The mixed martial arts reality TV show, The Ultimate Fighter, season eleven, included two contestants who got their start in the Tampa MMA scene: James Hammortree and Jamie Yager. Both will also be featured on the TUF 11 Finale fight card on June 19 at the Pearl inside the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nev. where they will take on two other TUF 11 contestants.
While Hammortree actually lives and trains in Ocala, Fla. Yager resides in Pasadena, Calif. but both made an instant impression when they hit the Tampa MMA scene in their first couple of pro fights with the Real Fighting Championhips and Art of Fighting respectively.
"Yager possesses a lot of talent, he is one of the most talented fighters to step in the AOF cage, but he simply does not have the experience," said AOF President Nathan Smith. "In all fairness Yager only had three fights prior to the TV show."
Naturally, both fighters had high hopes to make it to the TUF 11 Finale to compete for the six-figure fight contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. But Hammortree's dreams were crushed twice: first when he was eliminated by Brad Tavares on episode three and a second time when he replaced Nick Ring who had to bow out due to injury, just to be defeated by the finalist Court McGee in the quarterfinals on episode eight. Nevertheless, Hammortree at least got a spot on the TUF 11 Finale undercard against Chris Camozzi who was not able to compete during the show since he suffered an injury during the very first elimination round, making this the third opportunity to impress UFC President Dana White.
"Hammortree knocked out Joey Bagley with one single punch in five seconds flat at RFC 16 in Feb. 2009, said RFC President Joe Valdez. "I think Hammortree could be a top MMA fighter."
Yager, on the other hand, was victorious until he was eliminated by Josh Bryant in the quarterfinals on episode ten. In fact, Yager somewhat stole the spotlight when he broke Team Ortiz' losing streak with his defeat of Charles Blanchard on episode four (watch the fight video below!).
But as the biblical proverb says: "Pride always comes before the fall." To everyone's shock Yager quit after the second round of his quarterfinal bout against Bryant rather than fighting a third sudden victory round and handed Bryant the win on a silver platter.
"It's a fact that these other guys have had more time to develop their skills and even though Yager may KO more experienced fighters, he still lacks in many areas that can only be cured with time, and more fights," said Smith. "In my opinion if Yager had ten fights no one in the house could pose a threat in any area, he needs time to become a more complete fighter, his last fight was probably the first time he's ever ate a hard shot."
Oddly enough, White gave him a spot on the main card of the upcoming TUF 11 Finale against one of the show favorites, Rich Attonito, who was injured after defeating Kyacey Uscola on episode four. The question now begs, what will Yager do with his third and possibly last chance to get his foot into the door of the UFC.
There is no doubt that White will drop Hammortree and Yager like two hot potatoes if they don't score a win on Saturday. After that, chances are that they will re-appear on an MMA fight card in Tampa.
Read all episode recaps of The Ultimate Fighter season eleven here. TUF 11 Finale tickets are available online at Ticketmaster and range from $204-$254. The main card will air live on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET.
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