Life is full of second chances, just ask The Ultimate Fighter 7 participant CB Dollaway. The former Arizona State wrestler appeared to be out of the running for the UFC’s guaranteed contract after losing to Amir Sadollah in a middleweight semifinal matchup he was widely predicted to win.

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Much like Dollaway’s chances, Arizona State’s historic wrestling program was disbanded due to budget cuts and Title IX. Then, Dollaway got another shot at the six-figure UFC fight contract when fellow cast member Jesse Taylor was kicked off the show. Much like Dollaway’s second chance, ASU boosters raised over $8 million in donations to reinstate the wrestling program that has helped produce such mixed martial arts stars as Dan Severn, Dan Henderson and Don Frye.

“When I found out I had a second chance, it was pretty much the best news I could ever receive,” stated Dollaway in a media conference call. “It was not hard getting back into a groove to prepare for this fight.”

Taylor advanced to the TUF 7 finale and was slated to battle Sadollah Saturday night at the Pearl inside the Palms casino. However what happens in Vegas doesn’t necessarily always stay in Vegas, especially when UFC President Dana White is watching. Even though the show had finished shooting, Taylor’s behavior during a drunken weekend tirade forced White’s hand.

So now, we have a rematch that will be interesting for a couple of reasons. Sadollah won the fight with a third-round armbar, but he was getting pummeled before pulling off the submission. Dollaway (6-0) won the first two rounds by relying on his dominant wrestling background picked up with the Sun Devils, but he got caught late in the matchup.

“His armbar was a pretty big shock to me,” said Dollaway. “I underestimated his ground game and it cost me.

“I don’t think I performed to the best of my ability, and conditioning was a big factor. I thought if I was going to lose that fight, it would be by a knee and not by submission.

Sadollah (0-0) didn’t have the same pedigree heading into the show, and was projected to be someone’s stepping stone. However, Sadollah proved himself with solid victories over Steve Byrnes, Gerald Harris, Matt Brown and Dollaway during taping.

“I don’t think of myself as an underdog during the fights,” said Sadollah. “I never put any pressure on myself to make it to the finals, it’s a huge achievement to make it this far.

“I’ve always felt better the longer a fight has gone. I try to be smart and not rush into anything, but you can’t be too passive. I think the show helped me out a lot, my coaches were great and it was an incredible learning experience.”

Dollaway has been installed as a $1.85 favorite (bet $185 to win $100) over Sadollah, the $1.55 underdog (bet $100 to win $155) according to Sportsbook.com. Saturday’s main event features another middleweight matchup between former champion Evan Tanner (32-7) and TUF 3 winner Kendall ‘Da Spyder’ Grove (8-5). Sportsbook.com lists Tanner as the $2.00 ‘chalk’ over Grove, the $1.60 underdog. Both fighters enter this matchup in dire need of a victory, dropping five of their last six fights.

Tanner, a 37-year-old, dropped to 1-3 his last four fights after suffering a second-round knockout to Yushin Okami by knees at UFC 82: Pride of a Champion. The veteran has fought just twice the past 2 ½ years, but was the middleweight title holder until 2005 when he lost to Rich Franklin. Tanner has won seven times by knockout, along with 20 submission wins with three decisions and two ‘other’ victories. Six of his setbacks have occurred by knockout, along with one decision loss.

Grove appeared to climbing the middleweight rankings by winning his first three fights with the UFC, but the Hawaiian native has dropped his last two outings. The lanky 6-foot-6 fighter has been knocked out in first-round setbacks to Patrick Cote at UFC 74: Respect and to Jorge Rivera at UFC 80: Rapid Fire. Grove has one win by knockout, with six submission victories and one triumph by decision. Four of his losses have occurred by knockout, along with one submission setback.

**Octagon Extras**

-Part owner Lorenzo Fertitta will be joining the UFC full time, leaving his post as president of Stations Casinos. The company is planning on expanding internationally to such places as Germany, Italy, Australia and the Philippines, facilitating such a move. Even though the company has repeatedly stated in the past that they are happy being a privately-held company, this move might signify a move to make them public.

-The UFC has quickly put together a Fight Night scheduled for July 19 on Spike TV. The main event will pit Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva moving from middleweight to light heavyweight to battle James ‘The Sandman’ Irvin. The move will put a serious damper on the Affliction: Banned card scheduled for the same night. That event is loaded with heavyweights, including former UFC champions Tim Sylvia, Josh Barnett, Pedro Rizzo and Andrei Arlovski along with top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko. To bad those fighters will be performing in a ring and not the UFC octagon.

Brad Young can be reached at byoung@vegasinsider.com.