June 20, 2008
View Dollaway's bio on UFC.com
TEMPE, Ariz. - In recent months, the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) has seen a growth in popularity world-wide with a new crop of talented competitors looking to make a name for themselves. The Arizona State University wrestling program, which has been referred to as producing a `hotbed of MMA fighters', will see one of its of former All-Americans try to continue that trend of success in the octagon as CB Dollaway will face Amir Sadollah in the finale of the Ultimate Fighter 7 - Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest set for Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nev., at the Palms.
Nicknamed the Doberman, Dollaway was perhaps the top fighter on the seventh season of the UFC's fighting tournament that provides the winner of each season a contract in the best-known fighting organization in the world. The 2006 All-American at 184 pounds and two-year member of the Sun Devil program, Dollaway moved through the bracket and advanced to the semifinals where he lost to Sadollah via tap-out from an arm-bar. Dollaway later earned a rematch with Sadollah as another finalist was removed from the competition and Dollaway won a fight that sent him to the finals.
Should Dollaway defeat Sadollah on Saturday, he will join the same organization that has seen several Sun Devils enjoy success in, including Dan `The Beast' Severn and `Dangerous' Dan Henderson. Severn is one of the more recognized names in the sport as the only fighter to win the UFC Triple Crown after earning two All-America honors in Tempe. Henderson made the jump from Japan's PRIDE organization into the UFC where he fell to reigning UFC champion and Dollaway's coach on TUF, Quinton `Rampage' Jackson, in a unification fight.
Dollaway is not the only former ASU wrestler that has experienced success in recent months after graduating from the Sun Devil program in recent years. Two of his fellow seniors in 2006, Ryan Bader and Cain Velasquez, are currently competing and remain undefeated. Velasquez made his UFC debut on April 19 in Montreal as he stopped Brad Morris with strikes just over two minutes into the first round to move to 3-0 as a professional. `Darth' Bader, as he is known in the business, currently continues to train with Dollaway at Arizona Combat Sports in Tempe and is 7-0 after winning a fight with Buckley Acosta on April 5 via a first-round submission.