It’s a safe bet to say it’s been one of the best seasons yet.

We have our finalists, who will meet along with coaches Jason Miller and Michael Bisping December 3rd.

MMA Crossfire Expert Cassie Wiseman checks in with her thoughts on last night’s episode.

Welcome back to The Crossfire.

And now, for the grand finale.

Image courtesy Candy Hillyard.

Cassie is a mixed martial artist with over five years of study. Training primarily in South Korea, she has black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Muay Thai kickboxing. A proud Canadian from Roberts Arm, Newfoundland, she files for The Crossfire having recently returned from South Korea. She also blogs for Postmedia Networks’ Womens Fight Club website.

TUF SEason 14 Finale:

For TUF fans tonight the question was answered: Who will be meeting on Saturday for the Finals? To answer that question, four fighters had to do battle inside the octagon: Dodson vs. Bedford and Caraway vs. Diego.

The first fight of the night was Bedford vs. Dodson. Going into this fight Bedford made it known that he had built up emotions going into this fight againgst Dodson, the team spy. Dodson remained clear and confident throughout despite the size advantage, experience, etc.

TUF fighter John Dodson. Image courtesy Dave Mandel.

The first round was had to call with both fighters connecting with combinations, knees and clinches. Dodson scored more towards the end of the round with a late takedown, but Bedford tried to always push forward. Going into the second each fighter knew they had to put something together because the first round could have gone either way. Bedford was had confidence in his advantages and discredited the power of Dodson soon felt the pain as Dodson connected with an overhand, putting Bedford on his back. Dodson was able to pounce, throw and flurry of hammer fists and finished the fight.

The second fight was Diego vs. Caraway. Diego came out more calm then we have seen him throughout the season, pacing himself and throwing leg kicks. Caraway tried for takedowns without success, but tried to stay away from the bombs of Diego. Unfortunately for Caraway, the leg kicks he suffered affected his movement and Diego was able to connect with a punch that placed Caraway on his back. From there it was all Diego. While Caraway showed a lot of heart, Diego’s aggressiveness finally brought the ref in for a stoppage.

TUF fighter Diego Brandao. Image courtesy Ultimatefighter.com.

This Saturday, all of the smack talk, pranks and training comes to an end as its time to name this seasons Ultimate Fighter winners. December 3rd, Dodson vs. Dillashaw and Diego vs. Bermudez will meet for the UFC contract with the main event being Miller vs. Bisping. Its going to be an interesting night with all three matches holding the potential for Fight-of-the-Night.

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Ultimate Fighter semifinalist, Nam Pham will fight explosive WEC featherweight, Leonard Garcia, on the main card of the Ultimate Fighter Finale this Saturday night. 145 pounds is Nam Pham’s usual fighting weight. His last official fight was at an MMA event in April where he beat Rodney Rhoden via armbar in the first round. Pham defeated Spencer Paige and Cody McKenzie before losing a close split decision to Michael Johnson this season on The Ultimate Fighter.

Leonard Garcia won Fight of the Night honors at WEC 48 when he defeated Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung, in a split decision. He was defeated in his last fight losing a split decision to Mark Hominick at WEC 51.

Other TUF standouts from this season include Aaron Wilkinson, Cody McKenzie, Kyle Watson and Sako Chivitchian. Here’s the rest of the card via the fine folks at Bloody Elbow.

Main card:

Stephan Bonnar vs. Igor Pokrajac
Michael Johnson vs. Jonathan Brookins
Demian Maia vs. Kendall Grove
Ricky Story vs. Johny Hendricks
Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia

Preliminary card:

Will Campuzano vs. Nick Pace
Fredson Paixao vs. Pablo Garza
Rich Attonito vs. Dave Branch
Tyler Toner vs. Ian Loveland
Cody McKenzie vs. Aaron Wilkinson
Sako Chivitchian vs. Kyle Watson

*picture courtesy of ufc.com

OR ALTERNATIVE

RAWR!! SAVAGE!!

MAIN CARD

KRIS MCCRAY VS COURT MCGEE

PREDICTION: McCray (guillotine choke, round 2)

KEITH JARDINE VS MATT HAMILL

PREDICTION: Hamill (TKO via strikes, round 2)

CHRIS LEBEN VS AARON SIMPSON

PREDICTION: Simpson (unanimous decision)

SPENCER FISHER VS DENNIS SIVER

PREDICTION: Siver (TKO via kicks and punches, round 3)

JAMIE YAGER VS RICH ATTONITO

PREDICTION: Attonito (unanimous decision)

Court McGee and Kris McCray; without the wild card and injuries, neither of these fighters would be here. McGee lost a questionable decision to Nick Ring and McCray won the wild card fight. Both fighters battled their way to the fight tonight. McCray tends to like to use his size and strength to get in close and bang. McGee has no problem has no problem doing the same and has improved every fight. The common factor between the two? They love submissions. I keep going back and forth, but I think someone gets rocked and submits them. Jardine and Hamill was the headline, but was bumped down in favor of the above. Jardine hasn’t been impressive lately with a record of 2-5 his last 7 fights (4 losses by KO). However, everyone he’s fought has been a big name fighter (Bader, Silva, Rampage, Vera, etc).He’s basically been put through the ringer. Hamill’s only losses have come from notable fighters (Franklin, Bisping). He’s a decorated wrestler who has no problem throwing punches. Judging by past fights, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him drop Jardine. Next up is Chris Leben against Aaron Simpson. Leben’s been around for quite some time while Simpson is the newcomer. Stylistically, this is a perfect fit for Simpson as Leben’s defense is lacking. Leben’s tough and has a good chin, but Simpson should be able to pick him apart. To be honest, I haven’t seen Fisher or Siver fight yet, so I can’t comment too much although I know both like to stand and throw bombs. For fun, I’ll say Siver catches Fisher with his famous spinning back kick. Last up is Jamie Yager, the housemate everyone wanted to kill against Rich Attonito. Yager was definitely the bad guy in the house getting on everyone’s nerves, but he showed up his first two fights knocking out both. However, he basically quit his last fight against Bryant after he got rocked. Attonito looked impressive and won his first fight, but broke his hand in the process. Attonito needs to take note; don’t leave yourself open to Yager’s big kicks/power punches, wait for an opening, and knock the desire right out of him.

And to think this was only episode 1 . . .

PRELIMINARY CARD

JOHN GUNDERSON VS MARK HOLST

PREDICTION: Holst (submission, rear naked choke, round 3)

BRAD TAVARES VS SETH BACZYNSKI

PREDICTION: Tavares (TKO via strikes, round 2)

KYLE NOKE VS JOSH BRYANT

PREDICTION: Bryant (unanimous decision)

JAMES HAMMORTREE VS CHRIS CAMOZZI

PREDICTION: Camozzi (TKO via strikes, round 3)

JAMES MCSWEENEY VS TRAVIS BROWNE

PREDICTION: Browne (KO, round 1)

Gunderson and Holst will be a battle of unknowns. Gunderson has been around awhile, but finally got a UFC fight UFC 108 (he lost). He’s not the best on his feet, but is a submission expert. Holst is a very technical fighter as well, but he’s younger and has more power. Tavares vs Baczynski is a rematch of their TUF quarterfinal fight which ended in DQ after Baczynski soccer kicked the ish out of him. Should be a fun rematch, but Tavares is clearly the more talented fighter. Bryant and Noke is a battle of 2 fighters who disappointed late in the season. Bryant lost a decision to McCray after beating him during the preliminary match ups and Noke also lost to McCray in the quarterfinals. While Noke is a good fighter and has no problem standing in there, Bryant is relentless and has a non-stop motor. Hammortree and Camozzi is the fight I’m most looking forward to on the prelims. Besides having the coolest last name ever, Hammortree was the fighter that was always so close but never really won. He always was willing to step up and is eager to prove himself. Camozzi had the sickest fight to get into the house that had both fighters injured. Camozzi had to be taken out of the competition because of an injured jaw. This should be a brawl. The last fight is McSweeney from TUF: Heavyweights against newcomer Travis Browne. McSweeney is a great kick boxer and it’s crazy to think that he’s so technical, but he just doesn’t strike me as someone who can battle the big, physical guys in the heavyweights division. Browne is exactly that with a majority of his fights ending via knockout.

The highly anticipated bout between Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Houston “The Assassin” Alexander underwhelmed. What was thought to be a short, fireworks filled slugfest turned out to be a 15-minute bout with a couple of sparks. After the final bell sounded, Slice, 35, and Alexander, 37 were exhausted.

While the bout was a disappointment by the standards set in the run up, the victory for Slice shows his progression as a fighter—and more importantly, a mixed martial artist.

Slice burst onto the national scene during a series of back yard fight videos that made their way to the Internet. To put it simply, he was a marketers dream: a fully bearded big guy who could knock people out.

With the popularity of MMA rising right along with Slice’s notoriety, it seemed only a matter of time before brawls in the backyard turned into bouts in the cage. In 2007, Slice made his professional debut, beating former boxer Ray Mercer just 19 seconds into their three round fight. Those who followed Slice on the Internet were ecstatic. MMA purists were livid.

Victories over former UFC fighter Tank Abbott and James Thompson followed; Slice’s stock once again rose to casual and new fans of the sport. Diehard fans remained unconvinced—citing Slice’s lack of competition.

UFC President Dana White was one of those skeptics.

“They’re feeding him fucking bums,” White told Fight News back in 2008.

“The guy wouldn’t win the fucking Ultimate Fighter.”

And just like that, the proverbial gauntlet was thrown down. Slice saw his stock plummet after a 14-second TKO loss to Seth Petruzelli. After some time away from the spotlight, Slice reemerged on the UFC’s hit reality TV show.

Though season winner Roy Nelson booted Slice out of contention with a second round TKO, only a fool would believe that Slice would be watching the finale from the stands instead of mixing it up in the ring.

When the bout with Houston Alexander was confirmed, fans and commentators alike expected Slice to revert to his old ways. The truth of the matter is that Alexander—who gained notoriety in the UFC by knocking out Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara—looked like a man who had never been in a professional fight in his life. The Nebraskan’s attempts to get Slice to engage failed, allowing Slice to get the better of the few exchanges taking place in that 15 minute time span. The victory says less about Alexander—who, more than likely has seen his last bout in the Octagon—and more about Slice’s evolution as a fighter.

“The goal was to come in and fight,” Slice said before adding, “but you’ve gotta be smart about it.

Slice then went on to break down his strategy, his opponent’s strategy, and his reactions to that strategy as though he’s been training and fighting MMA all his life.

“We trained and prepared for his attacks. I wasn’t prepared for the ring riding he did,” Slice said of Alexander’s unwillingness to engage.

Give Slice all the credit in the world for realizing that patience made the difference between having his hand raised and going down in bitter defeat. “If I would’ve run in there foolishly I would’ve gotten knocked out. A few times, I called him out; I had to call him out of his name, like ‘Let’s do this.’ He stuck to his plan so I wasn’t going to be foolish and run up on him.”

What did happen in the fight turned out to be just as much of a sight as the action that didn’t take place. Slice wowed the crowd, by taking down Alexander in the opening round. Two suplexes and a submission attempt later revealed a markedly different Kimbo Slice than the world had previously known—courtesy of training at American Top Team.

“When I took his back, I was going for the choke hold,” Slice revealed. “When I realized I didn’t have it and he turned into me, I went for something else.”

At this point, Kimbo is a hard man not to root for. Though he was arguably given too much, too fast, he fully understands that MMA is a serious sport. As a result, he’s gotten serious about training.

“I was really thinking street for a minute, but I had to bite down hard and fight smart,” Slice said about his thought process during the bout.

In a moment of candor similar to the many fans were treated to during this season of The Ultimate Fighter, Slice went a little deeper. “It’s hard, it’s not an easy thing,” he continued, discussing the transition from the streets to the pros. “I first was a street fighter. There was no training, I just went in there with my instincts, watched the guy’s movements and countered him. At this level, you have to be almost genius type smart because you have to bottle a lot of things all in one.”

One thing Kimbo hasn’t bottled up is his sense of humor. After openly discussing the difficulty in trimming some 20-pounds from his muscular frame, Slice says he was able to put a few pounds back on in a nontraditional way.

“I put some weight on last night. I ordered up room service—twice.”

Ladies and gentleman, welcome to “The Kimbo Slice Show” courtesy of the UFC.

From the moment the promos began to run for the highly anticipated tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, the rumors began to fly. In addition to a pair of coaches who have next to no love for each other in “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans, all eyes were on one particular fighter.

That man was Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson.

Slice became an Internet sensation through a series of backyard fight videos that made their way to the Internet. After building up a rep—matched by a look that gave off a Mike Tyson-esque “I’ll eat your children kind of vibe, the backyard brawler made the transition to MMA.

After a disappointing 14-second TKO loss that triggered the demise of his last promotion, Slice made his way to the big stage courtesy of the UFC’s hit reality show.

In the series most anticipated and most watched bout, Slice tasted defeat courtesy of eventual finalist Roy Nelson in the second round. The loss didn’t stop the Slice-Train and the fighter who just wants to bang will find himself once again the subject of much anticipation this weekend at the TUF finale.

The man staring across the Octagon will be another fighter known for slugging it out—Houston Alexander.

Looking at the track records of Slice and Alexander, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know this one isn’t going to the judges. Slice is more than upfront about his expectations for Saturday’s contest.

“I like to stand up, knock a guy out or get knocked out—that’s what you get with me,” he said.

“The Assassin” also sees this as an opportunity to put on an exciting show for the fans.

“I think they saw two guys with the same type of style, that go-getter type of style,” Alexander said in a brief analysis of the bout. “Joe Silva is a great matchmaker; this is a good fight for both of us.”

Not surprisingly, Slice and Alexander have similar feelings about the way the fight is likely to go. Neither man was willing to discuss many of the “what ifs,” signaling that the time for talking is over.

“I want to knock him out,” Slice said. “He’ll knock me out or I’m going to knock him out. I came here to fight. That’s where my mind is at right now.”

The thought of going to the canvas hasn’t entered either man’s mind, but both insist their ready if the fight hits the mat.

“Wherever it goes, it goes,” Alexander stated when posed with the question of fighting on the ground. “I think both of us will be ready for it.”

Hurry Up and Weight

Slice will face Alexander at a 215-pound catch weight fight. The weight cutting process for MMA has cost many fighters come fight night and how Slice deals with cutting 20 pounds from his muscular frame could be the difference in a win or a loss.

Admittedly, the cut has been anything but heaven for the full bearded fighter.

“I’m going to be straight-up honest with you, man, the last time I was at this weight was in middle school,” Slice said of the process. It’s not good. Not good. I’m moody. You just don’t feel the same, it’s mental, but it’s not a good feeling, to be honest with you. I’m a little anxious.”

Conversely, Alexander feels right at home fighting at 215 pounds.

“I’m at my natural weight so I’m good,” the Nebraska fighter stated.” I’m not going to lose anything.”

While Slice acknowledges the changes in his body, his heart and mind are still as strong as ever.

“I’ve got heart and determination and I’m not scared to get hit.”