~! Nate swarms on him, letting his hands go. Lodune survives the initial onslaught and tries to back away. Nate keeps on him and starts to unload against the cage. John McCarthy steps in to stop it. After the fight Sincaid puts Quarry on his shoulders and runs him around the cage.
Winner: Nate Quarry, TKO (strikes), round 1, 3:17
Nate is very emotional after the win. He tells Joe that he wanted to perform his best tonight so that could see why he belonged on the show, and why Randy picked him first.
MATCH FOUR: MIDDLEWEIGHTS - Josh Koscheck (4-0) vs. Chris Sanford (5-0)
Sanford is one of the three men that was eliminated from the show without ever fighting. We’ve already mentioned Quarry, who got injured. Sanford was one of the two guys eliminated early on as a result of those moronic team challenges.
Round 1
Our referee is Steve Mazzagatti. They circle and Chris fakes the jab. Josh lands a kick to the body, and then tries to shoot in. Chris pushes him off and Josh shoots right back in. Chris tags him with a right as he’s pushing Koscheck away. They circle for a bit and Josh shoots back in. He grabs and single and gets the big takedown. Josh works from the full guard of Sanford, and they’re pressed right against the fence. Josh postures up and throws some nice punches. He moves to half guard and drops more punches. Koscheck gets the full mount and Chris tries to roll him off. Chris grabs Josh’s leg and goes for a heel hook, but Josh pulls out and gets right back on top of him. Josh is in the closed guard and he tries to posture up. He throws a few punches and Chris uses his legs to push Josh off. Chris stands back up but Josh immediately grabs his midsection and lifts Sanford up. Koscheck drops him with a BIG slam and lands in side control. Josh isn’t able to do much damage though, and Sanford rolls over. Josh stays heavy on top of him and puts Chris back on his…back. Josh starts working for a head and arm choke, but then drops some big rights. Koscheck really starts to drop some bombs and Steve Mazzagatti saves Sanford from almost certain demise. I mean, those were some nasty shots. The replay shows that Josh landed 4-5 clean punches after Chris was already out. For those of you keeping track at home, that’s two fights tonight where Mazzagatti let a fighter take additional punishment after he was already out.
Winner: Josh Koscheck, KO (punch), round 1, 4:21
In his post-fight interview Koscheck sends out a warning to the welterweights, because that’s where he’s heading.
MATCH FIVE: MIDDLEWEIGHTS - Chris Leben (16-1) vs. Jason Thacker (4-1)
Thacker would be the third man to get kicked off without ever fighting on the show. These two had a weird relationship in the first episode of the season that started when Chris gave Jason the nickname “Strange Brew” (because Thacker’s Canadian, eh). Later, on the first night in the house mind you, Leben peed on Thacker’s pillow while Jason was in the shower. Thacker never found out until he watched it with everyone else on Spike.
Round 1
Herb Dean is our referee. Thacker wades in early but Leben starts to swing wildly. Jason ties up but Chris throws a knee inside and takes Jason down. Chris has good posture and starts dropping some big punches to the body and head of Thacker. Chris continues punching and then stands up to deliver more punishment. Leben continues to deliver punch after punch, and Herb Dean is watching closely. Chris gets back down and continues to pour it on, and Herb finally steps in to stop it.
Winner: Chris Leben, TKO (strikes), round 1, 1:35
Chris starts out his interview by pulling Thacker over and apologizing for his drunken behavior. He also calls out Josh “The Blanket” Koscheck.
MATCH SIX: LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS - Bobby Southworth (8-3) vs. Sam Hoger (4-0)
Here we have two members of Team Liddell who did not like each other for one second. I don’t really like them either.
Round 1
Our referee is “Big” John McCarthy. Sam throws a straight right, then backs away to avoid the counter punches. Sam misses a straight kick, and Bobby tags him with a few leg kicks. They exchange briefly, and Sam whiffs on a low kick. Bobby charges in and lands a big right, and Sam smiles at him. Sam connects with another right hand but Sam tries to answer back with a high kick. Bobby fakes some punches and then connects with the leg kick. Sam throws a high kick but Bobby backs away. Sam lands a leg kick and blocks Bobby’s left-right combination. Bobby continues to circle and Sam misses a left-right-kick combo. Bobby misses the right and Sam whiffs on a leg kick. Bobby charges in and they tie up. Sam has Bobby pressed against the cage but Bobby shoves him away and they circle back to the center. Bobby throws the combinations and Sam misses on the counter combo. Sam throws a few front kicks and Bobby lands another right hand. Bobby whiffs with a right and Sam presses forward landing a few shots right as the round ends. Other than the last five seconds or so, that was pretty much all Southworth. He should take the round 10-9.
Round 2
Bobby throws a leg kick that lands and Hoger misses a few high kicks. Bobby throws a low kick that lands right in the little Hoger. McCarthy calls time and Hoger is PISSED. The replay shows that it was pretty much a straight shot to the nuts. They restart and Bobby lands a leg kick. Sam misses the high kick. Bobby lands a nice little combo and Sam can’t land the counter. Bobby throws the jab and Sam comes forward with some kicks and punches that can’t quite connect. Hoger starts to throw more kicks and Southworth backs up to avoid much damage. They circle and the crowd boos. Sam tries a combination but nothing really lands. Bobby lands a leg kick and Sam misses the high kick. Sam misses another punch-kick combo. Sam finally lands the left hand but he can’t connect in the follow up. Bobby misses a few punches of his own then lands a leg kick. The guys dance around and throw a few jabs and the crowd is getting restless. Bobby goes back to the leg kick and continues to land it. Sam comes in with the punch-kick combo and tags Bobby with the high kick. They circle in the center and Bobby lands one last big leg kick before the round ends. The crowd boos both men back to their corners. Bobby was more consistent but Sam appeared to do more damage with the shots that landed, so I’d give Hoger the round 10-9.
Round 3
Bobby starts to let his hands go and Sam returns in kind. Bobby decides to take the fight down for the first time, and he lands in Sam’s guard. Hoger pulls the rubber guard from the bottom, and throws some punches to Bobby’s big head. Bobby lands a few punches to the body and head, before posturing up a bit and throwing some short elbows. Bobby backs up and stands, and Sam pops back up as well. Southworth fakes a shoot and then lands another big leg kick. Sam tries for a high kick and Rogan points out that his supporting (non-kicking) leg is wobbly. Sam presses forward letting his hands go and he catches Bobby with a nice left. Southworth goes down against the fence and Sam jumps on him. Sam throws shoulder shrugs from Bobby’s guard, and Bobby throws punches from the bottom. Bobby pushes them away from the fence and Sam continues to throw the shoulder. Sam stands and tries to pass but he ends up back down in Bobby’s guard. Southworth throws an elbow from the bottom and Hoger goes back to the shoulder shrugs. Bobby tries to slide out but Sam stays heavy and throws some punches from the top. Bobby again tries to slide out but Sam holds on as they move back towards the cage. Hoger stands up right before the round ends and throws his hands up before the fight is officially over. Bobby charges at him as the horn sounds. Sam tries to give Bobby a hug afterwards but Southworth doesn’t seem to want any of that. Anyways, with the control for a majority of the round I’d have to give the round 10-9 to Hoger and the fight 29-28 for “Sausage Tits.”
No post fight interview for either man, and I’m particularly curious as to how one judge could score it 30-28.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
This is just a little something I’ll be doing at the end of each season, and the title basically says it all. We’ll start with the season champions.
Forrest Griffin is obviously the most successful story of “The Ultimate Fighter” system. Since winning the show Forrest has seen his popularity and his profile rise steadily over the last two years. He’s been the company man and has fought anyone the UFC puts in front of him. After his upset win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 76, Griffin was brought in as a head coach on the seventh season of the very show he started on. His second run on the show was capped with an even bigger win, when he defeated Quinton “Rampage” Jackson for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. He’ll defend that belt for the first time against Rashad Evans (who I’ll be talking more about starting next week) at UFC 92 in December.
Diego Sanchez looked to be rising along the same path as Forrest following the Finale, but injuries and tough losses have stalled Sanchez and his quest for UFC gold. He got some nice wins over Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan, and Joe Riggs, but he was hit with a three month suspension after testing positive for marijuana following the Riggs bout. At UFC 69 Diego got his first career loss in a rematch with Koscheck, and after taking time off to heal from a staph infection, Diego got his second loss against Jon Fitch at UFC 76. Sanchez was scheduled to face Thiago Alves this weekend at UFC 90, but an injury has forced him to pull out and he’ll be replaced by none other than Josh Koscheck.
Stephan Bonnar looked to be on the same track as Griffin early on, as he rattled off wins over James Irvin and Keith Jardine. Bonnar was unsuccessful against Rashad Evans, and then lost again to Forrest when the two had their rematch at UFC 62. Following that fight Bonnar tested positive for Boldenone, and he was handed a nine month suspension. Between the suspension and injuries, Bonnar has only fought twice since UFC 62, winning both times. He’ll return to action for the first time in 15 months at UFC 93 against Jon Jones.
Kenny Florian followed up his loss to Sanchez by winning his next three fights in the octagon. He was then given a shot at the vacant UFC lightweight championship at UFC 62, but he came up short against Sean Sherk. Florian has since won five straight and is one of the top lightweight fighters in the UFC. He’ll face Joe Stevenson at UFC 91 and the winner will likely be the #1 contender for the lightweight belt.
Chris Leben looked impressive following his stint on the show, as he won his next four fights over Patrick Cote, Jorge Rivera, and Luigi Fioravanti. Leben seemed to be on his way to a middleweight title shot, but that was before he was given the task of welcoming Anderson Silva to the UFC. Silva gave Leben his first ever KO loss, and Leben would go on to lose two of his next three fights as well. After a change in attitude and training camp, Leben bounced back with wins over Terry Martin and Alessio Sakara. Unfortunately he came up short this past weekend against Michael Bisping at UFC 89.
Josh Koscheck went on to appear at almost all of the early “Fight Night” broadcasts. At UFC 69 he beat his old teammate/arch-rival Diego Sanchez, and was slotted into a #1 contender’s bout with Georges St. Pierre. Koscheck wasn’t able to beat GSP (but there are few who can), but since the loss he has bounced back with two straight wins. He’ll have a big challenge ahead of him this weekend when he meets Thiago Alves, and there is still the possible fight with Yoshiyuki Yoshida in December.
Nate Quarry is the answer to one piece of MMA trivia: who was the first “Ultimate Fighter” cast member to get a UFC title shot? Quarry got a middleweight title shot after wins over Shonie Carter and Pete Sell, unfortunately Rich Franklin knocked Quarry out halfway through the first round. A number of injuries forced Quarry to sit out almost two years, but he returned to the octagon last September where he scored another quick win over Sell. Nate was last seen chasing down Kalib Starnes in the funniest MMA fight of the year, and he’ll be seen next at UFC 91 when he faces submission specialist Demian Maia.
Mike Swick went on to win his next four fights before suffering a decision loss to Yushin Okami at UFC 69. Following that loss he dropped down to welterweight and has gone 2-0 in the lower weight class. His next fight will be against Jonathan Goulet at Fight Night 16.
Bobby Southworth would not be seen in the octagon ever again. Currently he is your Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, having most recently defended that belt against Anthony Ruiz in a fight that could induce a coma on a fully grown man. As far as I know, he is still a total prick.
Alex Karalexis had a great fight with Kenny Florian at Fight Night, but came up on the losing end. He would lose his in his next UFC fight as well and hasn’t been in the octagon since. He did make several appearances in the WEC, but he has not fought in almost a year.
Josh Rafferty has not had another fight in the UFC, but he has gone 4-1 in other promotions since the Finale. He most recently scored a 30 second headkick KO over Jason Louck this past June.
Lodune Sincaid was also not invited back to the octagon, but he did spend some time in the WEC (where he got the biggest win of his career over James Irvin). He is 7-5 since the Finale.
Sam Hoger or as his teammates called him, “Sausage Tits,” went 1-3 in the UFC after the show. His last fight in the octagon was a decision loss to the debuting Lyoto Machida. Most recently he scored a 17 second knockout of Jason Dolloff last month.
Alex Schoenauer was last seen in the IFL, where he went 5-5 as a member of the Los Angeles Anacondas. Also, I may have misspelled his name throughout this entire review and never really bothered to check if it’s right.
Chris Sanford had one fight in the WEC and has not been seen since.
Jason Thacker had his one and only professional fight at the Finale. I imagine after fighting Leben he decided that this really wasn’t for him, and found a normal job. It is unknown as to whether or not anyone has peed on his pillow since the show.
The 411: In all honesty I don’t know how else I could score this. The show deserves full marks just for historic significance. Even if you’re not a fan of reality television this series will suck you right in. On top of that there are some great fights to be had at the Finale, not the least of which is Griffin vs. Bonnar (which is an absolute classic and required viewing for any MMA fan). The show may be wearing out it’s welcome these days, but this first season fired on all cylinders.
