For all the hype and hatred that seemed to lead Michael Bisping and Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller to the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ season 14 finale, the ending came with a resounding thud.
Michael Bisping dominated a very tired Jason Miller to earn a third round TKO to defeat his fellow coach, and move one step closer towards his ultimate goal of a UFC title shot.
When the fight started, Miller attacked and moved forward in his normal zombie like style, not fearing Bisping’s power at all.
The former Bully Beatdown host snagged a quick takedown and pushed Bisping against the cage where he looked to mount, and gain a dominant position. Unfortunately, Miller couldn’t pull Bisping away from the cage and he never took full advantage of the move, and eventually the Brit was able to work his way back to the feet.
It was standing where the mismatch began. Bisping’s boxing was much more solid as the season 3 winner of the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ threw jabs and straight punches with precision while Miller could only fire back with haymakers.
As the second round wore on it was clear that cardio and conditioning were going to be a big factor with Bisping stepping forward and striking, while Miller started to back up and his gas tank was depleted.
Bisping fired off huge body shots and cornered Miller against the cage and unloaded several unanswered shots. At one point, Miller rose his arms and gave Bisping a free shot, which he gladly took. Miller was able to absorb the punch, but it really was the beginning of the end.
Bisping came out firing again in the third round and once he got Miller on the ground, it was over. The Brit blasted away at Miller, who at this point had a bloodied nose and a huge mouse under his left eye.
With Miller only defending by covering up, referee Steve Mazzagatti saw enough and stepped in to stop the carnage.
Through all bravado that Bisping showed before the fight, even going as far as dropping a few ‘F’ bombs at the Las Vegas crowd during Friday’s weigh-ins, he showed class in victory and paid credit to his opponent’s toughness.
“He’s a tough guy, I knew if I was going to finish him, I had to have a high work rate. He’s a tough son of a gun, congratulations,” Bisping said towards Miller.
“Listen, you know booing whatever, I’m here to entertain. I feel me and Jason put on a fantastic season of the ‘Ultimate Fighter’, congratulations Jason and thank you all for tuning in and watching it.”
The bad blood going into the fight was put to rest, and in a very classy move, Miller applauded Bisping’s performance and apologized for his own.
“I trained really hard for this fight, I’m sorry guys I got tired,” said Miller. “I can’t make any excuses about it, for all the boos that Michael Bisping gets, as a fighter he deserves your applause.”
As for Michael Bisping, the win moves him closer to his ultimate goal which is eventually challenging for the UFC middleweight title.
Despite a strong finish over a tough opponent, Bisping was quick to point out that Saturday’s performance was far from his best, and it’s going to take nothing less than perfection to get past someone like Anderson Silva.
“I’ll be honest I wasn’t happy with that. First round didn’t go to plan, second and third was good, but if I was to face the champion a first round like that wouldn’t cut it. Still a lot of work to do,” Bisping stated.
The win does put Bisping right in the crosshairs for a major fight in the division however, possibly facing a fighter like Vitor Belfort if he’s successful in his next bout at UFC 142.
Love him or hate him, Bisping performs and at the TUF 14 finale he simply outmatched Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller.
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