"The Ultimate Fighter" has rebounded nicely with Season 12. The ratings are holding steady. It’s probably based on the fact that the field looks deep with strong contenders, and much of the audience hates Josh Koscheck. TUF 12 is now down to the final eight contenders. The competition looks wide open. Or is it?
Here’s the picks for the Elite Eight matchups. Keep in mind, we’re all basing our selections on limited fight and training footage. That said, we can still have fun with it.
Jonathan Brookins v. Sako Chivitchian
This one looks like the most one-sided fight in TUF 12‘s round of 8. Chivitchian looked awkward on the feet in his victory over Dane Sayers. I still don’t believe Sayers is any good and the fact that Sako narrowly defeated him says a lot. Brookins destroyed Sevak Magakian. He appears to have a complete game. If Sako continues to throw wild haymakers that leave him off balance, Brookins is going to take him out easily.
PICK: BROOKINS
Nam Phan v. Cody McKenzie
Are you buying McKenzie? He’s slightly built and his standup game is shoddy, but he does have one elite weapon - the guillotine choke. Phan has 23 professional fights. He may be a lousy cornerman, as Dana White joked during the last episode, but he appears to be a pretty savvy technician in the Octagon. McKenzie is weak in so many areas; there’s no way Phan falls to a guy with only one path to victory.
PICK: PHAN
Michael Johnson v. Alex “Bruce Leroy” Cacares
This is the toughest fight to pick. In the last episode, Koscheck repeatedly said that Bruce Leroy (pictured) was the worst of the remaining fighters. Georges St. Pierre said Leroy’s game wasn’t weak. Plus he refused to talk up his former No. 1 pick, Johnson. Was the footage included as a bit of foreshadowing? I agree with GSP. Johnson’s game showed a lot of holes in the round of 16. His gas tank was lousy, he looked off-balance on the feet and wasn’t active when he had top control. I’m calling for a Leroy upset.
PICK: CACARES
Aaron Wilkinson v. Kyle Watson
The wild-card winner Wilkinson is a nice story, but he is going to meet his demise against Watson. Watson, 31, is too experienced and his strength, the submission game, plays perfectly to Wilkinson’s biggest weakness. Wilkinson’s takedown defense was dreadful against Marc Stevens, and his ability to get off his back was equally suspect. Watson should be able to get the fight to the ground and quickly transition to a finish.
PICK: WATSON
Because this isn’t a bracketed tournament with specified matchups, we will not predict what happens in the semifinals and beyond. What do you think of the TUF 12 Elite Eight?
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