The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale Prelims Recap

John Albert argues Kim Winslow's call.

To start off, this season of TUF was disappointing in the fact that the fighters that were on this season aren’t exactly the most promising or UFC caliber, but they are here to change how we perceive their skills.

John Albert vs. Erik Perez: Controversy; the one word that would sum up this fight. Albert came out strong and was taken down but Perez landed himself straight into a tight triangle. Perez defended intelligently and stepped over and went for an armbar himself on Albert. Albert also defended intelligently by trying to step over, but suddenly, Kim Winslow, the ref, stopped the fight claiming it was a verbal submission. Even Perez said that he didn’t hear anything, in the post fight interview. Albert was instantly arguing the finish, and so was everyone who were watching. It’s really too bad too because Albert really does have a bright future. He is also a very entertaining fighter.

Possible matchups for Albert and Perez: This fight started off very entertaining. It ended with controversy. The only solution to this is a rematch and I certainly wouldn’t mind.

Joe Proctor vs. Jeremy Larsen: Proctor was a decent favorite heading into this fight. Many people, including my brother and I, believed that Proctor would win this fight by submission. Proctor trains out of Boston with Joe Lauzon, meaning that he has a strong ground game and has some decent striking. Proctor didn’t want to go for the submission, he wanted to make a statement, and he did. He finished Larsen with a knee and punches within the first two minutes.

Possible matchups for Proctor: One of the more promising fighters this season, Proctor has one major thing that he needs to work on: fight IQ. I know that he one by TKO this time, but Larsen just simply isn’t UFC caliber. Proctor needs to know when he should take the fight to the ground. A fight with fellow TUF Live cast mate, Sam Sicilia would be a slugfest and if Proctor plays it smart, he could submit him but that would be hard to do.

Sam Sicilia vs. Cristiano Marcello: This fight wasn’t the prettiest. It was filled with sloppy standup and cardio problems. Sicilia needs to work on both his conditioning and his standup. What he needs to do with his standup is he needs to not just throw for the KO with every punch. If Sicilia could work on his patience, cardio, and technique, he could have a bright future. But this fight was a sloppy mess. It was just these bombs being swung left and right by both these guys but Sicilia was throwing them with more technique, while Marcello was just throwing with his chin stuck right out in the air. Eventually, Sicilia caught him and brutally finished him with ground and pound.

Myles Jury vs. Chris Saunders: Jury is one of only three people from this season that didn’t make it to the finale that could really make it somewhere (Pichel, Lawrence). He showcased some very crisp standup for a UFC debut and has a deadly guillotine. He landed some solid straights and had great footwork. Jury can definitely get somewhere in the UFC, its always a good sign to see someone in their debut looking like a veteran.

Possible matchups for Jury: Jury deserves a step up in competition. His standup is very good, crisp and technical. A person, who my brother and I both believe would be a good match-up would be with past TUF winner, Efrain Escudero. Escudero has been struggling lately but this could either be either a saving grace for Escudero or the coming out party for Jury.

Daron Cruickshank vs. Chris Tickle: This fight was closer than I was expecting. I though that Cruickshank would rather easily dispatch Tickle but Tickle won the second round rather easily. Cruickshank still looked good though. His inside trips were executed beautifully but doing them as many times as he did can eventually leave them to be both expected and easily countered.

Possible matchups for Cruickshank: It took me a while to find someone that would be a good matchup for Cruickshank but I found one that would show where Cruickshank is in the ladder and how good his skills are. Ramsey Nijem and CJ Keith are fighting on the 22 of June. The winner of that should square off with Cruickshank for an entertaining scrap.

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