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UFC ON VERSUS

--THE SAVAGE SCIENCE will present live play by play coverage of UFC on VERSUS on March 21 live from the FirstBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. Join us for the BEST live fight narrative in the world–the action begins 9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific!

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DREAM 13

--THE SAVAGE SCIENCE will present live play by play coverage of DREAM 13 coming to you from the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan on March 22. Join us for the BEST live fight narrative in the world–the action begins 3 AM Eastern/12 AM Pacific!

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STRIKEFORCE: CHALLENGERS

--THE SAVAGE SCIENCE will present live play by play coverage of STRIKEFORCE: CHALLENGERS on March 26 live from the SavMart Center in Fresno, CA. Join us for the BEST live fight narrative in the world–the action begins 10 PM Eastern/7 PM Pacific!

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UFC 111: GSP VS. HARDY

--THE SAVAGE SCIENCE will present live play by play coverage of UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy live from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on March 27. The event will be headlined by a welterweight title fight between Georges St. Pierre vs. Dan Hardy and feature a heavyweight showdown between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin! Join us for the BEST live fight narrative in the world–the action begins 10 PM Eastern/7 PM Pacific!

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UFC FIGHT NIGHT: FLORIAN VS. GOMI

--THE SAVAGE SCIENCE will present live play by play coverage of UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi live from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, NC on March 31. The event will be headlined by a lightweight battle between Kenny Florian and Takanori Gomi. Join us for the BEST live fight narrative in the world–the action begins 8:00 PM Eastern/5:00 PM Pacific!

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BELLATOR XIII

--THE SAVAGE SCIENCE will present live play by play coverage of Bellator Fighting XIII live from the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida on April 8. Join us for the BEST live fight narrative in the world–the action begins 7:30 PM Eastern/4:30 PM Pacific!

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BELLATOR XIV

--THE SAVAGE SCIENCE will present live play by play coverage of Bellator Fighting XIV live from the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois on April 15. Join us for the BEST live fight narrative in the world–the action begins 7:30 PM Eastern/4:30 PM Pacific!

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STRIKEFORCE: NASHVILLE

--THE SAVAGE SCIENCE will present live play by play coverage of Strikeforce: Nashville live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN on April 17. The event will be headlined by a middleweight title fight between Jake Shields and Dan Henderson and feature the US debut of Japanese submission god Shinya Aoki! Join us for the BEST live fight narrative in the world–the action begins 10 PM Eastern/7 PM Pacific!

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MFC 25: VINDICATION

--THE SAVAGE SCIENCE will present live play by play coverage of MFC 25: Vindication live from the Edmonton Expo Center in Edmonton, Alberta on April 17. Join us for the BEST live fight narrative in the world–the action begins 10 PM Eastern/7 PM Pacific!

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“If you go by the rules, you end up being an accountant.”

Robert Evans

Escudero, Bader shine at Ultimate Fighter Finale

Written by Jim Murphy   |   Sunday, December 14 2008

uff1Efrain Escudero was expected to have trouble with the slick submission skills of Phillipe Nover.  Instead, he used his superior strength and wrestling ability to control the fight en route to a unanimous decision victory (Photo: Zuffa, LLC)
The UFC concluded the 8th season of their reality show “The Ultimate Fighter” with the “Ultimate Fighter Finale” at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.  With a six figure UFC contract on the line for the light heavyweight and lightweight victor in the co-main events, and an opportunity for other contestants from this and prior seasons of “TUF” to fight before a nationwide TV audience there was a lot of up-and-coming talent on display—and no shortage of surprises.

In the light heavyweight final, collegiate wrestling standout Ryan Bader used his striking power to knock out three time World Brazilian Jiu Jitsu champ Vinny Magahales.  Bader had obvious respect for his opponent’s groundfighting skills and from the outset it was apparent that he wanted to keep the fight standing.  He avoided a couple of clinch attempts early before landing a looping right hand that sent Magahales crashing to the canvas.  Bader followed up with some hammer fists on the ground, but referee Herb Dean jumped in to stop the contest at the 2:18 mark of the first round to give the former Arizona State University wrestler an upset TKO victory and the UFC contract.

Another upset occurred in the lightweight final, where Efrain Escudero used his superior strength and wrestling ability to dominate BJJ black belt Philippe Nover over three rounds.  Nover had no answer for Escudero’s takedowns during the first two rounds, and the Mexican-American fighter repeatedly took him down and mauled him on the ground.  Nover’s only counter was an occasional submission attempt, which Escudero never failed to pick up on and retreat.  Nover was able to win the final round on all three judges’ scorecards when he controlled the tempo of the battle and spent much of the round working an omoplata attempt that would eventually prove fruitless.  The scores read 29-28 all across the board giving Escudero the unanimous decision victory and fight contract.

Perhaps the biggest storyline of the night, however, occurred in the opening bout of the live telecast.  Much reviled TUF cast member Junie Browning—known to many as “Goonie Junie”—showed both vastly improved fighting skills and greater maturity in a dominating submission victory over Dave Kaplan.  Browning has been training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas since the end of the series and the influence of that environment could be seen immediately, as he demonstrated better footwork and more precise punching skills to dominate the first round.  In the second round, Browning quickly scored a takedown on Kaplan and almost effortlessly passed guard to set up an armbar for the tapout victory.  After the fight, Browning took the opportunity of his Joe Rogan interview time to apologize to Frank Mir and his teammates for his antics on “The Ultimate Fighter”. 

In other action, Wilson Gouveia earned an impressive TKO victory over Jason MacDonald.  Midway through the first round, MacDonald threw a punching combo that Gouveia countered perfectly sending his opponent to the canvas.  Gouveia followed up the knockdown with a “ground and pound” assault with fists and elbows that left MacDonald a bloody mess before the fight was stopped.

Anthony Johnson scored the most impressive knockout of the night in his victory over Kevin Burns.  After two relatively even rounds, Johnson landed a picture perfect high kick to the head early in the third that knocked Burns out cold.  Ironically, moments before the KO kick Joe Rogan commented that Johnson had been training at the American Kickboxing Academy with Strikeforce middleweight champion and kicking machine Cung Le.

The coaches of the season 8 teams—Frank Mir and Interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria—will meet in the co-main event of UFC 92 in Las Vegas on December 27.  The winner of that matchup will receive a title shot against UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in early 2009.
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