'The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale' Preview
Prelims
Dec 5, 2009
Jim
Page/Sherdog.com
Darrill Schoonover vs. James McSweeney
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That makes for a particularly dire situation considering he’s matched against McSweeney, who is a true heavyweight and has a solid kickboxing pedigree to his name. Unless Schoonover can find a way to get this fight on the mat, he’ll only be setting himself up for a proper scalping.
The Bottom Line: Schoonover just
doesn’t belong in the land of gigantors, and McSweeney will make
that obvious for all to see with a lopsided KO win. On the bright
side, at least Schoonover won’t have to deal with being called
“Titties” now that “Rampage”
Jackson is busy filming the B-grade “A-Team.”
Jon Madsen vs. Justin Wren
The Breakdown: Two of the top wrestlers from the 10th season of the “Ultimate Fighter” vie for a spot in the Octagon in what will make for an interesting wrestling meet. Although neither fighter managed to reach the finals, they both impressed with their wrestling skills and that is exactly what this fight will come down to.
The key difference is that Wren has the more well-rounded wrestling style and isn’t prone to getting dragged into brawls like Madsen. The more disciplined fighter takes this one, and by all accounts, Wren is the one who can make his game plan work.
The Bottom Line: Expect Madsen to come out swinging, which will only give Wren the opportunity he needs to go into ground-and-pound mode. A standard issue TKO win goes Wren’s way, as Madsen finds himself overmatched on the mat.
Brian Stann vs. Rodney Wallace
The Breakdown: Debuting wrestling convert Wallace gets quite the challenge for his first foray in the Octagon against Stann, whose only setting is “Take your Head Off.” While Stann does lack solid takedown defense, Wallace doesn’t have much in the way of finishing skills and too readily settles for top control.
It would hardly be surprising if Wallace controls the majority of the bout, but getting your head smacked around won’t impress the judges or anyone else for that matter. Unless Wallace can find a way to not only control Stann but put him away as well, he may just be biding time until one of Stann’s strikes finds its mark.
The Bottom Line: This just isn’t a good fight for Wallace. He will be out-gunned on the feet before he gets a chance to show off his wrestling. A blowout from bell to bell, Stann puts an end to it late in the first round.
John Howard vs. Dennis Hallman
The Breakdown: The return of Hallman comes with the expected number of puzzled looks, as he’s done little in his time outside of the Octagon. Howard, meanwhile, has notched quality wins in the cage and found far more success under the UFC banner than Hallman ever did.
As for the actual style clash, Hallman has lost much of the sheen on his submission game while Howard’s powerful wrestling and air-tight submission defense is poison to Hallman’s style. Barring Hallman having made some remarkable changes to his game, he’s being set up for a fall.
The Bottom Line: This matchup doesn’t make much sense, but Howard won’t mind pounding out Hallman for an easy win. A bloody bout comes to a long overdue end with a stoppage late in the second round.
Mark Bocek vs. Joe Brammer
The Breakdown: A clash of submission artists in the lightweight division pits Bocek against the debuting Brammer, who has to figure out how to beat a better version of himself. The answer won’t come easily, as Bocek’s top control is stifling and his submission game is every bit as dangerous.
The wrestling will be key. Brammer can’t hope to win this fight with his guard and has to find a way to force Bocek out of his comfort zone. Considering the subpar striking Brammer has shown in the past, you have to wonder how exactly he can even begin to pull that off.
The Bottom Line: A grappling meet will quickly turn into a grappling seminar. Bocek ties Brammer in knots en route to a submission win early in the second stanza. Don’t mess with Canadian lumberjack gingers.
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