TUF 10 Finale Recap: Kimbo has arrived!....sort of.....actually, not really

(Somehow, this 4 minutes makes me feel slightly better about losing 15 minutes of my life watching this fight live)

Is it the new year yet, because my prediction percentage has been in a tailspin as the end of the year gets closer and closer. Thanks to Houston "Kalib Starnes" Alexander and legitimate disqualification of Jon Jones because of a ridiculous rule, I suffered yet another losing card (4-6, 2-3 main card).

Where I was right

- Hey, I may be riding a failboat like I'm trying to qualify for the America's Cup, but when I nail a fight prediction, I absolutely nail it. Roy Nelson is quickly becoming one of my favorite fighters, not only because he has some serious game that no one seems to want to acknowledge because of his appearance, but also because I know how much it upsets Dana White that he has a UFC contract now. It wasn't exactly how I thought it would happen but "Big Country" planted Brendan Schaub with a right hand late in the 1st round. While Rogan and Goldberg were jumping out of their skin to praise "The Hybrid" (hmmm, I wonder if he got the nickname because he has a minotaur painting in his house like A-Rod) for scoring with jabs and a few sloppy hooks against the cage, Nelson was able to overcome Schaub's scramble out of his early takedown and land a perfect shot behind the ear to end the night. Sure, I called a TKO, but I'm giving myself the benefit of the doubt because I added the trademark belly rub. If only I could have been somewhere near Dana White when he saw that display on top of the cage. No doubt some obscenities were flying when that happened.

- Despite looking like they were in two different weight classes, Frankie Edgar pretty much dominated Matt Veach until he secured a rear naked choke in the second round. Veach earned a few style points with some flashy slams, but he was unable to keep Edgar down once the fight hit the floor. When the fight was on the feet it was very clear Veach wanted absolutely nothing to do with his adversary's striking. I would have been interested in seeing the judges' scorecards for round 1 because while the slams were very impressive, Edgar picked apart on the feet to a point where I think there was no way you could make a case for Veach winning the round. The second round left no doubts who the superior fighter was as Edgar worked his stand up early, scored a takedown against the cage, quickly moved to mount, and finished when Veach rolled and gave up his neck. For a man who needed an impressive victory to get his name in the conversation for a lightweight title shot, Edgar did exactly what had to make a case. 1 or 2 more wins against good opponents and "The Answer" should be given a chance at the title.

- Mark Bocek won, but that's not surprising considering he was a monster favorite to win. What was surprising (apparently, because I haven't seen the fight) though was John Howard's final seconds hail-Mary knockout of Dennis Hallman. After losing the first 2 rounds (according to most Internet play-by-play sites), "Doomsday" labeled a gassed out Hallman on the feet and followed up on the floor to earn the win.

Where I was wrong

- If I would have said before this event that Kimbo-Houston Alexander would be the worst fight on the card, I might have slapped myself for being stupid. However, that's exactly what this fight was. Houston Alexander spent the 1st round circling the cage and landing leg kicks on Kimbo, that's it. In the second he was slammed to canvas, had his back taken, and was nearly choked out. In all seriousness, if that had been anyone other than Kimbo Slice attempting that rear naked choke, the fight was over. I've literally rolled less than 10 times in my life and even I know how to properly apply that choke. However, just knowledge of how to apply the choke isn't enough; you have to be able to feel when it is available. Clearly, Kimbo is not at that point yet. The third round of the fight was just tragic as both fighters, visibly gassed, struggled to gather the energy to even attempt a meaningful strike. Funny thing is, as bad as Houston looked with his running around and leg kick heavy gameplan, I still scored the fight for him! Sorry Kimbo, the onus isn't just on the other fighter to bring the fight. Seeing as Houston was circling exclusively to his right in the 1st round, if he would have stepped to his left to cut the ring off and threw a left hook, the fight probably would have been over quickly.

Honestly, I saw no way Kimbo could have won that fight, especially not 30-27 like one judge had it. Even if you scored the second round 10-8 (which is completely ridiculous because it wasn't 5 minutes of domination) the fight should have been scored a 28-28 draw. Kimbo did literally nothing in the first round while Alexander landed meaningful strikes (yes, leg kicks are meaningful strikes Cecil Peoples). 10-9 Alexander. No need to analyze the second because it was clearly Kimbo's, just not to a 10-8 level. The third was close but Kimbo got dropped with a leg kick and got the worst of every pathetic exchange from that point forward. 10-9 Alexander. Much to my own detriment (because I look stupid when I make claims to my friends that there is no way Kimbo wins before and after the fight) I have way too much faith in judges to score fights properly. I can't get too fired up about this blown decision because both fighters looked absolutely terrible and will have no tangible effect on either the heavyweight or light-heavyweight divisions. Even though it's very clear that Kimbo will be can-fed in the immediate future, he will never come close to being a contender, or even a decent gatekeeper. Yeah he tossed Houston around, but he is also a weight class below Kimbo. He has absolutely no chance to do that to a Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, Brock Lesnar (unless he really has lost 50 pounds, and even then it doesn't happen), or pretty much any other fighter that isn't a complete jobber. What's disturbing is we're not too far away from having Kimbo on the main card of a PPV event. Think about that, paying to watch Kimbo Slice while the likes of Joe Lauzon, Martin Kampmann, Sean Sherk are placed on the undercard. *Shudders at the thought*

- Matt Hamill "earned" a "win" over Jon Jones because of a disqualification due to illegal 12 to 6 elbows thrown from the mount. The words earned and win are in quotes because Hamill won the fight despite getting completely mauled and having his face torn off the entire fight. Anyone who watched that fight knows who won, and it wasn't even close. Jon Jones lost that fight like Fedor Emelianenko lost his first fight with Tsuyoshi Kosaka, he lost by a complete fluke. Yes, the 12 to 6 elbows are an illegal blow, but the rule is beyond stupid. Not exaggerating one bit, if he would have slightly arched the strikes so that they weren't directly ceiling to floor, the elbows would have been legal. Apparently a 1 degree off vertical elbow is infinitely less devastating than a 12-6 elbow. Jones is appealing the decision with the NSAC but there is little to no chance the DQ gets overturned to a no contest. If ever there was a moral victory in the sport of MMA, Jon Jones earned one against Matt Hamill. This guy is legit and at 22, he's only going to improve.

- Matt Mitrione knocked out Marcus Jones early in the second round. The term "glass jaw" gets used far too frequently when discussing MMA, but in Jones' case, he has a glass jaw. Mitrione was clearly gassed and he was able to turn out the lights with what basically amounted to a back peddling jab. It never ceases to amaze me how fighters can completely forget what they're best at, do the exact opposite of whatever that skill might be, and lose because of that decision (Jorge Gurgel immediately springs to mind).

- I still suck at picking undercard fights. In other news, the sun will rise tomorrow morning.