The next hungry finalist in our Proving Ground competition is Andrew Carrillo, who sent us a two-part video package containing the closest thing to a celebrity endorsement we’ve seen so far. In part 1 (above), Andrew’s coaches and teammates talk about their experience training with him, and why the featherweight prospect would be a great fit in Shark Fights. Among the well-wishers is UFC veteran and Premier Combat Center co-owner Ryan Jensen, who had this to say:

“Andrew’s one of the hardest-working guys in the gym, he puts in 110% effort every single time, he’s always pushing the guys, and he’s always trying to help the guys that are less-talented than him learn as much as they can. He’s a huge asset to the gym, and I’m just glad he’s part of the team…He is a guy that came in to us with a lot of wrestling, he had a little bit of standup, and now he’s starting to really turn into a true mixed martial artist…Andrew deserves to win this contract because he’s put in the hard work, he’s in every single day, he gives 110, 120% every time he’s in, and he’s not gonna disappoint. He’s gonna bring it in the cage, and he’s gonna throw a good show for you guys and you’ll be impressed.”

After the jump: Part 2 of Carrillo’s finalist video, in which Andrew finally shows his face, and takes us through a rather intense-looking workout. Visit Andrew’s Proving Ground page to watch him kick ass in past fights, and click his Facebook “Like” button if you’d like to see him represent CagePotato.com at Shark Fights 19!

(“I’m fighting Jason who??”)

The UFC announced today that UFC middleweight contender Alan Belcher’s first fight back from a career-threatening eye injury will be against New Glasgow, Nova Scotia native Jason MacDonald in the Biloxi, Mississippi native’s backyard of New Orleans, Louisiana on September 17. The event is aptly named UFC Fight Night 25: Battle on the Bayou.

4-1 in his last 5 outings including wins over Wilson Gouveia, Patrick Cote, Denis Kang and Ed Herman and a questionable split decision loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama, Belcher (16-6) was mentioned as a potential championship contender before a detached retina sidelined him for almost a year. Although MacDonald (25-15) is by no means a cake walk fight for Belcher, it’s likely that the bout with the recently re-signed Canadian is thought of by the UFC brass as more of a tune-up fight for “The Talent.”

("Congrats buddy, here’s your piece of jagged f*cking glass." Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

MMA Junkie reported yesterday that TUF 11 winner Court McGee will return to the Octagon at UFC 121 (October 23rd, Anaheim) against Ryan Jensen. In doing so, the well-bearded Utah native follows a proud tradition of Ultimate Fighter winners who take on middling veterans directly after winning their six-figure contracts, and beat them (most of the time) before eventually dropping in weight (some of the time). As a helpful reference, we decided to put together a timeline of those first post-TUF fights, as well as some relevant statistics. Starting at the beginning…

Season 1 light-heavyweight winner: Forrest Griffin
First post-TUF opponent: Bill Mahood (0-0 in the UFC at the time)
Result: Griffin via submission (rear-naked choke), round 1
Is Mahood still in the UFC? No, the fight against Griffin was Mahood’s only Octagon appearance.
Does Griffin still compete at light-heavyweight? Yes

Season 1 middleweight winner: Diego Sanchez
First post-TUF opponent: Brian Gassaway (0-0 in the UFC at the time)
Result: Sanchez via submission (strikes), round 2
Is Gassaway still in the UFC? No, the fight against Sanchez was Gassaway’s only Octagon appearance.
Does Sanchez still compete at middleweight? No. Sanchez immediately dropped to welterweight after the show, and has spent the majority of his UFC career there.