The Ultimate Fighter 9 Reactions and Thoughts

One of the best outcomes of the hit series “The Ultimate Fighter” has been regular MMA cards on basic cable, and TUF 9’s finale brought another great night of fights free of charge to cable subscribers last weekend.  This card was particularly star-studded for a Spike TV card, with the likes of Diego Sanchez, Clay Guida, Joe Stevenson, Nate Diaz and Chris Lytle competing, along with the hopeful winners of the TV show.  Here are some reactions and thoughts to how things played out on Saturday night.

Diego Sanchez Is Ready for a Title Shot

In my mind, there’s no question that Diego Sanchez is ready for a lightweight title shot, whether the champion ends up being BJ Penn or Kenny Florian.  However, there is a big difference between being ready for a title shot and actually getting one, as Lyoto Machida could have told you several months ago.  The question will be whether the UFC goes with the bigger name in Diego Sanchez, or the fighter who has done the most in the division in Frankie Edgar.

If Sanchez gets the shot, which I could definitely see happening, how about throwing Edgar and Clay Guida in there to determine the next challenger?  That would be a great fight, and could possibly set up Guida vs. Sanchez II as a five-rounder if Sanchez was able to wrestle the title from whoever holds it at the time.  If Sanchez and Guida both fell short, you could still do a rematch, and it would guarantee that one of these likely title contenders would get back on track.  No matter what, the fight was outstanding and both guys will be getting their shots at some point, you can bet on it.

Joe Daddy Gets Back on Track

What a huge, huge win Joe Stevenson notched against Nate Diaz on Saturday night.  Stevenson may not have been cut if he had lost, but he would have lost three out of his last four fights with a loss against Diaz, which is not a good place to be in.  At the very least, he would be several fights out of title contention and have his back against the wall for sure in his next bout.  Instead, he’s in position to start avenging some of those losses and moving back up the ladder.

Meanwhile, Nate Diaz shouldn’t be too concerned about his place in the division as the result of his loss to Stevenson.  It was a close fight, and Diaz has age and a good UFC record on his side as he attempts to right the ship.  Diaz’s ground work never ceases to impress me, and he is another fighter that will continue to be near the top of the division for years to come.  It wouldn’t shock me if he ended up having a better UFC career than Stevenson, actually.  Perhaps this was just a bad matchup for the taller, lankier fighter.

How High is the Ceiling for TUF 9 Winners?

Congrats to both Ross Pearson and James Wilks for winning their respective divisions in this season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, but I’m not sold on either one being able to make a real splash in the UFC.  You can make arguments about past TUF champions and what they have accomplished all that you want, but it’s clear to any unbiased person that the quality of the fighters on the show has decreased with time.  Now, you have more and more inexperienced fighters and journeymen making their way onto the cast, and even the winners don’t have much on their resumes to suggest a title run in their futures.

Neither fighter has any really glaring recent losses in their careers, but there is also little to show that they will be ready for the likes of Clay Guida, Nate Diaz, Jon Fitch or Josh Koscheck in the future, let alone the champions of the lightweight and welterweight divisions.  When Forrest Griffin was on TUF, he was a seasoned fighter who had been in the cage with the likes of Jeremy Horn, Chael Sonnen and Jeff Monson already.  Joe Stevenson was 23-6 when he went on the show, and had fought UFC vets like Jens Pulver, Chris Brennan, Ronald Jhun, Edwin Dewees, and Jeremy Jackson.  Nowadays, the best prospects don’t go on TUF- they go straight into the UFC.

With that said, they both put on impressive performances and Pearson in particular could be a nice prospect.  It’s just hard to forecast a whole lot of success for either before seeing them against better competition, especially when they are in such tough divisions.

by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com

Tags: Chael Sonnen, Chris Lytle, Clay Guida, Diego Sanchez, Forrest Griffin, Frankie Edgar, Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson, Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Kenny Florian, Lyoto Machida, Nate Diaz, UFC