Darrill Schoonover got knocked out in his quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, but the Army reservist will still get a shot to fight on the undercard of the TUF series finale Saturday on Spike.
Schoonover will face kickboxing specialist James McSweeney, who was defeated in the TUF semifinals. I don’t know what to make of this matchup — Schoonover got destroyed by Marcus Jones in their quarterfinal fight, where he was quickly taken to the ground and pounded by the larger Jones. London native McSweeney presents a smaller foe for Schoonover, but the Brit showed tremendous standup ability throughout the season and also used some ground skills when he submitted Matt Mitrione. Schoonver is a heavy hitter who had never lost as a pro before getting KO’d by Jones, so I’m expecting these guys to stay on their feet and trade shots until someone goes down.
I’ll be pulling for Schoonver, who put up with a lifetime’s worth of teasing from Rampage Jackson on the show and came away looking like the better man. Schoonver will apparently will be reporting to the Army shortly after the finale — according to his UFC bio, Schoonover served four years on active duty in the Air Defense Artillery branch before becoming a pro fighter. He’ll join Brian Stann, a former Marine captain who received the Silver Star, as representatives of the armed forces at the TUF finale.
Here’s Schoonover’s first fight on TUF, where he used a triangle choke to put Zac Jensen to sleep.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhjqK6Onh84[/youtube]
