Once again it’s Thursday, and like any other I’m expecting to get home from training and watch the Ultimate Fighter. Only this week, something is different. I can’t really put my finger on it, and then it finally hits me: This is the final episode. Wow, what a major revelation…except big news like that shouldn’t be delivered like a John Kerry joke. Overall, this season was a big letdown. It didn’t feature any truly barn-burning wars, there were zero knockouts, and in my opinion the best parts of the show happened outside of the Octagon. Folks, that shit just isn’t right. I was really hoping that Edwin “Bam Bam” Dewees and Patrick “The Predator” Cote would put on a real show stopper to save the season. Thankfully, their fight wasn’t anything like last week’s snooze fest between Lutter and Sell. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the epic confrontation that I was praying for either. As per usual, there was a healthy dose of comedy to end the season on a high note.

Charles McCarthy has many names: Chainsaw, Captain Miserable, and now you can add “Fatty” to that list. McCarthy is eating. Let me rephrase that, McCarthy is grubbin’ like John Madden at an all you can eat Baby Back Rib buffet. He’s plowing through vittles like Chris Farley would at Dunkin’ Donuts after smoking an ounce of weed. Charles puts it this way: “I’m fucking bored I just want to make a sandwich, but you guys are so bored that you’re watching me make a sandwich.”  Since McCarthy is no longer in the competition, he has resorted to eating an extremely large amount of food.  Not just his own food either, he’s been eating everyone else’s food and telling people not to touch his. In a setting like the TUF house, if you step on people’s toes you’re bound to get stomped out. Often times literally. In this case McCarthy definately made a bad move, namely eating Bam Bam’s frozen pizza.

Things are all fine and dandy until Pete Spratt and Gideon Ray decide to play a little prank on Charles. They first accidentally test it out on an unassuming Dewees. Walking into their dark bedroom, Bam Bam was surprised by a container full of water crashing down on him from above the door. The goal now becomes pulling this prank on everyone in the house, including Captain Miserable. Edwin takes it upon his shoulders to lure Charles into the trap. He takes a stack of empty pizza boxes and places them on the floor next to McCarthy’s bed whilst the big cat sleeps. For some odd reason, this prompts Charles to chase Edwin around the upper floor, which leads the unsuspecting glutton right into position for the prank. McCarthy then does what everyone pretty much expects him to: he makes mean faces while storming around like a pissed off man-child, and a wet one at that.

The season finale wasn’t all roses and sing-along’s however. Mikey Burnette became the recipient of some really bad news when the doctor called. Apparently somewhere along the show Burnette aggravated his neck injury, most likely while trying to literally run through a wall. Hysterical comedic situations aside, Burnette is bummed out to hear that he’ll be out of action for a while. His UFC career will most likely be cut very short by neck surgery, which will require a recovery time of 6-12 weeks followed by 6-12 months of rehab. Add in training time and Burnette could realistically be out for over a year and a half. This will sideline whatever plans the UFC had for including him in any upcoming Ultimate Fight Night cards. It really bums me out because I was looking forward to seeing Burnette in one more slugfest before he retires. It looks like his future is up in the air, and as Mikey himself puts it, he’s got some tough decisions to make down the road.

With fight time quickly approaching, Edwin and Patrick are training hard and sharpening up. Dewees goes to train with the Blue Team, but is still worried about the cut on his hairline. The tough thing for Dewees will be hurting Cote, not because of his skill level but because of their friendship. Cote on the other hand has no problem leaving their personal relationship outside of the cage. He wants to KO his opponent like in any other fight, but The Predator remarks that the smart thing to do would be to work the cut. That said Cote will most likely try to work the cut and force a stoppage, although I’m sure everyone that has watched most of this season is praying for a big KO.

Round one starts and the fighters begin to exchange. Edwin works some crisp leg kicks as Cote looks to land that big right hand of his. Initially the striking contest was a bit more competitive than I anticipated. While clinching Cote against the fence, Edwin goes for a throw but ends up on his back in the half guard. Cote lands some short elbows and punches but doesn’t really do too much damage. Cote stands back up and Edwin follows. The striking battle restarts, and Cote begins to get the better of the exchanges. Cote lands a right uppercut that puts Dewees on his ass, but Bam Bam gets up and doesn’t seem hurt. Cote repeatedly lands that right uppercut, consistently doing damage.

Round 2 saw Cote pick up the pace and start to really take it to Dewees in the striking exchanges. This seemed to take the wind out of Edwin’s sails, as he appeared more and more frustrated as the bout progressed. Cote landed another harsh right uppercut that wobbled Bam Bam for a second. Cote almost finished the fight after putting Edwin down with a crippling right hook, but Edwin managed to hang on and avoid a few kimura attempts as well as some mean strikes from side control. Cote succeeded in reopening Bam Bam’s cut in the closing minute of the round, and this pretty much sealed his fate.

In the final round of both the fight and the season, the fighters exchanged hugs and pats on the back before resuming beating on each other. Edwin initially looked strong with the kicks, as Cote played around with his hands at his hips. He attempted to bait Edwin into coming in range for a big right handed haymaker, but quickly smartened up. Edwin shot in for a takedown, but was stuffed and put into guard by the powerful Cote. From here on out, Cote stayed on top in half guard pounding away with short elbows, trying to work the cut and get a stoppage. His performance was enough to earn an unquestionable unanimous decision victory. This sets the finals at Patrick “The Predator” Cote vs. Travis Lutter, with a six figure contract and a $100,000 sponsorship from Xyience on the line.

Patrick Cote is obviously very happy about winning the bout, and it appears that Edwin is happy for him. Edwin is not happy about his performance however. To me, it appeared that Edwin really didn’t want to hurt Cote. He didn’t look like his normal tenacious self, and wasn’t nearly as aggressive as he’s been in the past. Whether this was due to their relationship, or some other intangible, we will never know. Round one really sapped Edwin’s will, and round two sealed the deal and took it away completely. The cut reopening probably wasn’t any help. After all the final announcements are made, this season’s contestants offer up their predictions for the finals. It’s pretty evenly split in terms of support. Almost all of the fighters have one thing in common, and that was everyone’s great experience on the show. I say almost everyone because Charles McCarthy is not happy at all with the experience, and adds that he would never do it again. Captain Miserable at his finest. Some of the season’s best moments came from Matt Serra’s priceless one-liners, Shonie Carter’s antics, and the fighters ripping on Captain Miserable. All in all, the fights weren’t all that bad, but they weren’t all that special either. They were rather cut and dry, with a lot of quick submissions in uneven mismatches. On that note, I’d like to thank all of you who’ve read my articles and watched the show this season. Hopefully we’re in for another great set of final fights, Saturday night on….THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER LIVE FINALE! Give me a break, I had to be consistent and end in that way. Homicide…OUT!