Best Of The Rest: "The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale"

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to another new edition of “Best of the Rest”! I really enjoy taking the time to give my detailed thoughts on a show after watching it, but after the serious discussion and debate I’ll raise in topics like “Top 5 Best Moments” and “Best Performance of the Night”, I think it’d be nice to have a tongue-in-cheek topic where I give out some other “awards”. It’s all in good fun, so don’t take any of it too seriously. So let’s dive right into this latest edition, now featuring “The Ultimate Fighter 13” Finale.

The “So That’s Why They Didn’t Make It” Award: I’m handing this one out to four individuals: Clay Harvison, Justin Edwards, Shamar Bailey, and Ryan McGillivray. Neither one of these four “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 13 participants were good enough to go to the finals of TUF 13, and their fights at the finale showed why. Harvison and Edwards had some good moments, but it was a very close fight between two men that didn’t show much other than the fact that they both weren’t at a UFC level. Shamar Bailey may have mostly dominated Ryan McGillivray, but he certainly went about it in a very boring way. Like most of the non-winning TUF contestants of recent seasons, I think all four of these men won’t do much in the UFC and will ultimately fade into the background before being cut.

The Gumby Award: Danny Downes, for showcasing his extreme flexibility in his match with Jeremy Stephens. At one point, Stephens had Downes trapped in a Kimura so tight that even Stephens himself swears he thought he had broken his opponent’s arm. But Downes toughed it out and went to a three-round decision with a very game opponent.

The Award For Best Ric Flair Imitation Of The Year: Chris Cope, for constantly shouting “WOO!” at the top of his lungs during the course of his three-round fight with Chuck O’Neil. The bizarre ritual quickly caught on with the fans in attendance, who seemed to be happy to shout “WOO!” right back at Cope. Joe Rogan described it best when he said that the chant went from strange to annoying and then to hilarious all within the course of fifteen minutes. Love him or hate him, Cope is going to be remembered as the guy that got an entire crowd screaming “WOO!” for no apparent reason. Oh, and he beat O’Neill too.

The “Credit Where Credit Is Due” Award: Ed Herman, for knocking out Tim Credeur in under fifty seconds after I had pegged him as a non-entity in this fight. I don’t know what the future holds for Herman, but if he wants to stage a major career comeback, he took a giant step towards fulfilling that goal at the TUF 13 Finale. And although I felt very confident that he would lose, I have no problem giving credit where credit is due.

The Disappointment of the Year Award: Anthony Pettis vs. Clay Guida, of course. Whether you liked it, loved it, or hated it, I think Guida’s performance in this fight will haunt him for quite some time. This is not the fight we were promised, it was nothing of the sort. This was not the all-out war, the brutal brawl, the amazing display of Anthony Pettis’ spectacular striking and Clay Guida’s indomitable heart and unbreakable chin. This was one guy laying on the other guy for three minutes and winning due to a ruleset that favors the guy on top above all else. And I’ve already seen way, way, way too many of those fights. From what was promised to what it ended up being, this fight is the biggest letdown of the year so far.

So that’s what I think, fans and friends. And remember, it’s all in good fun… mostly.