Great Sherdog Debate: Tanner vs. Grove
The seventh season of "The Ultimate Fighter" has come to an end and
we'll soon see who earns the title of last man standing and all its
spoils.
However, the meat of the card rests with the TUF 7 finale's main event this Saturday on Spike TV, as two struggling middleweights clash in what may be a do-or-die encounter. Both Kendall Grove (Pictures) and Evan Tanner (Pictures) are coming off losses in the Octagon and have to deliver the goods if they want to stay relevant. Great Sherdog Debate creator Mike Sloan will try to end an embarrassing losing streak against debate newcomer and "MMA Sunday School" radio host Scott Holmes.
Sloan: Scottie, I've never met you in
person but I know all about you and the shenanigans on your popular
radio show. Too bad our initial encounter will end with you hanging
from tree dangling like a piñata over a schoolyard of children. On
the plus side, at least you won't suffer the same fate again as
you'll probably retire from this forum once you've tasted defeat
like Sherdog.com founder Jeff Sherwood and former supreme commander
Josh Gross.
With that said, look for Kendall Grove (Pictures) to spit out the sour taste of two straight losses and hand Tanner his second consecutive defeat. Tanner has the experience and has clearly tangoed with much stiffer competition, but Grove seems more in tune with his fistic career. Grove does party it up quite a bit, but that doesn't mean he isn't focused. He didn't spend a few years traveling the states and living in trees like your boy, Tanner.
Grove doesn't do anything great; he's just a very good, sound professional fighter. I can't say anything bad about Tanner, but his sabbatical from the sport was a bit too long and his performance against Yushin Okami (Pictures) at UFC 82 was a bit too lackadaisical. Those are red flags that simply can't be ignored.
Grove needs this win almost as much as I need to win this debate. Tanner will be the sacrificial lamb and succumb to Grove's urgency just like you, Scott.
Holmes: Michael, can I call you Michael? It's true we have never met in person as evidenced by the bewildering claims you make in your first paragraph. After feeling my firm Texas handshake and staring into my dark eyes, you would have felt what it is like to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentations of their women. I also take umbrage at your attitude toward your lucky wins over Sherwood and Gross and I will defend their honor by beating you ‘til the candy falls out.
First, let me say that I like Kendall Grove (Pictures). I think Kendall's career will rebound and I love the guy's size and his Hawaiian roots, but none of that will be enough against Tanner. You said it yourself, Grove doesn't do anything great. However, Tanner does.
Granted Tanner is one of the most puzzling characters in MMA, which is saying a lot since the sport is saturated with pink-haired goofballs. His houseboat sank, his fighter foundation never materialized and he's switched teams so often that even Lindsay Lohan can't keep up. While he's had his demons, they've never really been in the cage, which is where Grove seems to be.
Grove does need this win and while all the pundits and critics will tell you that Tanner does too, they are wrong. Say what you will about Evan Tanner (Pictures), but the man knows that his place in the world is much bigger than an eight-sided cage. Ironically while he's been out looking for his purpose in the grand scheme, he ended up right back where he belonged all along. Tanner has tried his hand at a lot of things, but at the end of the day, he's a fighter and will always be a fighter. Grove will find this out when these two tangle.
I think Grove will be happy getting on his back and working for submissions, but he'll be right in Tanner's danger zone. Tanner will do what he does best, posting one foot up, one knee down and giving Grove the ol' fist-and-elbow body wash.
The rest of the card:
Diego Sanchez (Pictures) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (Pictures)
Sloan: Sanchez burst onto the UFC circuit with a simple path through the inaugural TUF house and dominated contenders in the welterweight division. We all know how poorly he stumbled against nemesis Josh Koscheck (Pictures) at UFC 69 -- a fight only a masochist could love -- and his close loss to Jon Fitch (Pictures) at UFC 76 five months later. His win over David Bielkheden (Pictures) at UFC 82 didn't speak volumes of where Sanchez is currently and Fioravanti isn't going to be easy pickings for "The Nightmare." Still, I think Sanchez is the better all-around fighter, though he won't finish Fioravanti, who is the heavier puncher. I see Diego getting tagged early and then shooting in on Fioravanti for three rounds. Sanchez by a close decision.
Holmes: I must be a masochist then because I rather enjoyed that fight between Sanchez and Koscheck. Well, that and I like to whip myself in the pills with a car antenna. Granted, that fight was just a shade more exciting than Severn vs. Shamrock II, but Sanchez didn't so much as underperform as have his options eliminated by a superior athlete. I agree with you that Fioravanti's punches won't be fun to deal with and his American Top Team pedigree will keep Sanchez from grappling circles around him. I think the quick victory over Bielkheden helped put Sanchez back on track and got him mentally focused for this fight. A focused Sanchez can be lethal, but I also think he'll have to work his butt off to eke out a decision win.
Spencer Fisher (Pictures) vs. Jeremy Stephens (Pictures)
Sloan: Stephens has been on a tear recently, but that three-fight win streak will come to a screeching halt on Saturday. Fisher desperately needs a win to stay afloat in the title contention whirlpool and he'll get it. Fisher will stop Stephens sometime in the third due to strikes.
Holmes: In theory, I should buy everything you are selling. Fisher has fought better opponents than Stephens and finds himself in a "sink-or-swim" scenario at 155. It is precisely for that reason that I'll go with the upset and even boldly claim that Jeremy Stephens (Pictures) will score a third-round technical knockout against "The King." Fisher will enter the cage feeling all the pressure while Stephens has quietly gotten his feet wet in the UFC and could use a win like this to springboard his name into the upper echelon. When the flood waters rise, bet on the boy from Des Moines.
Josh Burkman (Pictures) vs. Dustin Hazelett (Pictures)
Sloan: In my opinion, Burkman got robbed against Mike Swick (Pictures) in January, a duel that was as boring as watching carrots grow. Hazelett has some of the finest subs in the sport, but they won't factor into his chances for victory. I see Burkman scoring a decision and it will be unanimous.
Holmes: I agree with your Burkman-Swick take and I think Burkman is going to make Hazelett pay. Provided he doesn't get careless, Burkman should stay out of submission trouble which is only the way I see Hazelett winning. I'll predict Burkman tags Hazelett off a scramble and Steve Mazzagatti's mustache will need to intervene in the middle of the second round.(Note: Mazzagatti has shaved his mustache)
Marvin Eastman (Pictures) vs. Andrew McFedries
Sloan: Eastman has always been one of the hardest working fighters in MMA but his performances have been inconsistent. Aside from his virtues as a muay Thai fighter, Eastman is coming off arguably the biggest win of his MMA career over Terry Martin (Pictures) at UFC 81. McFedries will feel the momentum of "The Beastman" and get knocked cold early in the second via a knee-right cross combo. Trust me.
Holmes: Eastman is indeed on a roll. I don't know which performance was more impressive: beating Terry Martin (Pictures) or the Emmy-worthy work he's been doing as a hard-nosed Miami detective on the hit show "Dexter." This fight will most likely be a slugfest as both men possess anvils for hands. True, Eastman has been inconsistent but so has McFedries and if they go toe-to-toe, Eastman wins that battle. I'll go with a faster-paced knockout from "The Beastman" in round one.
Jeremy Horn (Pictures) vs. Dean Lister (Pictures)
Sloan: Lister probably has the illest submission skills in the sport, but it's hardly ever on display in his MMA fights. Horn is the prototypical "solid" fighter and this one has distance written all over it … in drool from the sleeping fans in the crowd. I like Horn to eke out a split decision and matchmaker Joe Silva will wonder why he thought this was going to be a great fight.
Holmes: Correction, Horn "was" the prototypical solid fighter until I saw him lose to Jorge Santiago (Pictures) at an Art of War show last year. I'm not sure who that was in the cage, but it did not look like the Jeremy Horn (Pictures) from my childhood lunchbox. "The Boogeyman" does seem to have trouble getting his jiu-jitsu to work when he's getting punched in the face, but I'll say that he will surprise us all by making Horn tap very late in the fight. Yep, that's right and I think it will be by some convoluted and complex submission possibly using his legs. Why do I think this? Because this is MMA and, in our world, some fight results never make sense.
GSD Career Totals:
Fridley: 7-0
Curtis: 3-2 (1 No Contest)
Sloan: 18-21 (1 No Contest)
Savage: 8-11
De Santis: 3-3
Sherwood: 0-1
Gross (ret): 0-1
However, the meat of the card rests with the TUF 7 finale's main event this Saturday on Spike TV, as two struggling middleweights clash in what may be a do-or-die encounter. Both Kendall Grove (Pictures) and Evan Tanner (Pictures) are coming off losses in the Octagon and have to deliver the goods if they want to stay relevant. Great Sherdog Debate creator Mike Sloan will try to end an embarrassing losing streak against debate newcomer and "MMA Sunday School" radio host Scott Holmes.
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With that said, look for Kendall Grove (Pictures) to spit out the sour taste of two straight losses and hand Tanner his second consecutive defeat. Tanner has the experience and has clearly tangoed with much stiffer competition, but Grove seems more in tune with his fistic career. Grove does party it up quite a bit, but that doesn't mean he isn't focused. He didn't spend a few years traveling the states and living in trees like your boy, Tanner.
Grove has the reach, hunger, desperation and absolutely needs to
score a win or his career as a legitimate fighter could be in
peril. Tanner, it seems, doesn't really care about becoming a
champion again and his laid-back attitude will backfire against the
bitter and angry Hawaiian.
Grove doesn't do anything great; he's just a very good, sound professional fighter. I can't say anything bad about Tanner, but his sabbatical from the sport was a bit too long and his performance against Yushin Okami (Pictures) at UFC 82 was a bit too lackadaisical. Those are red flags that simply can't be ignored.
Grove needs this win almost as much as I need to win this debate. Tanner will be the sacrificial lamb and succumb to Grove's urgency just like you, Scott.
Holmes: Michael, can I call you Michael? It's true we have never met in person as evidenced by the bewildering claims you make in your first paragraph. After feeling my firm Texas handshake and staring into my dark eyes, you would have felt what it is like to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentations of their women. I also take umbrage at your attitude toward your lucky wins over Sherwood and Gross and I will defend their honor by beating you ‘til the candy falls out.
First, let me say that I like Kendall Grove (Pictures). I think Kendall's career will rebound and I love the guy's size and his Hawaiian roots, but none of that will be enough against Tanner. You said it yourself, Grove doesn't do anything great. However, Tanner does.
Granted Tanner is one of the most puzzling characters in MMA, which is saying a lot since the sport is saturated with pink-haired goofballs. His houseboat sank, his fighter foundation never materialized and he's switched teams so often that even Lindsay Lohan can't keep up. While he's had his demons, they've never really been in the cage, which is where Grove seems to be.
Grove does need this win and while all the pundits and critics will tell you that Tanner does too, they are wrong. Say what you will about Evan Tanner (Pictures), but the man knows that his place in the world is much bigger than an eight-sided cage. Ironically while he's been out looking for his purpose in the grand scheme, he ended up right back where he belonged all along. Tanner has tried his hand at a lot of things, but at the end of the day, he's a fighter and will always be a fighter. Grove will find this out when these two tangle.
I think Grove will be happy getting on his back and working for submissions, but he'll be right in Tanner's danger zone. Tanner will do what he does best, posting one foot up, one knee down and giving Grove the ol' fist-and-elbow body wash.
The rest of the card:
Diego Sanchez (Pictures) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (Pictures)
Sloan: Sanchez burst onto the UFC circuit with a simple path through the inaugural TUF house and dominated contenders in the welterweight division. We all know how poorly he stumbled against nemesis Josh Koscheck (Pictures) at UFC 69 -- a fight only a masochist could love -- and his close loss to Jon Fitch (Pictures) at UFC 76 five months later. His win over David Bielkheden (Pictures) at UFC 82 didn't speak volumes of where Sanchez is currently and Fioravanti isn't going to be easy pickings for "The Nightmare." Still, I think Sanchez is the better all-around fighter, though he won't finish Fioravanti, who is the heavier puncher. I see Diego getting tagged early and then shooting in on Fioravanti for three rounds. Sanchez by a close decision.
Holmes: I must be a masochist then because I rather enjoyed that fight between Sanchez and Koscheck. Well, that and I like to whip myself in the pills with a car antenna. Granted, that fight was just a shade more exciting than Severn vs. Shamrock II, but Sanchez didn't so much as underperform as have his options eliminated by a superior athlete. I agree with you that Fioravanti's punches won't be fun to deal with and his American Top Team pedigree will keep Sanchez from grappling circles around him. I think the quick victory over Bielkheden helped put Sanchez back on track and got him mentally focused for this fight. A focused Sanchez can be lethal, but I also think he'll have to work his butt off to eke out a decision win.
Spencer Fisher (Pictures) vs. Jeremy Stephens (Pictures)
Sloan: Stephens has been on a tear recently, but that three-fight win streak will come to a screeching halt on Saturday. Fisher desperately needs a win to stay afloat in the title contention whirlpool and he'll get it. Fisher will stop Stephens sometime in the third due to strikes.
Holmes: In theory, I should buy everything you are selling. Fisher has fought better opponents than Stephens and finds himself in a "sink-or-swim" scenario at 155. It is precisely for that reason that I'll go with the upset and even boldly claim that Jeremy Stephens (Pictures) will score a third-round technical knockout against "The King." Fisher will enter the cage feeling all the pressure while Stephens has quietly gotten his feet wet in the UFC and could use a win like this to springboard his name into the upper echelon. When the flood waters rise, bet on the boy from Des Moines.
Josh Burkman (Pictures) vs. Dustin Hazelett (Pictures)
Sloan: In my opinion, Burkman got robbed against Mike Swick (Pictures) in January, a duel that was as boring as watching carrots grow. Hazelett has some of the finest subs in the sport, but they won't factor into his chances for victory. I see Burkman scoring a decision and it will be unanimous.
Holmes: I agree with your Burkman-Swick take and I think Burkman is going to make Hazelett pay. Provided he doesn't get careless, Burkman should stay out of submission trouble which is only the way I see Hazelett winning. I'll predict Burkman tags Hazelett off a scramble and Steve Mazzagatti's mustache will need to intervene in the middle of the second round.(Note: Mazzagatti has shaved his mustache)
Marvin Eastman (Pictures) vs. Andrew McFedries
Sloan: Eastman has always been one of the hardest working fighters in MMA but his performances have been inconsistent. Aside from his virtues as a muay Thai fighter, Eastman is coming off arguably the biggest win of his MMA career over Terry Martin (Pictures) at UFC 81. McFedries will feel the momentum of "The Beastman" and get knocked cold early in the second via a knee-right cross combo. Trust me.
Holmes: Eastman is indeed on a roll. I don't know which performance was more impressive: beating Terry Martin (Pictures) or the Emmy-worthy work he's been doing as a hard-nosed Miami detective on the hit show "Dexter." This fight will most likely be a slugfest as both men possess anvils for hands. True, Eastman has been inconsistent but so has McFedries and if they go toe-to-toe, Eastman wins that battle. I'll go with a faster-paced knockout from "The Beastman" in round one.
Jeremy Horn (Pictures) vs. Dean Lister (Pictures)
Sloan: Lister probably has the illest submission skills in the sport, but it's hardly ever on display in his MMA fights. Horn is the prototypical "solid" fighter and this one has distance written all over it … in drool from the sleeping fans in the crowd. I like Horn to eke out a split decision and matchmaker Joe Silva will wonder why he thought this was going to be a great fight.
Holmes: Correction, Horn "was" the prototypical solid fighter until I saw him lose to Jorge Santiago (Pictures) at an Art of War show last year. I'm not sure who that was in the cage, but it did not look like the Jeremy Horn (Pictures) from my childhood lunchbox. "The Boogeyman" does seem to have trouble getting his jiu-jitsu to work when he's getting punched in the face, but I'll say that he will surprise us all by making Horn tap very late in the fight. Yep, that's right and I think it will be by some convoluted and complex submission possibly using his legs. Why do I think this? Because this is MMA and, in our world, some fight results never make sense.
GSD Career Totals:
Fridley: 7-0
Curtis: 3-2 (1 No Contest)
Sloan: 18-21 (1 No Contest)
Savage: 8-11
De Santis: 3-3
Sherwood: 0-1
Gross (ret): 0-1
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