TUF 8 Finale – No event could have made up for having to watch Junie

By Nicholas Bailey (nbailey@mmaratings.net)

Well, I regret the fact that TUF 8 even existed as a season. I regret watching grown men drink urine, behave like mental patients in ways that were more pathetic and depressing than entertaining, and I regret that Dana White encouraged all of this foolishness. I regret that I got to know Frank Mir better. These were the reasons MMA Ratings did not provide a breakdown for this card, but now I regret it, because I made a good amount of money betting on Gouveia, Bader, and Johnson, and now my professional scruples prevent me from adding it to my official betting history.

Junie Browning vs. Dave Kaplan
Maybe Dave Kaplan does have a good chin afterall.

Too bad he looked awful and hopeless here. Junie looked improved, but I previously thought that he looked awful, so that’s not saying much. I still don’t think he has the level of potential people were talking about. Still, he showed a basic competence in all facets of the game, so that’s something. I still think Junie’s too stupid to ever get it together and be a great fighter, even if he had the physical potential.

Eliot Marshall vs. Jules Bruchez

Elliot Marshall showed why Bader had to LnP him so badly: the guy has pretty decent hands. Still, it’s going to be a big jump up from mugging the hapless Jules Bruchez to anyone else in the UFC’s 205lb division, where almost everyone has better striking than Elliot and the wrestling to keep it on the feet.

Jason MacDonald vs. Wilson Gouveia

Macdonald is a guy that’s had a really surprising amount of success given how one-dimensional his style is. He isn’t a very good striker, and his wrestling is poor. Heck, even when fighting Demian Maia, he chose to try to grapple with him. Gouveia, on the other hand, is a multi-dimensional threat with his powerful, accurate striking and excellent submission game. More than anything else, what’s held him back is that Gouveia has fought dumb in the past and otherwise seemed to have mental problems, but if he can work those out, he could be a solid fighter in the division.

Anthony Johnson vs. Kevin Burns

Explosive athleticism is often a codeword for “black” in MMA, but that’s what Johnson really has. Burns has a good chin. Johnson really was faster, stronger, and more agile than Burns in this fight, but he was also simply better on the feet. I’d like to see Rumble fight Paul Taylor. Johnson’s top game is pretty sad stuff though, and Burn’s inability to do anything off his back really shows that the Carneiro sub was a huge fluke. It was good to see all restored to rightness in the MMA universe and the specter of that ridiculous eye-poke TKO banished.

Ryan Bader vs. Vinicius Magalhaes

Bader has competent enough striking to beat the likes of Vinny, but I question whether even his wrestling is at an above-average level for the LHW division. Still, he has physical potential and a solid base, so maybe he can continue to improve and actually be someone who matters. I expect Vinny will have the same fate as many jiu-jitsu guys who don’t like to get hit, and just fade away into headlining local shows before he retires to just teach jiu-jitsu.

Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Shane Primm

Kryzstoff still looks uncomfortable and awkward on the ground. Primm doesn’t belong in the UFC right now. Kryzstoff should leave too, so I don’t have to spell his name. It’s going to take a lot more than B- striking and mean looking tattoos to last more than a few fights in the UFC’s LHW division.

Phillipe Nover vs. Efrain Escudero

Nover vs. Escudero. Now there are two guys that looked like they belong in the UFC. Nover has a good, well-rounded game, but without big improvements in his wrestling, his future opponents are going to be able to do what Escudero did: dictate where the fight took place to where they match up better with him. Unless Nover is better than his opponent both on the feet and on the ground, he’s going to have trouble.