The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale - Pick em'

Don't know how many fight fans are hanging out here in the lounge but here are the 3 fights scheduled.

Main Event - Lightweights

Kenny Florian vs Sam Stout

Light Heavyweight TUF championship

Mike Bisping vs Josh Haynes

Middleweight TUF championship

Kendall Grove vs Ed Herman

I like Bisping, Grove and Stout (although I hope Florian wins)

I won't be able to watch until late tonight after work.

Stout, Bisping(easy), Kendall Grove....

Really good card overall!

Keith Jardine vs Wilson Gouveia

Talk about a low leg kick clinic! Wow! these guys really landed some nice kicks. My right leg was black and blue just from watching it! The decision was spot on.

Kendall Grove vs Ed Herman

Fight of the night. A submission clinic! Ed Herman could make some waves eventually but he is still very raw. Conditioning was a problem for him. Kendall just keeps getting better and better. If he focuses on BJJ he will be a force at 185. Those long arms can work some nice subs. His standup is good enough to hang with a heavy striking middleweight division.

Michael Bisping vs Josh Haynes

I found myself rooting for Haynes here despite the fact that I really like Mike Bisping. The "Count" is for real. He looked really great and he'll add to an absolutely stacked UFC Light Heavyweight division. I think he can hang in this weight class with guys like Ortiz, Griffen, and Bonnar. Bisping is the most well rounded of all those guys. I wouldn't mind seeing Haynes get another shot a 185 or even (as he indicated) 170 pounds. If Haynes can make 170, his punching power and heart will take him places. I'm not sure he can cut to 170 though.

Sam Stout vs Kenny Florian

I think a lot of people got hung up on Florian's performance at 185 and 170 and maybe underestimated him a little bit, myself included, but he looked utterly dominant against Stout at 155. I don't want to read too much into it because I think Stout laid a bit of an egg, but you cannot deny that Florian certainly has the best BJJ in the lightweight division. We didn't get to see much of his supposedly improved Muay Thai, but I think he's got enough to compete with a guy like Sean Sherk for the lightweight title.

Matt Hammil vs Jesse Forbes

I think Matt Hammil would have had a great shot to beat Mike Bisping in the semi-finals of the Ultimate Fighter had he stayed healthy. The guy is a physical freak! He might be the best wrestler in MMA today and I'd be hard pressed to name a physically stronger 205 pounder. His striking is underrated and likely to improve. He seems to have a knack for dirty boxing, which is bonus because as a wrestler he finds himself in the clinch quite a bit. Hamill has a good enough shot to get Chuck Lidell on the ground. And how about the possibility of a Hammil vs (his mentor) Tito Ortiz at some point? Yeah...

I can't wait for Wednesday and Ultimate Fight Night. Chris Leben is taking on a guy I've never seen, Anderson Silva. We also get Stephen Bonnar vs Rashad Evans, and one of my personal favorites Luke Cummo on that card.

So, I just realized that this entire post was in vain, because it's 2:30 in the morning and I doubt there are any UFC fans still awake. Oh well!

What a great night of fights! The only complaint I have about the show was that there was way too much filler and not enough of the preliminary fights. Most of the preliminary fights only lasted one round, so they could have very easily shown them all. The Grove-Herman match could have gone either way, and I was actually surprised at the judges' decision. Haynes showed great heart against Bisping. He just would not give up, even when Bisping had him in a pretty strong-looking submission. I liked how Florian completely controlled Stout with the grappling. I think I read that the betters had Florian as an underdog in that fight. The result of the Hamil-Forbes fight was no surprise. I would love to see Hamil vs. Bisping!

I think Kendall won, but no way that was a unanimous decision.

If the Dana White has any sense, Hamill vs Bisping will be the first UFC fight out of the gate for both of those guys.

It's an entertaining show. I'm into the PRIDE more, now that I realized I can get the PRIDE fights on one of the satellite cable channels. 75 sports channels and one thing I'm interested in.

and there are some hotties too!

but it's also morbidly fascinating.

you can sort of figure who the winners are going to be as the show goes along.