Another season of The Ultimate Fighter came to an end, the welterweight contender field got reduced by one, and plenty of young up-and-comers got a chance to show us what they’ve got.
So what did we learn at Friday night’s Ultimate Fighter: Live Finale? To answer that, we sort through the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.
Biggest Winner: Martin Kampmann
That’s two in a row where the "Hitman" was losing pretty clearly right up until he won. He was nearly knocked cold in the first round, and had some valuable facial features smashed in the second, but all it took was one short hook to the crown of Ellenberger’s head to start the turnaround. A couple knee strikes later, the comeback was complete. Maybe that’s the big difference between Kampmann and the people who very nearly beat Kampmann before losing to him: when he has someone on the run, he keeps them there. Now Kampmann’s name gets added to the welterweight sweepstakes, which seems only fitting. If he doesn’t get an eventual title shot out of the deal, at least he’ll guarantee that whoever beats him for it is as good at finishing strong as he is at starting that way.
