Jake Rossen has always been one of our favorite writers, and here he puts the TUF Finale into perspective keeping mindful of the pro wrestling undertones:

If Hulk Hogan was at all plugged in to his surroundings Saturday, he might have gotten the feeling he was witnessing the regeneration of his own carnival business: Characters sniping at one another in promos, exaggerating their personalities, then meeting in the ring for some primal reconciliation.

The lone difference: MMA fighters don’t get hurt as badly as wrestlers do.

Take Marcus Jones and Matt Mitrione, with Jones unreasonably upset that Mitrione had perhaps ended the career of friend Scott Junk with an inadvertent poke in the eye; Darrill Schoonover, who fought with all the might of a man trying to overcome an embarrassing nickname; and the biggest babyface of the night, Kimbo Slice, who proved that with a solid base camp and against an opponent with virtually no ground game, he can just about scratch out a win. (As Slice predicted, Houston had a problem: That problem was training for a track meet.)

Never mind Jon Jones’ disqualification — a classic wrestling finish, inadvertent as it was — or the staggeringly absurd idea of having Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell as rival coaches on an 11th season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Wrestling’s influence has been present for years, but it appears to be getting less and less subtle. Whatcha gonna do?

Full thing here:

Kimbomania running mild @ ESPN