After handling Jon Madsen in his quarterfinal fight, heavyweight Ultimate Fighter contender and Colorado native Brendan Schaub will have his semi-final fight aired on Spike TV tonight to determine who will be fighting in the finals this Saturday at The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Live finale from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Tonight’s two-hour special kicks off tonight at 9 ET and 7 MDT.
Schaub has earned stoppage victories over his first two opponents with a nice anaconda choke over Demico Rogers and then he followed that up with a second round knockout of Madsen. In both of his first two fights Schaub has shown that he is a serious contender for the TUF 10 title and six figure contract and he has almost certainly etched himself a future in the UFC as many fighters from the reality show eventually receive some type of contract to continue to fight for the promotion.
Schaub’s opponent has yet to be determined as the rest of the quarterfinal fights will be aired during the first hour of tonights special before the semifinals are set for the second hour. In the first quarterfinal fight Schaub’s training partner and fellow Greg Jackson product James McSweeney will square off against former NFL player Matt Mitrione. Mitrione has still been suffering from what he calls “brain-swelling,” after his first fight against Scott Junk and Spike has kept viewers on their heels waiting to see if Mitrione will back out of his fight and open the gates to street fighting legend Kimbo Slice to get back into the action. However, I do not for see Kimbo getting back in the competition and I feel it is very likely that Mitrione will eventually fight for his shot at the semifinals. Kimbo has already been guaranteed for the finale on Saturday and will likely face UFC veteran and Nebraska native Houston Alexander. The last quarterfinal fight features the only Team Rampage fighter to advance Marcus Jones, who is also an NFL veteran, against Darrill Schoonover.
Along with Schaub, Roy Nelson has already earned his spot in the semifinals. Schaub had to be pleased with his chances of advancing as he has a realistic chance at defeating any of his future opponents. As I said in my previous post Schaub is a Golden Gloves boxing champion and has been awarded his purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has already demonstrated his skills in both departments and has proven that he can survive on his back if Nelson, McSweeny or Jones were to put him there and he has shown his ability to work to find a dominant position or attempt a submission. Schaub should also be favored in any potential fight with Mitrione or Schoonover and he aslo has the ability to quickly dispatch of Kimbo if the fight were to somehow arise.
All of Colorado will be rooting for Schaub to advance to the finals and win the six figure contract on Saturday night. Schaub was raised in Aurora where he attended Overland High School. He excelled in football and received a full athletic scholarship to play full back at the University of Colorado. After 4 years with the Buffaloes, Schaub had the opportunity to play in the Arena Football League for the Utah Blaze before landing a spot in the NFL on the practice squad of the Buffalo Bills. Schaub often practiced martial arts as a way to stay in shape and when he retired from football and returned back home to Colorado he began his pursuit of a mixed martial arts career.
Schaub was able to train with stand out Denver fighters Nate Marquardt and Shane Carwin. Schaub began training at High Altitude Martial Arts in Denver and also was able to train at one of the premiere mixed martial arts gyms in the nation in New Mexico where famed trainer Greg Jackson has been able to work with him. After a few fights with the Broomfield Ring of Fire promotion, Schaub landed his spot on this season Ultimate Fighter and hasent looked back since.
After tonight’s episode fans will know whether or not Schaub will have a chance to fight for the contract and as always, you can read Schaub’s blog after the show to get his first hand comments.