Rick Story to meet Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 171

Welterweight battle added to UFC 171

by Ben Heather @benheather

On the 15th March 2014 the UFC will crown a new welterweight champion to follow in the footsteps of the greatest welterweight fighter ever. Georges St-Pierre's reign came to an end when he vacated the title at the end of last year and now another welterweight fight has been added to the card.

Kelvin Gastelum, the TUF 17 champion will return to the octagon as the UFC returns to Dallas where he will meet Rick Story.

Gastelum (7-0 MMA 2-0 UFC) capped off a real underdog story to be crowned The Ultimate Champion when he beat Uriah Hall last year. He then followed that up with a submission victory of Brian Melancon after dropping down to Welterweight and now remains at welterweight to meet Rick Story.

Story (16-7 MMA 9-5 UFC) will be looking to get his career back on track in 2014 after finishing 2013 on a high with a win over Brian Ebersole at UFC 167. The past few years he has bounced between wins and losses and a win over Gastelum would be a great way to do that.

UFC 171 is headlined by Johny Hendricks vs Robbie Lawler for the vacated Welterweight title and also on the card Carlos Condit will face off against Tyron Woodley in a fight which could see the new number one contender for the title.

If you enjoy Welterweight battles UFC 171 is the perfect event for you.

Mixed Fortunes For Boston Pair at UFC Fight Night 26

Surprise Loss for Lauzon, Whilst Howard schools Hall

by Tommy Strong @strong_tea



Saturday night UFC Fight Night 26 saw mixed fortunes for Boston's Joe Lauzon and John Howard.

Lauzon (22-9) renowned for his exciting style of fighting that has earned himself 12 bonuses of the night awards, equal with the legend Anderson Silva.

Lauzon came into the fight on the back of a unanimous decision loss to Jim Miller at UFC 155 on the 29th December 2012. Not only did the pair pick up fight of the night bonus, they were also awarded fight of the year 2012! Though it was Michael Johnson that had everyone on the edge of their seats. Being a 2-1 underdog going into the fight, not many had backed Johnson to pull of a win against the submission artist in Lauzon.

Johnson wasted no time in silencing the hometown crowd that were cheering on local boy Lauzon with jabs and leg kicks to keep Lauzon at range and stuffing any take downs he attempted. Over the 3 rounds Lauzon had no answer for Johnson's speed, landing at will with little or nothing coming back.

By the third round Johnson had broken Lauzon, leaving him clueless on what to do next! Johnson produced one of, if not his best performance within the UFC to take a one sided victory on the judges score cards, so much so one judge scored the fight (30-25).

Lauzon offered no excuses after the fight , saying he was 100% fit and healthy, had a great training camp and everything went to plan. It just wasn't his night. Handing every credit to to the winner Johnson. I'm sure this is just a blip in Lauzons career and he will be back in the style we have all come accustomed too.

On the flip side we saw Boston's John Howard returning to the UFC for the first time since 2011 having left a Welterweight, now returning inside the octagon as a Middleweight to face TUF 17 runner up Uriah Hall.

In truth the fight was a stinker! Which had Dana White commenting on twitter:

'HORRIBLE!!!!!!! The high 5 of the night WTF"

With so many eagerly anticipating the Hall that we saw in the TUF series knocking fighters out in style, hoping his loss in the TUF final to Kelvin Gastelum was just a one off. Though sadly it was much of the same.

Hall come out from the bell using his reach advantage to keep Howard at range, though going into round two Howard found his rhythm and showed better striking and wrestling skills to take the advantage over Hall who offered very little in return. The fight didn't get any better in rounds 2 or 3 where the crowd were getting restless and venting their frustrations with chorus of boo's.

Everyone was grateful to hear the final bell and see the fight come to an end. The fight went to the judges scorecards which saw John Howard take a split decision win (30-27-28-29 -29-28)

Uriah Hall is now (0-2) with the UFC and with his back really up against the wall if he wants to stay within the UFC.

Dana White wasted no time giving his opinions on Uriah Hall:

"I love Uriah Hall. I have a great relationship with this kid. He's one of the nicest human beings you can ever meet. He's not a fighter, man. If I could take Brad Pickett's brain and heart and put it inside Uriah Hall's body, holy shit there would be some damage done, because Uriah has all the physical attributes to be amazing. He's got speed, he's got power, he's unbelievable. He doesn't have what it mentally takes to fight here. You know what I mean? He was this killer on TUF, and then he comes into the big show where it really matter and this is going to make your livelihood and everything else, and he turns into a different person. This super nice guy. He was telling me after the Kelvin fight "I really like him, he's a really nice guy. Ok, well that really nice guy just took every fucking thing you ever wanted"

Is this the last we have seen from Uriah Hall?! What do you all think??

UFC on FOX SPORTS 1 Main Card Predictions

Kingdom MMA: UFC on FOX Sports 1 Main Card Predictions

by Ben Heather @benheather, Tommy Strong @Strong_tea and Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

This weekend is the launch of Fox Sports 1 in the USA and the UFC will be a massive part of the launch with the highlight being the UFC Fight Night 26 Shogun vs Sonnen. This card has been dubbed the best free to air (in the USA) card in MMA history. At first I was sceptical but now when you look down the fights that will take place on Saturday night you come to realise that this card is absolutely stacked!!

You just need to look at the names on show to realise how good this card is. Obviously you have Chael P Sonnen and Shogun Rua in the main event but when you look a bit further down and see names like Overeem, Faber and Pickett to name a few. On top of that you need to add in the always exciting Joe Lauzon and Matt Brown who I don't believe have ever been in boring fights.

With everything being said I believe the UFC has hit the nail on the head and I can't wait for Saturday night to witness the best free card in MMA history.

Below you can find the predictions for what some of the guys at Kingdom MMA expect to happen on Saturday night.

Chael Sonnen (27-13-1) vs Shogun Rua (21-7) 

Jack: The five round factor of the main event could be key here. Can Sonnen keep Shogun on his back for five rounds? I'm not so sure he will need to. He will put him there enough for Shogun to become desperate and either tire or force a mistake. I think Shogun can hang around to see the end of the fight but I see Sonnen winning a relatively comfortable decision.

Prediction: Sonnen by Decision

Tommy: This is such a sick card! The fans will be in for a real treat here with so many 50/50 fights! So here goes my predictions:

I'll be pleased when we see Sonnen back at this natural weight, Middleweight. He just isn't a light heavyweight and size again will be the difference come Saturday night. 18 of Shoguns 21 victories have come via knockout and at some point I see him catching Sonnen and finishing him inside two rounds.

Prediction: Shogun by TKO Round 2

Ben: I think Sonnen has been criticised far too much about the fact he hasn't won a fight since he beat Bisping in Jan '12. Yes its now over 18 months since he last won but how many guys fight Anderson Silva and then Jon Jones.... not many guys will be coming out of those with even one win.

As for this fight I think Jack has summed it up perfectly. Shogun has not looked the same fighter recently, in my opinion Sonnen will be able to control the fight to begin with in the first couple of rounds and this will tire out Shogun. Then when it gets in to the championship rounds it will start to become easier for Sonnen.

Yes, if Shogun catches Sonnen he could easily end the fight but I don't see it happening.

Prediction: Sonnen by Unanimous Decision

Alastair Overeem (36-12-1) vs Travis Browne (14-1-1) 

Jack: An intriguing battle. Overeem has to win to get back into contention. Browne is kind of an unknown quantity at this stage. He lost to Bigfoot Silva but that was due to him blowing his knee out. I quite like the way Browne matches up with Overeem and I will take him for the win. 

Prediction: Browne by TKO Round 2

Tommy: Seeing Bigfoot knockout Overeem back in February still brings a smile to my face, though I don't see Overeem underestimating Travis Browne having learnt a harsh lesson last time out.
I really rate Browne but this isn't a great match up for him. I hope he wins , though I just don't see it.

Prediction: Overeem by TKO Round 3

Ben: I have been going back and forth with this fight, both fighters have the ability to finish the fight at any stage of the fight. However, after being embarrassed by Bigfoot in his last fight I believe "the Reem" will be coming in to this fight having put everything in to his camp to make sure he does not gas again.

That being said, I don't think it will be a decision. I see Overeem finishing the fight in the second round after picking apart Browne in the first.

Prediction: Overeem by TKO Round 2

Urijah Faber (28-6) vs Yuri Alcantara (28-4-1) 

Jack: This is a great matchup on a card full of amazing fights. This being only a 3 round fight negates Faber's experience advantage. He should however have the overall advantage in this fight and he still seems hungry for UFC gold. It should be a close fight but I see Faber just edging it.

Prediction: Faber by Split Decision

Tommy: I'll keep this very short and sweet! Faber destroys anyone in the division except Cruz and Barao, this will be no different.

Prediction: Faber by a very one sided Unanimous Decision

Ben: I was disappointed when this fight was made. The fight I wanted to see was Faber vs Pickett and I am hoping with a win for both that we can still see that fight next. As for this fight as Tommy said I think Faber will be able to beat Alcantara in any area he wants.

If he wants a submission victory I believe he can pull it off or if he wants to beat him on his feet I am sure he can cruise to a decision victory.

Prediction: Faber by Unanimous Decision

Matt Brown (17-11) vs Mike Pyle (25-8-1) 

Jack: This is a strange fight and could play out a number of ways. Brown and Pyle are both on really hot streaks right now and whilst Brown is getting the attention I'd argue Pyle has beaten the better competition and in better fashion. Brown fights in clusters on the feet whereas Pyle throws power shots. Should the fight hit the ground Pyle has a big advantage there. In a pick em fight I like the look of the underdog here.

Prediction: Pyle by Submission Round 1

Tommy: This fight has me licking my lips!! If you don't like this match up you shouldn't be anywhere near MMA. This has fight of the night written all over it! Brown has TKO/KO'd four of his last five opponents, Pyle has knocked out three of his last four.
Toss the coin and see where it lands on this one! Though I'm edging towards Brown taking a UD in a back and forth battle!

Prediction: Brown by Unanimous Decision

Ben: This is my prediction for KO of the night. I think Matt Brown will pick up yet another finish via KO. I expect him to come out quick like he did in his last fight against Jordan Mein and pressure Pyle before finding his range and finishing the fight in style.


Prediction: Brown by KO Round 1

Uriah Hall (7-3) vs John Howard (20-8) 

Jack: Hall is the biggest favourite on the whole card. I can see why, but Howard is no mug. If he spots an opportunity he will take it. It will be interesting to see what tactics are employed by both men here.

Prediction: Hall by KO Round 1

Tommy: Uriah will be wanting to put the disappointment of the TUF 17 finale behind him and losing to Kelvin Gastelum in an awful performance we haven't been accustomed to.

Howard will have home advantage being a Boston born , and making his comeback to the UFC since being released in 2011. If Hall turns up like he did against Gastelum, I see Howard winning. Though I think that was a one off and we will see the best of Hall and getting him back in the winning column.

Prediction: Hall by KO Round 2

Ben: I'm going to go for the underdog in this fight again. I called Kelvin beating Uriah in the TUF Finale when everyone thought I was crazy and I am calling it again today.

I think the hype behind Hall from his days in the TUF house was crazy. Some people were even calling for him to jump straight from TUF to fighting Anderson.... Seriously what the fuck were these people thinking!! In the TUF house at no point was he tested, he didn't get put on his back and he certainly didn't come up against somebody with the same striking skills as Howard.

I feel its going to be a pretty decent fight but I believe Howard's experience will be able to get him a win in his hometown.

Prediction: Howard by Unanimous Decision

Joe Lauzon (22-8) vs Michael Johnson (12-8) 

Jack: Lauzon is never in a dull fight, Johnson is prime to be submitted. Lauzon will walk away with yet another fight bonus.

Prediction: Lauzon by Submission Round 1

Tommy: Johnson coming into this fight on the back two losses is very much up against it facing Joe Lauzon. Lauzon is one of my favourite fighters to watch and rarely comes out of the octagon without a fight of the night or submission of the night award.

Six of Johnson's eight losses have come via submission, something that Lauzon excels at. This will be his undoing.

Prediction: Lauzon by Submission Round 2

Ben: Now let me ask you a question, if you had to pick one person to open up the main card on potentially the biggest UFC card ever who would it be? If Joe Lauzon is not one of the first names you would pick then I am shocked. Every single Joe Lauzon fight you can guarantee one thing and that is excitement. Win or lose you will know by the end of the fight Lauzon has given his all (and probably most of his blood)

Michael Johnson is in serious need of a victory and is fighting for more than just a win on Saturday night. The bit which will work against him more though is exactly the point Tommy made. 75% of Johnson's losses have come by being submitted. For this reason I think it will be a long night for Johnson before he gets caught in yet another submission.

Prediction: Lauzon by Submission Round 2

Now we will also predict a couple of important fights for the UK fans. These don't feature on the main card but are the last two prelim fights.

Brad Pickett (23-7) vs Michael McDonald (15-2) 

Jack: This fight should have been on the main card. All the potential to be a barn burner and it really is a pick em. McDonald should have the edge standing but Pickett's movement and level changes are fantastic. He will try to mix it up constantly and keep McDonald guessing. This is my fight of the night pick. Both fighters will have there moments and I guess this will be difficult to score.

Prediction: McDonald by Split Decision

Tommy: I'm a little disappointed this hasn't made the main event, with both fighters at the top of their game so we are in for a barn burner here! My heart would love Pickett to win though my head rules on this one. I think McDonald just has a little to much for Pickett and it pains me to say that.
On this one I really really hope I'm wrong!

Prediction: McDonald by Unanimous Decision

Ben: Unlike the other two I am picking Brad here. I think he still wants to prove he can beat the best in the division and his two losses in the UFC are against Barao and Wineland. They are competing for the belt later this year and I see that driving Brad on thinking..... That should be me!!

I see Pickett come out swinging as he always does and I think the fight will carry on this way for the full three rounds. McDonald is a very game fighter and I hope he also does the same, if he does this will surely be the fight of the night. I am not sure if I think Pickett will get the finish but I really feel he will have enough to get the victory.

Prediction: Pickett by Unanimous Decision

Conor McGregor (13-2) vs Max Holloway (7-2) 

Jack: The Irish sensation is back in action and I can't see him being troubled at all here. Holloway will try to keep this standing and that's a huge mistake. Brimage offered more in the stand up than Holloway does and he was dealt with easily. This looks like the UFC are trying to create a highlight reel for McGregor as they are really pushing him in anticipation of an upcoming Dublin card in 2014.

Prediction: McGregor by KO Round 1

Tommy: I've been outspoken about Conor aka hype train and I'm yet to believe in him. A win over a wrestler who decides to stand with a striker isn't the evidence I need to be convinced.
Holloway only being 21 has a bright future, he was very unlucky not to have got the decision win last time out when he fought Dennis Bermudez in May.
If Conor can take Holloway out in fashion, I might just buy a ticket and climb aboard the train! Though I think this will be a harder test for Conor than the odds suggest!

Prediction: Holloway by Unanimous Decision

Ben: I like watching Conor fight. I wouldn't go as far as saying I believe in all the hype that has been thrown around about him as I still feel he has not been tested against a top talent and I don't think that will happen again on Saturday night.

I like Max as a fighter and have enjoyed his fights too but I wouldn't say he is the finished article yet. I think Conor is the better fighter and I think it will be a fairly easy fight for Conor. If the fight makes the second round I will be very surprised.

What I am looking forward to though is that hopefully after a good win on Saturday night we could see Conor fight on the Manchester card against a serious contender. I would love to see the fight against the winner of Koch vs Poirier which takes place at the end of the month.

Prediction: McGregor by TKO Round 1

Our Predictions for Post Fight Bonuses are:

Fight of the Night - Pickett vs McDonald (Jack & Ben) Brown vs Pyle (Tommy)
KO of the Night - Conor McGregor (Jack) Uriah Hall (Tommy) Matt Brown (Ben)
Sub of the Night - Joe Lauzon (all)

Josh Samman and Clint Hester injured and pulled from their fights

TUF17 fighters are the latest to pull out of fights due to injury

by Tommy Strong @Strong_tea

Ultimate Fighter 17 runner up Uriah Hall will now face his third change in opponent come UFC fight night in Boston on August 17th 2013. After his latest opponent and former TUF cast mate Josh Samman, had to withdraw from the fight. 

Uriah was originally scheduled to fight Nick Ring in Boston, but Ring was forced to pull out due to social security number issues. Josh Samman stepped forward in the fight which we all hoped to see on the ultimate fighter. Samman has now been forced to pull out due to an injury.

Uriah Hall will now face Boston's very own, John "Doomsday" Howard the UFC have re-signed Howard, after releasing him back in 2011 having lost 3 fights in a row at Welterweight to Jake Ellenberger, Thiago Alves and Matt Brown. Since his release, Howard decided to move back up to Middleweight and went on to a (6-1) record and in the process winning the CES Middleweight title and successfully defending it four times.

Another TUF 17 contestant Clint Hester has been forced to pull out with his bout with Cezar Ferreira (5-2) which was scheduled for UFC 163 on August 3rd which is being headlined by Jose Aldo vs Chan Sung Jung. 

Clint (8-3) defeated Bristol Marunde via KO in his debut fight, which was at the TUF 17 final. Ferreira who won the 'TUF' Brazil middleweight tournament defeated Sergio Moraes in the final via unanimous decision at UFC 143 in June 2012. But hasn't fought since.

He will now be facing Thiago "Marreta" Santos. Thiago will be making his debut within the UFC after appearing on the ultimate fighter Brazil 2 series, making the quarter finals before losing via UD to Leonardo Santos.

TUF 17 fighters Uriah Hall and Bubba McDaniel fights announced as more fights added to UFC on Fox Sports events

Two more fights added to UFC on Fox Sports events in August

by John Haigh @JohnBJayHaigh

The first fight announced for the Fox Sports 1 Shogun vs. Sonnen event is TUF 17 runner up Uriah Hall (7-3 MMA 0-1 UFC) vs. Nick Ring (13-2 MMA 3-2 UFC). Hall was hotly tipped to win TUF 17 after some impressive performances in the early rounds of the competition. However, Hall was left disappointed after losing to Kelvin Gastelum in the final of the series.

Now hall will be out to prove it was just a blip and will be looking to get back to winning ways.
He faces TUF veteran Nick Ring who had an impressive run on the show but had to withdraw after blowing out his knee. He debuted in the UFC the following year and has gone 3 and 2 in his career so far losing his last fight against Chris Camozzi by decision at UFC 158. In a fight many people thought he may have done enough to get the win.

So with both fighters desperate for a win it makes for a good fight, it may not be a long fight if Hall is back to his early TUF 17 KO form.

Second up at Fox Sports 1 Condit vs. Kampmann is Bubba McDaniel (21-6 MMA 1-0 UFC) who won in his UFC debut in April at the TUF 17 finale after exercising his demons from his time on the show. McDaniel was given a chance in the octagon after key losses on the show to the eventual season finalists Uriah Hall and Kevin Gastelum.

Bubba looks to prove his win wasn’t a fluke after submitting Gilbert Smith, he was due to face swede Magnus Cadenlad after that bout was scrapped he will now face off against Brad Tavares (10-1 MMA 5-1 UFC). Tavares fought in TUF 11 and has only lost one fight in his MMA career at the hands of Aaron Simpson in July 2011. He has since gone on a three fight win streak following decision wins over Riki Fukuda, Tom Watson at UFC on Fuel TV 5 in Nottingham and most recently against Dongi Yang.

UFC The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale Main Card Results - Uriah Hall vs Kelvin Gastelum

TUF 17 Finale Kelvin Gastelum defeats Uriah Hall by split decision - (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

by John Haigh @JohnBjayHaigh

Most people had already decided the winner of this season before the first bell but most people would turn out to be wrong, after Kelvin Gastelum caused a major upset at the TUF 17 finale.

From the start of the first round Gastelum came out pressing causing Hall to back up after landing several overhand shots before scoring a takedown. Gastelum controls Hall on the ground in half guard landing punches to the body. Hall manages to fight his way back to full guard, Gastelum lands more shots to the body before Hall fights his way back to his feet. Now with the fight back on its feet Hall lands a hard inside leg kick having finally starting to find his range late in the first round. Hall pushes forward and scores a takedown but Gastelum immediately gets back to his feet.

Hall comes out in this round more aggressive working the jab early on. Hall goes for a high leg kick but Gastelum drops down and takes Hall down. Gastelum again works in half guard before Hall lands an elbow from the bottom and reverses Gastelum before standing up. Hall has definitely found his range now landing a knee to the body followed by a left hand, Gastelum wisely drops down and attempts a takedown but Hall sprawls. Fighting for position up against the cage Hall is successful with a trip takedown with Gastelum clinging on. Gastelum rolls and stands but Hall has his back and land a suplex. Gastelum fights his way back up and lands a right hand just before the end of the round.

By the Kingdom MMA scorecard we had it all even going in to the third and final round.

Round three is a very close round with both fighters trading shots in the early going. Hall lands a low blow but Gastelum recovers quick. Hall lands kicks making Gastelum back up, hall lands again with his jab. Hall has his hands down and Gastelum sees an opening rushing forward and slams Hall to the mat. Hall reverses and lands shots before Gastelum scrambles back up again to his feet. Gastelum presses Hall landing kicks and an overhand shot before again changing levels and takes hall down with a double leg takedown. Gastelum postures up and lands a left hand before Hall lands a shot off his back. Gastelum attacks with an arm bar attempt but hall defends it until the end of the fight.

This was a very close fight with Gastelum just edging the judges decision in doing so winning TUF 17 and also the six figure, multi fight contract with the UFC. Gastelum becomes the youngest ever winner of The Ultimate Fighter.

Keep Checking Kingdom MMA for the latest news from around the world of MMA.

TUF 17 Finale: Weigh in results

Weigh in Results for The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 - Finale

by Ben Heather @benheather

 Tomorrows The Ultimate Fighter season 17 finale live from the Mandalay Bay Events Centre in Las Vegas Nevada, is now set after the weigh ins have now made the fights official. The finale between Uriah Hall and Kelvin Gastelum is the co-main event of the night and both men weighed in within the 186lbs limit.

In the main event, a bantamweight battle between Urijah Faber and Scott Jorgensen. Both men weighed in under the 136lbs limit at the weigh ins, and will now clash in a bid to bid to move a step closer to a potential title shot.

Also on the main event, is the second ever women's bantamweight fight in the UFC. A fight between Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano. Dana White announced that the winner of this fight will get the next title shot in the UFC's women's division and will also be a coach on the next series of The Ultimate Fighter coaching against Ronda Rousey.

All of the other fighters made weight when they stepped on to the scales, with the exception of Maximo Blanco who failed to make the weight for his facebook prelim fight against Sam Sicilia. Blanco was given an extra hour to lose the 1lb he had to lose to make weight.

Full list of results from today's weigh in can be found below.

Main Card - Live on ESPN at 2am Sunday 14th April 2013

Urijah Faber (136 lbs) vs Scott Jorgensen (135.5 lbs)
Uriah Hall (185 lbs) vs Kelvin Gastelum (186 lbs)* - For The Ultimate Fighter 17 Title
Miesha Tate (135.5 lbs) vs Cat Zingano (136 lbs) - For the chance to coach on TUF 18
Travis Browne (239 lbs) vs Gabriel Gonzaga (261 lbs)
Bubba McDaniel (184.5 lbs) vs Gilbert Smith (185 lbs)

Prelims - Live on UFC.tv

Josh Samman (184.5 lbs) vs Kevin Casey (185 lbs)
Luke Barnatt (185 lbs) vs Collin Hart (184.5 lbs)
Dylan Andrews (186 lbs) vs Jimmy Quinlan (185 lbs)
Clint Hester (185 lbs) vs Bristol Marunde (185.5 lbs) -

Facebook Prelims - Live on facebook

Cole Miller (146 lbs)* vs Bart Palaszewski (145 lbs)
Sam Sicilia (146 lbs) vs Maximo Blanco (147 lbs)**
Justin Lawrence (145 lbs) vs Daniel Pineda (145 lbs)

* Had to use the towel to make weight
** Missed weight 1 hour to weigh in again

Kingdom MMA: TUF 17 Finale Main Card Picks

 Kingdom MMA TUF 17 Finale Main Card Picks

 by Ben Heather @benheather

Urijah Faber (27-6) vs. Scott Jorgensen (14-6)

Scott: These two set aside their friendship to battle it out in what should be an exciting encounter. Both fighters have a good all round skillset, but Faber's game is honed to a higher level with him being a veteran of a number of title fights. Jorgensen will put up a spirited battle, but we have seen him out-gunned by Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland in the recent past and he doesn't seem to have the quality to break the top 5 of the division. Like Faber's recent non-title fights, we'll be reminded why he should still be considered one of the top bantamweights in the world.

Prediction - Faber by Submisson Round 3

John: In recent fights both fighters have pretty similar records and will be both desperate to score back to back wins for the first time in two years. I see Jorgensen just edging this one. In recent years I have found Faber to fall just short of the mark and get any real momentum going since he lost the WEC featherweight title for the first time.

Prediction - Jorgensen by split decision

Ben: I think this fight is a great match up, both guys like to put on shows and are exciting fighters. My Dad even loves Jorgensen from his WEC days and he is one of the fighters he knows by name. As far as the outcome of this fight, I can only see Faber winning. I think it will be a great war and both guys are very well skilled but i think Faber is a little bit better in all areas. I dont think we will see a finish in the fight though and it wont be through them not trying but we will be treated to an absolute war. I see Faber doing just enough in every round to pull of the victory.

Prediction - Faber by UD

Kelvin Gastelum (4-0) vs. Uriah Hall (7-2)

John: I don’t think this fight will make it to the second round. I know Kelvin Gastelum is undefeated but having seen Uriah Hall’s KO power I just don’t see him maintaining it.
Even thought hall has been defeated twice in the cage both were by credible now UFC fighters and think it will be him that gets the contract.

Prediction - Hall by KO Round 1

Ben: Well I may be the only person who will say this out loud, but i think Gastelum has a half decent chance in this fight. He proved in the house that people underrated him and he is now in the finale not them.

Obviously Hall has got crazy power in his hands and can land kicks that others can only dream of pulling off, but he has not been tested on this show and how good is he on his back. Yes, in the semi final he finished the fight from his back but in all honesty he had already broken Andrews well before that point and it was only a matter of time before he finished him.

 I think if Kelvin can get him down early and work the ground game we could have a big shock here, but at the same time I wouldnt be surprised if we saw a 10 second 1st round KO by Hall.

Prediction - Gastelum by Submission Round 2

Scott: Forget the main event - this is the Uriah that everyone wants to see. Uriah Hall has a lot to live up to after his fights in the house delivering devastating KO after devastating KO. His performances make me think this will be nothing but a similar win for Hall, but there is just a shade of doubt creeping into mind and it's all down to the performnces of Gastelum in the house. He has been the underdog in every fight and whilst not being the most technically sound fighter has always come away with the finish. His only chance in my mind is to get in Hall's face from the opening bell and make the fight a real grind. I don't see it happening though, but there is always that shadow...

Prediction - Hall by TKO Round 2

Miesha Tate (13-3) vs. Cat Zingano (7-0)

Ben: In this fight i see Tate being a step up in competition for Cat and am not sure how she will cope. I think we will see Tate put on a performance and impress on the biggest stage of all in only the 2nd womans fight in the UFC. The prize which awaits the winner of this fight is exactly what Tate has been calling for since she lost to Rousey. Tate has more experience in the cage and on bigger shows so I think we will see the best Tate come saturday night. I hope we get the same from Cat, if we do they will put on a great fight but I think Tate will pick up the win.

Prediction - Tate by UD

Scott: No disrespect to the TUF finalists, but the rewards for the winner of this fight are bigger than any other. A Zingano win is much more interesting proposition in terms of gaining another contender in the UFC's fledgling women's bantamweight division, but I think she'll have her hands full with Tate who I think has the edge grappling wise. Tate can also call on her big fight experience from her time as the Strikeforce champion and should take the W.

Prediction - Tate by UD

John: I’m really looking forward to this fight, I think it will be a close one and turn into a submission battle. While Zingano comes into the fight undefeated, Tate has won 7 of her last 8 fights. And that one defeat was to now UFC women’s Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and the way she’s destroying the women’s division, its hard to hold that against her. With that in mind and Tate having more fight experience I thin she will just edge this fight.

Prediction - Tate by Submission Round 3

Travis Browne (13-1) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (14-6)

Ben: I really felt for Browne in his last fight, I think if he was fit and not picked up the injury early in that fight he could have caused Big Foot Silva a lot of problems.

As far as this fight goes I think Browne will use his cardio and wear down Gonzaga before finishing him in the third round. Gonzaga comes in to this fight with 3 wins in a row, with all coming via submission. In my opinion this has to be what he tries to do if he is going to have any chance of winning this fight. If he can't take Browne down and try for the submission then it will be a long night for Gonzaga.

Prediction - Browne by KO Round 3

Scott: This seems like an epic mismatch with Browne being by far the fitter, faster and more athletic fighter. Gonzaga's cardio was questionable in his last fight and I can see Browne wearing him down early and getting the KO victory quite handily. The only factor in Gonzaga's favour is his BJJ, but I feel Browne has enough wrestling ability to avoid getting taken down.

Prediction - Browne by KO Round 1

John: Having suffered the first loss of his career last time out against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, he’ll be looking to bounce back with a win. And I think if he can stay out of the clinch and avoid Gonzaga’s submissions, I think he will get the victory.

Prediction - Browne by KO Round 2

Bubba McDaniel (20-6) vs. Gilbert Smith (5-1)

Scott: This fight seems like a bit of a grudge match resulting from the events of episode 2 of this season of "The Ultimate Fighter" where Bubba wasn't fully behind his Team Jones teammate.

From his fights on the show, Smith seems like a fairly one dimensional fighter that will be looking for the takedown from the off. McDaniel is undoubtedly the more well rounded fighter and provided he can defend the inevitable takedown attempts could make this a long night for Smith.

Prediction - McDaniel by UD

John: Honestly I don’t know much about either of these fighters but after looking at the stats I’m favouring McDaniel. With both fighters making their UFC debut I think experience will count and McDaniel has far more. Both fighters have had most of their success with submission victories and think it will turn to a submission match with McDaniel edging it.

Prediction - McDaniel by Submission Round 2

Ben: I think throughout the whole series of TUF 17 I didn't see anything from Gilbert Smith that made me think he could be a UFC calibre fighter. That may be down to the fact he lost in the 2nd episode of the series but from what we have seen on the show I cant see him causing Bubba any problems.

I see Bubba using his experience, the fact he trains with Jon Jones and Greg Jackson in his corner to come up with a plan to easily cruise this fight. I see Bubba picking his shots and cruising his way to his first win in the UFC.

Prediction - McDaniel by UD

Quarter final fights announced for TUF 17

With the first round of fights now completed the quarter final draw for TUF 17 has been announced

by Ben Heather @benheather

Now that all the first round fights have been battled out and the wildcard fight has given one fighter a second shot at achieving his goal of becoming the ultimate fighter we now know the draw for the next round of fights. With both coaches having four fighters each remaining in the competition it means as yet there will be no fights set between team mates.... just yet anyway who knows what the semi final matchups have in store for us.

The fights for the quarter finals have been announced as follows: (Team Jones fighters in Blue)

Collin Hart vs Kelvin Gastelum

Dylan Andrews vs Luke Barnatt

Josh Samman vs Jimmy Quinlan

"Bubba" McDaniel vs Uriah Hall

The next episode of The Ultimate Fighter 17 will be shown in the UK on ESPN and you will be able to see both the Collin Hart vs Kelvin Gastelum and Dylan Andrews vs England's very own Luke Barnatt.

This will be a episode not to be missed with two fights in one episode.