Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale Preview

If you find yourself looking for something to watch on Saturday night, I suggest you flip the tube to Spike at 9 p.m. (EST) to watch the finale of the Ultimate Fighter 8. The two fights to watch for are the championship bouts in both the lightweight and light heavyweight divisions. The winner of each of the two fights will receive contracts into the UFC. This season the Ultimate Fighter series boasts two heavyweight coaches in Antonio Rodrigo “Minatauro” Nogueira and Frank Mir, who will fight as a part of UFC 92 on December 27^th for the heavyweight title. This season’s finale should not disappoint, in the lightweight championship fight we have Efrain Escudero vs. Phillipe Nover and in light heavyweight fight Ryan Bader will take on Vinny Magelhaes. Keep in mind that these fighters have been training for last 4-5 months for this fight. Expect to see very different fighters from the last time we saw them on the show.

 NOVER V ESCUDIERO

-Efrain Escudero (lightweight): This 5’9″, 155lb 22 year old fights out of Tempe, AZ and sports a 10-0 professional MMA record. In high school his wrestling won him a state championship in the 140lb weight class. Although Efrain is known more for his wrestling skill, he has also proven his jiu-jitsu ability. 9 of his 10 professional wins were by submission. In 2007, he was ranked 1^st in submission wins with 7 in just a three month span. All three of his wins on the Ultimate Fighter series were also won by submission, though he proved he can stand and strike in his semifinal match up against the show’s hot head, Junie Browning. Escudero is very exciting to watch; he fights with great skill, has phenomenal balance and seems to be just as comfortable striking as he does on the ground.

-Phillipe Nover (lightweight): This 5’9″, 155lb 24 year old fights out of Brooklyn, NY and has a 6-0-1 MMA record. Nover, a registered ER nurse at Coney Island Hospital in New York, is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Phillipe normally fights in the welterweight division but had to cut weight to make it on this seasons show as a lightweight. His fighting style is Muay Thai and BJJ. Like Escudero, all three of his wins on the Ultimate Fighter have come by way of submission. Nover has good hands, is quick and is good in the clinch. Look for him to come out strong in the first round and keep the pressure up on Escudero. Both fighters are strong and have great discipline; this fight should be one of the better fights for this entire card, look for the fight to make it at least to round two and be very exciting.

 BADER V MAGALHAES

-Ryan Bader (light heavyweight): This 6’2″, 205lb 25 year old fights out of Tempe, AZ and his MMA record is 8-0. Bader is a former 2x All-American Wrestler from ASU and 3x Pac-Ten champion. In his first eight professional fights he has three submissions, two TKO’s, one KO and one unanimous decision. He has a good ground game and is a hard striker. Each of his 3 victories on the Ultimate Fighter has come by 3 different methods, one by submission, one by KO and one by unanimous decision, thus proving that even though he is a great wrestler, he is also quite versatile. Bader will have a tough match up against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Vinny Magalhaes. Look for Bader to try and keep his distance against Magalhaes in hopes of keeping the fight from going to the ground, where Magalhaes excels.

-Vinny (Vinicius) Magalhaes (light heavyweight): This 6’3″, 205 lb 24 year old fights out of Murrieta, CA and possesses a meager 3-2-1 professional MMA record. This Brazilian born fighter is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has a number of awards to his name. In BJJ he is a Pan-American Champion, 2x American National Champion, Brazilian National Champion, 6x consecutive Rio De Janeiro State Champion from 2000-2005 and US Open Champion (just to name a few). Not only is he one of the best BJJ fighters in his weight class but in all of MMA. Two of his three wins on the Ultimate Fighter came by way of submission. Besides being a world class Jiu-Jitsu fighter he is physically strong, has strong leg kicks and is smart with his game.  Look for Magalhaes to be patient with his timing against the hard hitting Bader. If Vinny can stay away from Bader’s strike, I expect him to win this fight by submission.

****Watch for UFC 92 coming up on Dec. 27th live on pay-per-view*****

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