The Ultimate Fighter had its final episode of the season on Tuesday night, and they capped it off with both semi-final fights. Kelvin Gastelum squared off against Josh Samman, and Uriah Hall met Dylan Andrews. This is the good, the bad, and the ugly of the final episode of the 17th season:
The Good:
- Kelvin Gastelum’s performance was stellar. He
dominated Josh Samman, securing the submission finish, and moving on to the
finale. Samman was the favored fighter entering the fight, but Gastelum continues to put
in work. As coach Chael Sonnen stated on the show, Gastelum is not great at any one
thing, but he finds a way to win. - Chael continues to look fantastic on The
Ultimate Fighter as a coach. While coaching up Uriah Hall, he made it a point to
say that he can beat anyone in the division. That includes the champion. It
instilled a lot of confidence in his fighter. - Hall’s speed in round one was something to
watch. He continually touched up Dylan Andrews for five full minutes. - Hall finished the fight in the second round in
impressive fashion. After being taken down, he worked for a Kimura from the
bottom, eventually busted Andrews up from underneath, swept him, and finished him.
The Bad:
- Harley-Davidson is a sponsor, and part of the
role of a sponsor is to give away free gifts to the fighters. Unfortunately,
this is not the right gift for an athlete. It is a dangerous activity that has
already nearly claimed the careers of Frank Mir and Jose Aldo. - Dylan Andrews did nothing in the first round. He
stood there and allowed Hall to touch him up with quick jabs, and a variety of
kicks. He needed to be aggressive. He was not. He stood there and accepted
punishment.
The Ugly:
- Product placement is the norm in television
these days, but what happened on TUF was humorous and unnecessary. The UFC
already has TV spots and ads on the Octagon for NOS Energy Drink, but for
whatever reason they decided they needed to cut to Dana White drinking a can
before one of the fights. It was odd and out of place.
The season is complete, and all that is left is to crown The Ultimate Fighter. Uriah Hall will meet Kelvin Gastelum this Saturday at the TUF 17 Finale to determine who will hoist the trophy.
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