UFC "The Ultimate Fighter Finale"
Las Vegas, Nevada
Report by Dot Net contributor Mark Gessner

Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan welcomed us to the show and run down the card to start the show. The opening contest would be the debut of the Featherweight Division in the UFC as semi-finalist, Nam Phan faced Leonard Garcia.

1. Leonard Garcia defeated Nam Phan via Split Decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28).

Round One: The opening two minutes of the fight featured good exchanges by both fighters with each landing kicks to the midsection and punches to the head and abdomen. Garcia continued to throw wild looping strikes while Phan threw more well thought out shots and changed levels from high-to-low very well. With fifty seconds left in the round, Phan connected with a big head kick but Garcia answer with a a flurry of punches and for lack of a better term, "no sold" the kick. The fighters traded strikes to close out the round.

Gessner's Glance: Phan 10-9. Really good opening right of what has the makings to be a great stand up war. Garcia is not connecting enough with the big combinations that he is throwing and leaves himself wide open for Phan to counter strike. Greg Jackson told Garcia he needs to circle away after throwing combinations, rather than back up, and not leave himself wide open to take shots. Phan's corner told him to throw more combinations rather than just loading up for one big strike at a time. Should be a great second round and I'd be shocked if this fight ends on the judges scorecards rather than with someone out cold on the mat. 

Round Two: The opening minute of the round featured Garcia absolutely dominating the stand up battle landing numerous huge combinations. A minute and forty seconds into the round, Garcia shot for a takedown but Phan stuffed the attempt. Half way into the round Phan unloaded on Garcia with a huge combination and was able to land a side kick on Garcia and take him down. With a minute and a half left in the round, Phan was able to work his way into a back mount position and was attempting to lock in a rear naked choke. 

Gessner's Glance: Throughout the entire season pretty much every fighter on Team Koscheck lost via Rear Naked Choke, so Phan, Team Koscheck's last remaining fighter, winning with one would be ironic.

With forty-five seconds left, it appeared like Garcia tapped while trying to fight his way out of the submission attempt by referee Herb Dean did not step in and stop the fight. It was a logical call by Dean as Garcia was not being choked at the time and Phan's arm was on Garcia's chin rather than throat. Phan threw a couple of strikes to close out the round.

Gessner's Glance: 10-9 Phan. Garcia absolutely dominated the first half of the round landing huge striking combination but appeared to gas himself out which Phan capitalized on. Interesting to see what sort of backlash there will be from the possible tap out by Garcia but he did not see to be under and duress or in any danger at the time of the possible tap. Garcia needs to knockout Phan quick in the third round to have a chance to win the fight because the longer the round lasts, the bigger the advantage Phan will have.

Round Three: Garcia came out throwing huge combinations once again to open up the round and busted Phan open on the side of his face and a huge gash on his forehead. A minute into the round, Garcia shot a double leg takedown and was able to obtain top position. Phan was able to work his way back to his feet, and with three minutes left in the round, Garcia looks completely gassed out and is throwing his strikes on heart alone. Rogan made the observation about Garcia that, "he's in a marathon but he's running sprints." With two minutes left in the third and final round, Phan really is not going on the attack which he needs to just by the off chance that two of the judges awarded a very close first round to Garcia. While Garcia doesn't have the same explosiveness or energy that he had at the start of the round, once in a while he is connecting with a big shot due to Garcia having a very heavy hands. Phan seemed really hesitant in the final minute as he would land a counter strike here or there but was never really moving forward or initiating contact. 

Gessner's Glance: 10-9 Garcia. One of the things that judges scored rounds on is octagon control. The entire fight Garcia was constantly moving forward and pressing the action. While the second round was one by Phan decisively, Garcia very well may have been awarded the first or third by the judge. I have the fight 29-28 Nam Phan but will not be shocked if Garcia wins the decision.

Bruce Buffer announced the judges scores. 29-28 Garcia, 30-27 Phan, and 29-28 for the winner via split decision, Leonard Garcia. The fans at The Pearl at Palms did not like the decision at all and bored loudly which segued into an audible "bullshit" chant while Rogan attempted to interview Garcia. Garcia seemed to be extremely apologetic throughout the interview and said he would give Phan a rematch and said the fans can decide. 

Gessner's Glance: "Never leave the fight in the hands of the judges"- Dana White. It is displayed in The Ultimate Fighter house and in the UFC Gym. White has said it over and over in the shows twelve season history. Phan had a completely gassed out Garcia for the final half of the fight and did not do enough to attempt to knock him out or submit him. That said, Phan had that fight one on my card. 

They then showed the trailer for UFC 124: St. Pierre vs Koscheck 2.

Gessner's Glance: If you have not seen the video yet, click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqQxz49gT_Q. This is probably the best promotional video that the UFC has produced in quite sometime. Highly recommend checking it out. 

2. Rick Story defeated Johny Hendricks via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28.

Round One: A minute into the round, Story got Hendricks up against the cage a dirty boxed him landing a solid combination to the midsection and chin. Through the first three minutes, Story was on the offensive as Hendricks to what Joe Rogan called a "matador" approach as he was trying to avoid strikes rather than trying to mee aggression with aggression.

With thirty seconds left in the round, Hendricks scored a nice double leg takedown. "That could be the difference in this round," said Rogan. "Unless it's the same judges who scored the last fight in which case the fight may be award to a mouse in the corner, one of the referees, or a lady selling beer." Funny. Story worked and got back to his feet to close out the round.

Gessner's Glance: 10-9 Story. Story was on the offensive for four and a half minutes until he was taken down by Hendricks. Hendricks did not do enough on the ground though to make anyone think he stole the round with those thirty seconds. 

Round Two: Thirty seconds into the second round, Story again was able to get Hendricks up against the fence and score another strong combination to the body before securing a takedown and got into a top position. With three minutes left Hendricks was able to get back to his feet and had Story pressed up against the cage.

Story, however, landed numerous strong punches to the side of Hendricks ribs and landed a nice knee, as you could see Hendricks' side swelling up and getting red. With a minute and a half left in the first round, Joe Rogan on commentary went off about how the Nevada State Athletic Commission is a filled with "incompetent morons who know nothing about MMA." With an minute left Rick Story scored another takedown but Hendricks was able to get into butterfly guard and work his way back up to his feet. Both fighters threw a flurry of strikes to close out the round.

Gessner's Glance: 10-9 Story. Again, Story dominated the stand up battle but this time was able to secure numerous takedowns throughout the round. This has been Story's fight thus far and is his fight to lose. He should be able to win this fight on points if it goes to decision but based on the first fight of the night, I wouldn't feel safe leaving this fight in the hands of the judges. 

Round Three: Forty seconds into the round, Story was able to cinch in a guillotine choke from top position. Hendricks fought his way and scrambled into a bottom sprawl position. Story transitioned into a kimura submission attempt. With two minutes left in the fight, both fighters worked their way back to their feet. Hendricks attempted to take story down but was not able to score a dominant top position or keep Story on the ground for an extended period of time. 

Gessner's Glance: 10-9 Story. Was in control for the first four minutes of the fight and was not in any legitimate danger during the final minute while Hendrick's attempted to steal the round. 30-27 Story on my card and while it was a good competitive, wrestling based fight, the decision victory is absolutely Story's. 

Bruce Buffer announced the judges scores and all three judges scored the fight 29-28 for Rick Story.

Joe Rogan attempted to interview George St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck via satellite but their were audio difficulties and Mike Goldberg cut away to commercial. 

3. Cody McKenzie defeated Aaron Wilkinson via submission due to guillotine choke at 2:03 of the first round.

Round One: This was an undercard fight that was previously taped tonight and I'm assuming is being shown while they attempt to fix the satellite feed issues for the interview. McKenzie immediately shot in for the guillotine choke. He spent two minutes fighting for position and finally scored the submission victory.
 
Gessner's Glance: Throughout the entire season, it was shown that a guillotine choke was the only move McKenzie had. Yet, fighters still get in close and allow him to gain the hold that he is relentless with. And he does not even need to sink in the choke as tonight he forced the tap with his arm around Wilkinson's jaw. 

4. Demian Maia defeated Kendall Grove via Unanimous Decision  (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Round One: Maia is coming into the fight looking much more muscular than he did in his fight vs Anderson Silva at UFC 112. The added muscle and strength means he can apply more strength in submission attempts vs the tall and lanky Kendall Grove. In the first half of the round, Maia was able to score a couple nice takedowns but was not able to work his way into a submission attempt and Grove was smart in not trying to strike from the ground which would leave an opening for a submission attempt.

With two minutes left in the round, Maia was able to transition from half guard into a top mounted position. Maia landed a few solid shots until Grove initiated a scramble and forced Maia back into his half guard with ninety seconds left in the round. From half guard, Maia landed more big shots. In a failed attempt by Grove to get back to his feet, Maia took his back attempted a rear naked choke unsuccessfully. Maia remained in top position to close out the round. 

Gessner's Glance: 10-9 Maia. Maia dominated the ground game throughout the majority of the round. Kendall Grove is not going to stand a chance in this fight on the ground. Not only will he not win any rounds on the judges' scorecards, his chance for survival from Maia's excellent submission offense is almost non-existent. 

Round Two: A minute into the second round, Grove cracked Maia with a right to the jaw as Maia attempted to shoot in for the takedown. That is the best strategy Grove has to win this fight. Take advantage of the nine inch reach advantage he has and counter takedowns with striking. Maia however, answered thirty seconds later with a successful takedown and moved into half guard. Maia landed a handful of solid shots to the body and head of Grove. Grove was able to work his way back to his feet but was taken down again with two minutes left in the round. Maia was able to get Grove's back and worked towards scoring a submission victory via choke with one minute to go. With twenty seconds left in the round, Maia gave up the submission attempt and landed more shots to close out the round.

Gessner's Glance: 10-9 Maia. Maia again completely dominated the round on the ground. The added muscle has been a huge advantage for Maia thus far in the fight and it does not appear to be affecting his cardio. Grove needs to use his significant reach advantage in the third. Throw strikes, back away, and hope to catch Maia with something that turns his lights out. 

Round Three: Grove spent the first three minutes of the fight throwing a strike or two and then backing away so he wouldn't get caught and taken down. He landed the majority of his strikes but nothing was hard enough to drop Maia. With ninety seconds left in the fight, Maia shot for a weak looking single leg takedown that Grove stuffed and landed a strong knee to the head of Maia.  Grove displayed great takedown defense with his back against the cage and landed a few punches to the head and midsection of Maia. Maia was not able to score the takedown and continued to take shots to close out the round.

Gessner's Glance: 10-9 Grove. Great round by Grove and had he used that strategy throughout the entire fight, possibly could have won the fight. That was not the case however as Maia dominated Grove on the ground in the first two rounds and Maia wins the fight 29-28 on my scorecard. 

Bruce Buffer announced the judges' scorecards and all three scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Demian Maia. 

The technical difficulties were fixed and the interview of the champion Georges St. Pierre and the challenger Josh Koscheck by Joe Rogan aired. Koscheck said that he felt that the fact he faced GSP before was a huge advantage for him because he has improved since their first fight in both his striking and his wrestling. "I don't know which Georges St. Pierre will show up, but I know which Josh Koscheck will and I will bring the belt back to Fresno, CA," said Koscheck.

St. Pierre said that he has had the best training camp of his career and has trained to fight "an army of men so one man will not defeat me. My specialty is fighting wrestlers so I feel confident coming into the fight" Koscheck showed an arrogant smirk at GSP's comments. "Georges, I got news for you," said Koscheck. "I'm not just a wrestler anymore, I'm a well-rounded fighter. You may have prepared for a wrestler but you are going to get a well-rounded fight so you probably should be thinking about that over the next 7 days." GSP responded by saying that the pressure is not on him since he has already beaten Koscheck before. He said after Saturday he will be able to move on to a new chapter of his career after he beats Josh again. 

Joe Rogan talked about how GSP will have the home-field advantage as the fight will take place in Montreal in-front of one of the largest attendances in history which made Koscheck smirk again (Click here to see why http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNfLYBHM-0w&feature=related). Both fighters said that the crowd will not have any affect on them, either positively or negative.

Gessner's Glance: This is going to be an absolutely phenomenal fight next weekend. While many feel the crowd support will be a huge motivator for GSP, Koscheck thrives on being the bad guy and loves playing that role. I have the same feeling right now for this fight as I did for the Sonnen vs Silva fight, and I think Josh Koscheck will pull out the upset victory and will be leaving Montreal, Quebec, Canada as the UFC Welterweight Champion. 

5. Stephan Bonnar defeated Igor Pokrajac via Unanimous Decision (29-26, 29-26, 29-26).

Round One: Bonnar was able to put Pokrajac up against the cage twenty seconds into the fight and scored a handful of solid shots to the midsection before taking Pokrajac down. Bonnar transitioned from side control, to north-south, to a back side control. He lost to position however and Pokrajac moved back to his feet and pushed Bonnar up against the cage. At the two minute mark of the fight, Bonnar was able to lock in a guillotine choke. Pokrajac was able to fight his way out of the submission attempt. With a minute left in the round, Bonnar started throw hard elbows to the midsection from side control softening up his opponent to end the round.

Gessner's Glance: 10-9 Bonnar. Great round by Bonnar where he showed off his very little talked about skill in the ground game. Showed great skill in passing Pokrajac's guard and landed a lot of good strikes from the top along with attempting a couple submissions to end the fight.

Round Two: A minute into the first, Bonnar secured a muay thai clinch and attempted to connect with big knees to the jaw but Pokrajac blocked them. A minute and a half into the round, Bonnar was able to scored a takedown and gained side control. Pokrajac was able to defend himself from letting Bonnar transition into salavarry position, but gave up his back in the process.

With two minutes left in the round, Pokrajac was able to work his way back to his feet and immediately came at Bonnar with a combination of punches. Bonnar was again able to move into a muay thai clinch and threw knees that were blocked and arcing elbows that connected solidly. With a minute left in the round, both fighter began to just start throwing. Pokrajac got the better of the exchange, before Bonnar pressed his back up against the cage. Bonnar landed a few more strikes against the cage to close out the round. 

Gessner's Glance: 10-9 Bonnar. Bonnar dominated the first round and the ground and this round he dominated on his feet. Pokrajac has landed a couple solid shots during stand up exchanges so Bonnar's best best to win the fight and not get caught with a shot it to take him down early, and smother him in a lay-and-pray type strategy. That said, that is the exact opposite approach that The American Psycho Stephan Bonnar would take so expect a third round of both fighters exchanging bombs from their feet. 

Coming out of the break, Steve Mazzagatti informed Joe Rogan that the knees Pokrajac threw from his back that connected with Bonnar's head were illegal, and he has deducted a point from Pokrajac for that. So my scored card is now 20-17 for Stephan Bonnar.

Round Three: Bonnar scored an early takedown less than twenty seconds into the third and final round. Rogan complained about the rule that was in place that cost Pokrajac the point. "We shouldn't be taking away weapons from these fighters," said Rogan. "If you can use it standing up then you should be able to use it from the ground." Bonnar landed numerous strikes from top position during the first two minutes of the round before obtaining top mounted position.

With two minutes left in the fight, Pokrajac was able to get Bonnar off of him from a full top mount but Bonnar pushed off the cage and made a beautiful transition into side control. With ninety seconds left, Pokrajac was able to work his way out of side control, shot for an armbar, but Bonnar was able to get out of the submission attempt and transition back into side control. With one second left in the fight, Mazzagatti stopped the fight because a punch that hit Pokrajac in the back of the head and deducted a point from Bonnar.

Gessner's Glance: Are you fucking kidding me? There is one second left in the fight and you step in with a bullshit infraction? This is an epidemic that crosses through every professional sport. Referees and Umpires need to realize that no one pays to see them and that they are not employed to be a part of the contest. The best refs and umpires should be nameless and faceless.

The fight did not get restarted with one second left on the clock and the round ended.

Gessner's Glance: 9-9 Draw. Stephan Bonnar dominated the entire round again from the ground. The third round is his no question. Due to point deductions against both fighters, Bonnar wins the fight 29-26 on my scorecard.

Bruce Buffer announced the judges scorecards and all three judges scored the fight 29-26 for Stephan Bonnar. 

Gessner's Glance: The American Psycho seems to be back into dominant form. He has looked phenomenal in 2010 and look for big things in 2011. He is a fan favorite and has been in top form. I personally would like to see him vs Rampage for each fighters next fight in a contender eliminator fight. 

A video package was shown on finalist Michael Johnson and Jonathan Brookins in their preparation for the fight. Johnson added muscle while Brookins did outdoor workouts that worked towards getting him better in the different facets of MMA. 

Michael Johnson entered the octagon first, coming out to Creatures Lie Here (Monsters) by T.I. featuring Kanye West and Eminem. Jonathan Brookins came out to raggae sounding music I could not pick up on. 

6. Jonathan Brookins defeated Michael Johnson via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27).

Round One: Both fighters started the round by throwing combinations of punches with nothing landing squarely. Brookins shot for a takedown but was unable to score it and both fighters were back on their feet and separated a minute and ten seconds into the round. Two minutes into the round, Johnson connected with a shot to the jaw that dropped Brookins and Johnson moved in to obtain a top sprawl position.

Brookins got back to his feet but got hit with a strong right knee on his way back up. At two and a half minutes, Johnson ragdolled Brookins and threw him to the ground. With a minute left, Johnson stuffed a takedown attempt by Brookins. Johnson stuffed another takedown attempt with five seconds left in the round to close out the first.

Gessner's Glance: 10-9 Johnson. Johnson completely dominated the entire round. If any judge scored it 10-8 Johnson I would not be shocked. Johnson showed that he is superior in the stand up and exposed Brookins who fights with his chin up and hands down while on his feet. Very one sided round.

Round Two: Thirty seconds into the round, Brookins was able to scored a takedown on Johnson and moved into a half guard top position. Two minutes into the second round, Brookins land numerous solid elbows to the side of Johnson's head over the following minute. With ninety seconds left in third round, Johnson was able to work his way back to his feet. With a minute left, Brookins picked up and slammed Johnson from a single leg clinch. Brookins attempted to score a submission victory via kimura with twenty seconds left in the round but was unable to get it locked in as the horn sounded. 

Gessner's Glance: 10-9 Brookins. Great round where Brookins dominated the ground game. Coming into the fight the concensus was that Johnson had the advantage in stand up while Brookins had the advantage on the ground. This should be a very interesting third round to determine The Ultimate Fighter.

Round Three: Brookins shot with an early single leg takedown that he was eventually able to scored with. Up against the cage, Johnson attempted to get back up numerous times but was unable to do so through the first minute and a half of the final round. Two minutes into the fight Brookins was able to obtain a top mount that Johnson reversed into a back clinch. Johnson released and landed a solid two punch combination.

Brookins pulled guard and immediately transitioned into a top half guard position. With two minutes left in the fight, Brookins looks gassed on top and may just be looking to remain in top position to close out the fight and win the round and most likely the fight. With a minute and a half left in the fight, Brookins landed a couple elbows and punches from the top. Brookins landed another flurry of strikes to close out the round.

Gessner's Glance: 10-9 Brookins. Brookins dominated the final two rounds and the ground and should be the winner of this fight and The Ultimate Fighter Contract. While Johnson had a great first round standing up, he could not fight from his back and get back to his feet. Brookins while looking great in the final two rounds, needs to work on his stand up defense because a veteran striker will take advantage of his chin out, hands down stand up stance. Brookins wins the fight on my card, 29-28.

Bruce Buffer announced the judges scorecards. 29-28, 29-28, and 29-27 for The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 Winner, Jonathan Brookins. Dana White awarded Brookins with The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 Plaque. 

Gessner's Glance: Very entertaining season of The Ultimate Fighter. Throughout the season, Jonathan Brookins showed that he was the best fighter in the house and his fight tonight showed that he deserved to win. Coming out of the season, Michael Johnson, Nam Phan, Cody McKenzie, and Kyle Watson are all fighters who I could see getting an opportunity to fight in the UFC. A lightweight season could not have come at a worse time for the members though because of the WEC merger, less fighters from this season will get a chance as opposed to prior seasons. 

Thank you very much for clicking the link that brought you to my UFC The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 Finale. If you have any thoughts, questions, comments, or critiques, feel free to email me at kliq4life28@gmail.com or tweet me at Twitter.com/MarkGessner.

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