The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 Finale Finished

The Ultimate Fighter is a show on Spike TV that has brought out some serious UFC competitors, such as Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans, who are both considered beasts in MMA fighting. On Saturday Dec. 13th, the Ultimate Fighter 8 finale brought out two more promising MMA fighters in light heavyweight Ryan Bader and lightweight Efrain Escudero. The fight between Escudero and Phillipe Nover was the only fight of the night that went the distance. All of the other fights ended in either a knock out or a tap out submission. That doesn't mean that this finale was not exciting by any means. It was actually very exciting and fun to watch.

Season 8 bad boy Junie Browning came up short in the semi-finals with a much deserved loss to Escudero, but came out in the finale looking like a totally different fighter. Junie looked very focused and relaxed in the octagon. He fought like someone who could definitely be a star in the UFC. After winning his fight, he apologized to team coach Mir for his antics on the show.

A rematch between Anthony Johnson and Kevin Burns ended in dramatic knock out fashion, with Johnson knocking Burns out with a kick that landed straight on the kisser. Their previous bout ended with Burns accidentally poking Johnson's eye out, which caused Johnson to have to have surgery on it.

In the light heavyweight main event, Ryan Bader knocked Vinnie Magalhaes out with 2:18 left in the first round. Bader's game plan was to keep the fight off of the ground and beat Magalhaes with his punching power. He did just that, connecting with an overhand right, that was partially deflected but sent Magalhaes to the canvas anyhow. Bader wasted no time, hammering his opponent while on the ground which caused the referee to step in and wave off the fight, giving him the victory.

The lightweight main event match was somewhat an upset. Escudero was overshadowed by talks of Nover's natural ring abilities. UFC president Dana White commented on Nover's fight skills throughout the show, and said how Nover reminded him of pound for pound great, Anderson Silva. Whatever the case, Escudero was not intimidated and came in with a clear strategy that worked. Nover was trying to knock out Escudero, and seemed to have the advantage standing up however; Escudero did a great job of ducking Nover's punches and taking him to the ground where Escudero pretty much dominated the fight.

With another season of The Ultimate Fighter in the bag, and two more very good mixed martial artists signing contracts, we have some good competition to look forward to. In the next couple weeks at UFC 92, light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin will defend his title against undefeated #1 contender Rashad Evans, who is coming off of a spectacular knock out win over UFC superstar Chuck Lidell. We will also get to see TUF season 8 coaches Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira face off, as well as some other great matches. This is a UFC even that you will not want to miss.