As if we aren’t on the edge of our seats enough for the 90-minute episode, the show starts with recaps of last week’s episode – with Jesse Taylor overpowering Tim Credeur for the first win of the semifinals. One semi down, one to go.

To hype the next semifinal fight, C.B. Dollaway calls Amir Sadollah the underdog, and then Amir calls himself one (so humble!). Surprisingly, C.B. seems a little nervous about this fight. He worries about possibly going in too confidently, because that’s when things happen. He just wants to win and move on to big things. Amir, on the other hand, says that he definitely has a lot of heart, but C.B. is gonna be a tough fight. He admits to not giving himself much credit.

And on to the main event…

Round 1
Both come out swinging and kicking. Dollaway looks a little nervous. Dollaway does a lot of circling. They clinch and Dollaway serves up some knees. He then picks up Sadollah and slams him down. Dollaway gets Sadollah on his back and is in full guard. Dollaway keeps trying to posture. Sadollah goes for Dollaway’s arm but is unsuccessful. Dollaway keeps control and keeps dropping some fists, but Sadollah is returning them. As much as Dollaway is posturing, so is Sadollah. Dollaway is doing a little damage with some fists and elbows. They get back on their feet and Dollaway is swinging and kicking. Sadollah lands a good couple punches. Dollaway goes for the takedown and gets Sadollah on his back. It’s clear that Dollaway is hurt and tired in Sadollah’s guard. Dollaway goes for full mount and ends up in half guard, but Sadollah turns to give him his back. The round ends with Dollaway on Sadollah’s back and Amir trying to not give C.B. full mount.

Round 2
Dollaway comes out aggressive again. He lands a great kick to Sadollah’s back. They exchange a few knees. Sadollah rocks Dollaway with a kick to the head. But Dollaway gets Sadollah on his back again and is in half guard. Dollaway drops some fists and is back in full guard. Dollaway drops some elbows but is not doing much damage. Sadollah gets Dollaway’s arm, but it isn’t bent enough for a submission. Dollaway is back in full guard. The ground n pound is starting to wear on Sadollah and he starts bleeding. Both start to look exhausted around 1:50 left in the round. We hear shouts from the corners to stand them up. There are some weak strikes from Dollaway. Then there are some weak strikes from Sadollah. Finally, the ref stands them up. Some weak exchanges of knees, kicks and strikes. Again, Dollaway takes Sadollah back down, but he has Dollaway’s head. Dollaway is in full guard and tries to swing over for full mount, but falls short. The round ends with both looking like they’re “resting”.

Round 3
Both look tired and hesitant. Dollaway lands a solid kick to Sadollah’s leg. A flying knee from Sadollah puts Dollaway into the fence and they clinch. Dollaway tries for the takedown, but Sadollah defends it. He has Dollaway’s head and lands a few punches. Dollaway goes for the takedown and gets it. He has full mount. Dollaway turns and they sit up with C.B. having Sadollah’s back. Dollaway has him in a choke, but Sadollah turns out of it. He is on his back with Dollaway turned on him. Sadollah has his legs around Dollaway’s neck, but it is not a successful choke. Dollaway turns into full guard. He is trying to control, but Sadollah is keeping him off. Dollaway looks exhausted. Sadollah manages to get Dollaway’s head locked in with his legs and has his arm in a deep armbar….and Dollaway taps.

Winner: Amir Sadollah by submission (armbar)

All are pretty much shocked. C.B. takes the loss hard. And Amir is just in general floored that he’s done so well considering the fighters he’s gone up against (then we get the lovely, stomach-turning visual of Amir taking a needle in the cut below his eye).

JT seems to be the only one not shocked. He says it’s probably going to hit him tonight that he’s fighting Amir (hmmm, could this be a hint maybe?).

So, in past seasons, after the final fight has been set, Dana takes all the guys out for a night of fun. They go to the strip to blow off some steam. This time, however, a few of the guys decide to continue the party and go out after Dana’s part of the night ends. The next day, Dana gets a call from the Palace Station security – and they send him a tape of what happened after he left. We see the same footage that we saw last week – of a limo window getting blown out from the inside. And we cut to commercial to build the suspense…

Dana’s watching the footage….and we finally get to see who’s causing all the drama. We see the window getting kicked out, then lo and behold, Jesse Taylor storming out of the limo. According to the security guards, he then proceeds to go into the hotel where he starts terrorizing female guests at the bar. When approached by security he flips out on the guards, proclaiming ‘do you know who I am? I’m a UFC fighter!’ Upon seeing and hearing this, Dana brings Forrest and Rampage in to show them the video and decide what they’re gonna do. It’s pretty much the general consensus that this exhibition by “JT-Money” isn’t good for the sport OR good for the show. With that said, they bring JT in. Poor JT looks oblivious. When Dana looks to him for an explanation, all JT can do is admit that he drank too much and that he got rowdy.

Well, unfortunately for JT, Vegas is Dana’s town. He knows everything. Obviously, he can understand busting the house up, but out in the real world, that kind of behavior is unacceptable. To Dana, this is proof that JT can’t handle this mentally – he’s not even famous yet! How’s he gonna handle it when he is? To JT’s dismay, Dana drops the bomb that he’s out, that he’s off the show and out of the finale. This is the first time someone was kicked off after the show is over.

Oh, woe is JT. He starts to cry that this is the worst moment of his life. He whines an apology to Forrest. He whines about people looking up to him; wonders what to tell people; what to tell his family; his son when he’s older. Boo-freakin-hoo. (Just a personal comment – how about admitting that you f***ed up? How about taking responsibility for your actions? He seems more upset about getting caught than anything!)

At least Dana is a good guy about the whole thing. He thanks JT for all his hard work. He tells him he’s great physically, but needs get his s**t together mentally and call him when he does. I give Dana a lot of credit for leaving that door open.

So, now this creates a weird situation. Dana says they made the best possible decision. As they cut to commercial, it looks like they flew someone in…..

The someones? Tim and C.B. Dana brings them back in to explain what happened with JT. Since they’re the two semi losers, Dana offers them the chance to fight each other. Whoever wins will fight Amir. And of course, both jump at the second chance because they always wanted to fight each other anyway. The only one not happy about this is Forrest.

3 weeks later……….

Oh, yeah…how about telling Amir that he’s not fighting Jesse?? Good idea. Dana calls him in to drop the bomb on him. And to show what a classy guy Amir is, he shows genuine concern, asking if JT is ok, thinking that JT got hurt. After telling him the saga, Dana informs Amir that they’re gonna watch C.B. and Tim and that he’ll fight the winner. In typical Amir fashion, he’s shocked, but, of course, is cool with it.

Round 1
A lot of inaction at first…Dollaway and Credeur exchange jabs. Dollaway kicks and Credeur grabs his leg, which wobbles him a little. Credeur lands some good shots at Dollaway’s face. Dollaway lands a strong kick to Credeur’s legs. Dollaway continues circling. 3:30 left in the round and the fighters are still standing. Dollaway does some damage with another good leg shot. Both seem to be being very careful with shots they take. Dollaway gets some leg kicks in and Credeur gets some jabs in. Dollaway goes in for jabs, but Credeur’s the one landing them. 1:30 left and still standing. Good jab exchange between both. Credeur lands a jab that knocks Dollaway off his feet. Credeur jumps on top to take advantage, but Dollaway rolls on top of him. Dollaway gets up and they clinch. Dollaway has his head, but Credeur turns out of it. They get back on their feet – Dollaway lands a shot that snaps Credeur’s head back. Dollaway charges for the takedown and the round ends.

Round 2
The round starts with a big roundhouse from Dollaway but Credeur blocks it. Dollaway goes for and gets the takedown, but Credeur fends him off and they’re back on their feet. Some weak throws and kicks from Dollaway. He lands a punch that puts Credeur on his back. Dollaway goes in to take advantage, but Credeur uses his legs to keep him back. Credeur keeps kicking at Dollaway’s knees. C.B. is waiting for Credeur to get up and he finally does. Dollaway hits Credeur with a series of jabs, then gets Credeur close and lands a knee that rocks him. Credeur drops down and Dollaway keeps hitting him over and over…it looks like it’s gonna be over, but Credeur manages to get out of it. They’re back to stand up. Credeur counters with some punches. He has Dollaway backed to the fence. Dollaway returns a couple punches and they get to the center of the cage. Both are looking tired and throw some weak exchanges. Both are dropping their guard. Credeur lands a great punch to Dollaway’s abs. Dollaway goes for the takedown and at first Credeur sprawls but he still ends up on his back. Dollaway is in full guard, but is exhausted and is not really doing anything. The round ends with Dollaway practically laying on top of Credeur.

Round 3
Dollaway lands some good jabs that snap Credeur’s head back. Dollaway gets the takedown, but they’re back up pretty quickly. Credeur lands a good shot to the head. He keeps up with the jabbing and combos. Dollaway returns with a couple leg kicks. Credeur connects with a good kick to the head. This is followed by some weak exchanges and a lot of circling. Eventually Dollaway takes Credeur down. Credeur keeps his feet on Dollaway’s hips but Dollaway just looks like he’s resting. He tries posturing and stands up, allowing Credeur to stand up. Good leg kick from Dollaway, followed by a good body kick from Credeur. Dollaway gets another takedown. He is standing and Credeur is keeping him away with his legs. Dollaway tries punching, but can really do nothing. Credeur just kicks and then gets up. Dollaway gets another takedown and returns to his position in full guard. Credeur is doing damage from his back with punches to Dollaway’s head as the round ends.

Winner: C.B. Dollaway by unanimous decision

Once the fight is over, Dana puts it perfectly – this fight summed up the way the whole season was. It was a war – both came out fighting like they wanted it. It was an amazing way to cap off an amazing season. And to demonstrate his appreciation, he gives both Amir and C.B. $10,000.

Now that we finally get the mystery solved, we can begin to look forward to the finale. In just a few days, C.B. will get the chance to redeem himself, and Amir will get the chance to prove himself. The arrogant, super-talented first pick will take on the guy with all the heart, who no one really believed had a chance to win. With all the drama and twists this season, I couldn’t imagine a better way to end it. These two are going to provide us with a battle like no other… and truthfully, either could come out on top.

Stay tuned for my preview of the finale…