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Morgan KO'd by Slam, Jardine Chops Down Schall, Guillard a Speed Demon in Dark Bouts By Loretta Hunt (November 5th, Las Vegas, Nevada) The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 had its final word tonight from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, the culmination of a 13-week reality show that whittled down eighteen hopefuls into potentially four future stars of the UFC. Of the quartet, two walked walk away with UFC contracts, while FCF, perched above the Octagon on the standing-room-only balcony, was there to witness and report on the entire evening's happenings. Luckily for the promotion, for Spike TV (which has hosted a plethora of UFC programming along with the series since August), and chiefly for the fans, heavyweights Brad Imes and Rashad Evans waged a heavy-handed battle in their finals bout, while welterweights Joe Stevenson and Luke Cummo dragged each other through the ringer in a mostly mat-friendly, 3-round affair. At the tail end of a night brimming with action in front of the cameras, Evans bested Imes with the split decision and odds-on favorite Stevenson unanimously surpassed the "Rocky"-esque underdog Cummo – earning both winners the right to call themselves the ultimate fighter. The cherry on the top came from headliners Diego Sanchez and Nick Diaz, who proved the most technical pair of the night as their bodies tangled into positions reserved for the most versed of ground practitioners. If there was any doubt of TUF 1 victor and UFC golden boy Sanchez's abilities, his handling of Cesar Gracie purple belt Diaz can only serve to silence the most adamant of non-believers. With a practically perfect strategy, Sanchez all but neutralized Diaz for the first two rounds, then rode out his opponent's third round rally for the unanimous decision. Both traded war wounds in the process, with Diaz getting cut along his hairline and Sanchez cutting above his right eye. The two fighters were treated separately at the hospital with stitches. In the initial bout kicking off the pay-per-view, TUF 1 winner-up Kenny Florian was handed a tailor-made opponent in Kit Cope, an accomplished Muay Thai fighter with hardly the skills to match Florian's Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt status. Florian could not be blamed for going for the takedown from the get go, yet Cope did a fine job at first avoiding it at all costs. After a brief pummeling exchange in the cage's center, Florian got his single-leg takedown and moved to mount before Cope reined him back into his guard. Cope answered Florian's blows with elbows of his own from his back, but could do little else to cease the submission flurry that was coming. Again in mount, Florian grabbed Cope's arm for a Kimura attempt, then went for an armbar. In the Hard Rock arena, fans didn't have the benefit of the round's end bell to know that Cope had beat it in the nick of time. Cope's race against time hardly helped the fact that his arm, particularly his shoulder, was beyond one-minute rest's repair. Starting round two at a distance, Cope threw a kick and Florian crowded him again for a takedown. Hitting the ground, a virtually one-armed Cope could not stave off the rear-naked choke and he tapped shortly after.
The Dark Matches From inside the Joint, three preliminary bouts set the stage for the meatier fights to come, and spectators seemed to enjoy their closely-knit surroundings that hugged the Octagon before them. In the opening bout of the evening, heavyweights Kerry Schall and Keith Jardine's uninspired undertaking hardly set off fireworks although the bout remained standing for its entirety. Both threw wide shots that hit their marks in the bout's earlier moments, but the pace, generally controlled by Cincinnati's "MeatTruck," was comparatively slow and lacking urgency. Although there was no bounce in Schall's waddling step, he found success with his counter punches on an often backtracking Jardine. Jardine did land a high kick in the final ten seconds, but the granite-chinned Schall absorbed it and fired back just a second later. Both continued with their looping punches into the second round, and Jardine started to find his kicking range and add them as well. The pair traded one-two's and looked to be collectively tiring until Jardine nailed a low outside kick. Schall winced, but tried to circle out and Jardine followed up with another and then another that chopped down Schall's limb like the once sturdy root of a tree. Falling to the ground, Schall's pain was too much to overcome and the referee called the stoppage at 3:28. Schall was on crutches for the rest of the evening. Welterweight Melvin Guillard's pure speed quickly elevated the proceedings. The New Orleans fighter, who had predicted himself the eventual winner of TUF's competition only to be the first 170-pounder dismissed from the show, redeemed himself amply tonight. Training with former opponent Josh Burkman in Utah and cornered by training guru Pat Miletich, Guillard's athleticism allowed him to connect with boxer Marcus Davis early and control the subsequent takedown Davis initiated to recover. A flashy pass to side control had the crowd raving Guillard's explosiveness and back on their feet, the 22-year-old nearly caught Davis with a tight guillotine he tweaked as he fell to his back. Almost thirty seconds in the choke, Davis' head popped out and he enjoyed top position for the first time that night by peppering body shots. Guillard managed to get to his feet and threw Davis done again into side control, where he connected with an elbow at the bell. Boxer Davis could only land one shot on his moving target at the top of the second, and Guillard countered with a takedown into side control again.. Scoring with an elbow, Guillard tore open a gash the length of Davis' eye. Davis' face began to trickle down red streams, and referee John McCarthy felt obligated to stop and have the cut checked once the action waned enough to do so. One glance from the cageside doctor and the fight was waived off at 2:55. The man who knocked Guillard out of the TUF competition early on only to eliminate himself with a broken arm in the process, Josh Burkman returned to the Octagon this evening predicting he could end his bout with the likable Sam Morgan in 37 seconds. Eating a punch from Morgan to secure the cinch, Burkman slammed Morgan to the mat and the bottom fighter went limp immediately. Unfortunately, relatively green UFC referee John Shorle did not stand at the optimum angle to catch the eerily frozen look that washed over Morgan's face from the slam. Burkman threw three unprotected elbows before Shorle jumped in for the 21 second stoppage, a sure sign this bout will be shelved for quite some time before fans get to see it Cut by one of the elbows, a motionless Morgan bled on-camera before the scenario was switched on the monitors never to return to him. A wall of medical technicians quickly enveloped Morgan, who lay unconscious for moments before he woke and was able to rise to his feet. Opting out of a stretcher escort, a still shaky Morgan was helped out of the cage by a cornerman. Word was the Nevada State Athletic Commission was not pleased with the late stoppage nor the delayed response from paramedics entering the cage to attend to Morgan. Morgan was reported to be walking around and in good health later on in the evening. Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale Results
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