Sanchez beats Guida in TUF9 bloodbath

Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida stole the show at the Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale last night – not an easy feat considering the other amazing bouts on the card. In the first round Diego was absolutely slaughtering Guida, boxing him up against the cage and landing a direct kick to Guida’s face that no doubt knocked the taste out of his mouth. It was a miracle that Guida managed to survive the first round, but he did one better by coming back in the second to take Sanchez down and punish him on the ground.

Diego Sanchez - Image: Zuma Press

It was in that second round that Diego used over a dozen brutal elbows from his back to cut holes into Guida’s scalp, turning the next two rounds into a bloody mess. Both could have gone either way on the judge’s scorecard, but in the end it was Diego Sanchez who was awarded the split decision.

In other fights, Joe Stevenson (an EveryJoe favorite for obvious reasons) proved he’s not a has-been by out-wrestling Cesar Gracie disciple Nate Diaz on the ground, winning the first two rounds with a number of nifty reversals and rolls. At one point Joe Daddy caught the young Diaz in a crucifix, trapping both his limbs and hammering on his face. Nate spent the time trying to get something going off his back but only had success in the third round when the fight stayed on the feet.

While there’s no doubt Nate Diaz is a talented prospect, I think it’s time the UFC sent him back to the prelims for more seasoning. It sucks to say that because he’s always a pleasure to watch fight, but better that than have him lose again and wash out of the UFC like another talented prospect who was pushed too hard too early: his brother Nick Diaz.

As for the actual Ultimate Fighter finals, UK welterweight James Wilks seemed like a different man as he drubbed Team USA’s DaMarques Johnson on the feet and ground before sinking in a choke in the dying seconds of the first round. Johnson seemed as shocked as I was with Wilks’ transformation and spent the entire fight trying to survive the onslaught. While I’m going to wait and see if Wilks can repeat this kind of performance against a UFC vet before writing his name on all my school binders in sparkle marker, there’s no doubt this victory will make him an instant star in England.

UK fighter Ross Pearson was less impressive as he defeated Andre Winner via decision in a slow and methodical three round battle. Both fighters spent a lot of time stalemating each other in the clinch, but Pearson won the fight with crisper striking. If you’ve tivo’d this event and take a more selective approach to which fights you want, I’d say you won’t miss much by skipping this one over.

Last but not least, Kevin Burns attempted to pass gatekeeper Chris Lytle but got smacked back down. While Burns started strong and nearly knocked Lytle out (something no one has ever managed to do), he gassed halfway through the second round and spent the rest of the fight eating decent but not conscious-threatening combinations from Lytle. Burns also accidentally kicked Lytle in the junk three times, making hm one of the most unintentionally dirty fighters in the UFC. This fight went to the scorecards where Lytle was declared the winner, two rounds to one.

Overall this was a solid event, although it felt like the three hour show had about an hour’s worth of commercials.