Eurosport - Fri, 19 Jun 10:10:00 2009
Eurosport blogger Dean Amasinger raves about the victories of his GB team-mates in the lightweight semi-finals.
We were all confident that our lightweights would advance to the final, regardless of how they were matched in the semi-final. We felt Andre Winner and Ross Pearson were both far too good for Jason Dent and Cameron Dollar.
It really didn't matter how they were paired off at that stage. We kind of expected an all-UK final. Nobody was going to stop Ross and Andre.
Andre's match-up with Cameron was a little new to him in terms of the fights he'd had in the house, but it was a style match-up that he was used to from back home.
Dre's a well-rounded fighter, but he's predominantly a striker with great hands. His strength lies in his stand-up and he's experienced in the art of sprawl-and-brawl. He's very good at stuffing takedowns and then beating guys up on his feet.
Cameron wanted to stand with Dre to begin with and then when he did finally shoot, Dre showed some great takedown defence and control. Even when the fight did go to the floor, Dre reversed Cameron and ended up dominating him down there. Dre could basically choose how he wanted to end that fight. He could win standing or on the ground.
Dre's been a training partner of mine for a number of years and his triangle choke is one of his strongest submissions. Not many guys are able to escape it once he locks it in. He transitioned from mount to the triangle really nicely and I'm not surprised Cameron had trouble dealing with Dre on the ground. Even though Dre is seen as a striker, he possesses some great skills on the ground.
Without wanting to exaggerate too much, Dre's potential as a fighter is truly limitless. He's so physically gifted and such an athlete that I can pretty much see him becoming as great as he wants to be.
The only thing he has working against him is the fact that he doesn't believe how brilliant he is. He doesn't believe it himself yet. He gives everyone a run for their money in the gym and he handles welterweights in training.
I see Dre having a massive career in the UFC. He improves on a daily basis and is always adding new dimensions to his game. There are probably only a handful of UFC lightweights that could hang with Dre in the stand-up. He's that good.
From watching Dent's previous two fights, I didn't give him much of a chance with Ross in the second semi-final match. Dent hadn't looked impressive during his time on the show and I expected Ross to swarm all over him and finish him within the distance. I knew Dent was durable from seeing him fight before the show, but I didn't expect him to cause Ross too many problems.
I think as a team we fell into a false sense of security with that fight. We all knew how great Ross was and how well he'd been training and I think we probably underestimated the toughness and determination of Dent.
We half-expected Ross to just run through Dent and we should have given Dent the credit he deserved. Nobody runs through someone like Dent and he showed that against Ross.
Although Dent was always competitive in the fight, Ross remained one step ahead of him the whole way and that's a great sign moving forwards in his career. Ross was never deterred by what Dent presented to him and he just kept working hard for every minute of every round. Ross showed just how determined and hungry he is during that fight.
Ross was a little sharper with his boxing and his stand-up in the early going. He throws great punches and kicks and also mixes up his shots really well. He landed some well-placed body shots on Dent in the opening round.
As the fight then progressed, Ross managed to maintain the pace he set in the first round, whereas Dent let his pace drop a little bit. That allowed Ross to just overtake him and eventually close out the fight in impressive fashion. Not many fighters can keep up with Ross.
It was a testament to Dent's durability that he managed to survive the three rounds with Ross. Ross's pace and determination would have been enough to stop most other lightweights that day.
I think Ross is a brilliant fighter. He's still got a lot to learn and a lot more experience to gain, but he is such a physical talent with bags of potential. His work rate is second to none and his training attitude is impeccable.
I haven't met many fighters more disciplined and hungry than Ross and I see his attitude being the thing that will take him a long way. He's always pushing his body to the maximum, always happy to go an extra round and truly enjoys every aspect of being a fighter. I see him going really far in this sport.
As far as Saturday night is concerned, it's going to be very weird seeing Ross and Dre go up against each other for the UFC contract. We were all hanging out together at the pool this afternoon and it was a little bit strange and uncomfortable, but it's to be expected. We've all been training partners on and away from the show and have a real tight bond.
It's a lose-lose situation for me because whatever happens I'll have to see one of my friends lose. You don't ever want to be in that position and I'm just gearing up for it on Saturday night.
Whatever happens, I know both guys will represent Great Britain in the best possible way. We couldn't ask for two better fighters in the final. They're great lads, great fighters and great ambassadors for the sport in this country. On Saturday night us Brits will show the world just what we can do.
Watch the last episode and then the finale of TUF 9 this Sunday from 9pm on Virgin 1.
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