So this episode will be fights from the first Ultimate Fighter finale including the two final matches. This is the first time since Griffin/Bonnar aired and at the time I considered it to be the greatest MMA match I've ever seen. We'll see if it ages well.

Welterweight Bout:
Josh Rafferty 7-3-0 vs. Alex Karalexis 4-0-0

Background:
Both of these guys played jobber to Diego Sanchez on his rampage to the finals. He finished both off in under 2 minutes with submissions. We'll get to see who's the better fighter here.

Round 1:
Rafferty keeps Alex at bay with a couple of leg kicks and a high kick. Alex charges in and they clinch. Rafferty gets a takedown and goes for a guillotine. Alex gets him on the ground and drops bombs until Rafferty gets in a guard. Alex stands up and dives on Rafferty and gets the KO at 1:40. 1 for 1. Short but fun.

WINNER: Alex Karalexis by KO 1:40 into Round 1


Middleweight Bout:
Alex Schoenauer 10-0-0 vs. Mike Swick 6-1-0

Background:
Both of these guys lost to Griffin and Bonnar on their way to the finals. They've dropped from light heavyweight to middleweight here which is a difference of 20 lbs. Both made good showings despite losing.

Round 1:
Swick charges in and KOs Schoenauer in 0:20. Ouch. 2 for 2.

WINNER: Mike Swick by KO 0:20 into Round 1


TUF Middleweight Final:
Kenny Florian 4-1-0 vs. Diego Sanchez 14-0-0

Background:
Diego looked like a monster as he dominated every fight leading up to this. Only one fight went longer than 2 minutes and that was a decision win over Josh Koshkeck. Florian looked like a schmuck coming into this as he only fought once and then won by cutting Chris Leben with an elbow.

Round 1:
They circle for over a minute until Diego charges in and gets it against the cage. They exchange knees and seperate. Diego shoots in and gets a takedown. Diego can't get in position for a choke so he just pounds Kenny until the ref stops it at 2:49. Total domination but Kenny made it boring 2 for 3.

WINNER: Diego Sanchez by TKO 2:49 into Round 1

Rant Time: I just want to take this space to completely bash Kenny Florian. I bet the guy felt like a real idiot for the way he fought this fight. He acted like a total pussy just running away for the early part. At no point did he actually attempt to take the fight to Diego. Bonnar got a contract because he let it all hang out even in his loss. If Kenny never gets a full time UFC gig it's too soon in my opinion.


TUF Light Heavyweight Final:
Stephan Bonnar 9-1-0 vs. Forrest Griffin 9-2-0

Background:
Forrest's two MMA losses are to Dan Severn and Jeremy Horn so he's got quite an impressive resume. Bonnar went through Bobby Southworth in a great match and Mike Swick to get here. I called this the greatest MMA match I've ever seen and we're about to see how well it ages removed from the actual competition.

Round 1:
Mostly feeling out with quick exchanges for the first 2:00. Bonnar hits a couple of nice kicks and a wild brawl starts. Forrest rocks him but Bonnar refuses to go down. Bonnar gets a takedown. Bonnar tries to get through the guard but Forrest stands it up. Forrest hits some knees before seperating. They brawl for a long time until Forrest gets a takedown. They fight over position to end the round.

Round 2:
They circle to start and then exchange shots. Forrest gets a takedown. They exchange shots on the ground before Forrest stands it up. They pause the fight to check the cut on Forrest's nose. They go right back to brawling until Forrest tosses Bonnar right into the cage and clinches. They break up and Bonnar hits some jabs. Forrest goes for a takedown but can't get Bonnar down. They clinch and Forrest hits several knees. They seperate and Forrest is visably blown up. Bonnar comes in and hits a bunch of knees but Forrest gets it against the cage. Forrest gets a weak takedown and they stand back up. They brawl to finish the round.

Round 3:
They feel each other out for about a minute. They clinch and Forrest hits some knees. They circle and have quick exchanges until 1:30 left when they clinch again. They seperate and the crowd explodes when it hits 1:00 left. They exchange shots to end the round and get a standing ovation. The judges score it 29-28 for........

WINNER: Forrest Griffin by decision

Rant Time: 3 for 4. This held up and was just as good as it was live. The emotion still comes across and they gave it everything they had. Still the best MMA match I've seen.

Final Thoughts: An excellent show this week but that's expected with Bonnar/Griffin on the card. They could've shown paint drying and still get a thumbs up with the main event. The only downer was Diego's destruction of Florian but that's all on Florian's head. Two more episodes of Unleashed are scheduled for this week leading up to TUF 2 finale. I'll be reviewing all three.

As a side note. I might be getting the first season of TUF on DVD and will slowly review it if you guys are interested.