Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale Preview

The card is set and it is almost time to determine who will take the next step to money, stardom, and a UFC contract. Saturday at 9pm ET Spike will play host to this 3 hour event and after a bad night on the town for Jesse Taylor left him on the outside looking in, the stage is set for Amir Sadollah vs. C.B. Dollaway. The Dollaway twist has lead into a rematch fight that is generating great popularity, but the other big fight on the card will be between Kendall Grove and Evan Tanner.

Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove vs. Evan Tanner:

Evan Tanner’s name has been all around the MMA world of late as he has started blogging for Spike on their official website. Hopefully he has been in the gym and preparing for Grove in his time away from the keyboard. In his most recent blog addition on the blog, he talks about his arrival in Vegas and his preparation training at the Warrior Training Center with Phil Baroni. This all sounds great for Tanner, but he has lost 3 out of his last 4 fights and is in a fall just like Matt Hughes. He will be giving up age and 6 inches of height to the tall Grove. Kendall Grove is a Hawaiian that will look to use his height to his advantage against Tanner like the way he did against Alan Belcher. Kendall like Tanner is suffering from a bad string of fights as he has lost his last 2 fights.

Amir Sadollah vs. C.B. Dollaway:

Who will be the Ultimate Fighter? Most will say that it will be season 7’s golden boy C.B. Dollaway. Dollaway is a former standout wrestler for the recently saved Arizona State wrestling program. His wrestling accolades include being a high school state champ, junior college national champ, and 2005 All American for ASU. Although he is primarily a wrestler he has not had a problem stopping fights. He has only gone to decision 1 time in 6 fights in his undefeated career. Across the cage from C.B. will be Amir Sadollah. This Richmond Virginia native and surgery technician has an opposite background than Dollaway. Prior to training he did not have a wrestling background. He had no pro fights prior to the show and he is becoming very good with his elbows. He also likes to throw knees and kicks. In the all around game Amir may have the better of the two, but Dollaway’s strength and superior wrestling may be the difference in this fight.

Diego Sanchez vs. Luigi Fioravanti:

One of those that have benefited most from the UFC’s reality show is Diego Sanchez. The nightmare started off on an amazing tear that included victories over Kenny Florian, Nick Diaz, John Alessio, Karo Parisyan, and Joe Riggs. Since that time he has last 2 of his last 3 but looks to get back on track against Luigi Fioravanti. Diego will also be looking to showcase his new BJJ skills courtesy of Saulo Ribeiro. Luigi however looks to be something other than a stepping stone for Diego’s run for the title. Luigi has solid standup and good takedown defense and will look to keep this fight standing. He is training at one of the best gyms in the country at American Top Team and will be ready for this fight.

Spencer Fisher vs. Jeremy Stephens:

Spencer is fresh off of a loss to Frank Edgar and looks to use his left straight punch to finish this fight. Spencer has had an up and down career as a UFC fighter having victories over Thiago Alves and Matt Wiman and losses to Edgar, Hermes Franca, and Sam Stout. He is very confident about this fight and believes that he will simply beat up Stephens. Stephens however is a young talented fighter that is fresh off of a victory over Cole Miller. Stephens will look to put this fight on the ground and take advantage of his ground game which he believes is better than Spencer’s.

Matt Riddle vs. Dante Rivera:

The only other fight that is guaranteed to be televised is the Riddle vs. Rivera fight, and oh by the way they have a little history. Dante Rivera once said that if Matt Riddle ever beat him he would retire. This may be easier said that done. Riddle is a proven Jiu-Jitsu practitioner as well as striker. In his short MMA career he is known for one of the most devastating knock outs in UFC history. The outgoing Riddle will look to defeat Rivera and make him decide if retirement is in fact his next move. Rivera may or may not retire after this fight regardless of the outcome. Rivera knows about Riddle’s background and may want to take this fight to the ground. He is a jiu-jitsu brown belt and has 8 wins by submission according to UFC.com. This fight has the makings of fight of the night because of the drama between the two of the show.

This fight card will do several things for a hand full of fighters. It will make the dreams of one UFC hopeful come true and help a few other fighters get their careers back in the right direction. The best part is that it is free on Spike. There will be no bands, dancing girls, or worry about a television deal. It will be pure excitement and talent.