Pena injured following "assault", Pennington now faces andrade at ufc 171

Raquel Pennington vs Jessica Andrade now set for UFC 171

by Ben Heather @benheather

Earlier this week reports came out that The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 women’s champion Julianna Pena had suffered a knee injury ahead of her scheduled fight against Jessica Andrade at UFC 171. At the time no details emerged of how the injury happened that was until Dana White tweeted last night

What happened to @VenezuelanVixen at "her gym" is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard. Ranked #10 out for 2 years. #leavethatgymnow
— Dana White (@danawhite) January 30, 2014

The extent of Julianna Pena's injury is a torn ACL, MCL, LCL and meniscus. Though how it happened at Sik-Jitsu Fighting Systems, where Pena trains in Spokane, Washington is still a bit of a mystery and during the UFC 169 pre fight scrum Dana added what he has been told about the incident.

"It’s the worst injury I’ve ever heard of, ever, in this sport, and you hear about those types of injuries in football," he said. "Apparently, when she came into the gym she was training in her gym and one of her training partners, a guy, was saying to her, ‘oh, you’re wearing your Ultimate Fighter shirt, we’re real scared.’ He says that and was talking smack to her and then basically attacked her.

"He jumped on her back, started cranking her neck, and the way she fell her knee blew out. The most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard in my life. A year-and-a-half to two years she’ll be out, and I told her to leave that disgusting gym and go somewhere else with new coaches, new training partners, whatever. And that’s all I know."

All White knew was that it was a man that caused the injured but he didn't know who but in his opinion it sounded like assault.

"It sounds like assault to me, but how do you consider it assault in a gym? You know what I mean?"

When Dana was told of Rick Little's version of events he was shocked at how different it was from what he was told. Little said that Pena didn't do her proper warm up and was training with some guys before he arrived when the injury happened.

"That’s so far from the story she told me right after she was completely hysterical and crying, completely opposite," he said. "Completely different story from what she told me. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth."

Pena will travel to Los Angeles next week to undergo surgery and hopefully repair her knee.

With the injury to Pena, Jessica Andrade was left without an opponent. That was until Pena's fellow TUF season 18 housemate Raquel Pennington stepped up and will fill in against the Brazilian Andrade.

Pennington defeated Roxanne Modafferi in November in her UFC debut, while Andrade got back to winning ways picking up her first win in the UFC against Rosi Sexton in October following a loss to Liz Carmouche in her UFC debut.

A second TUF champion added to fight at UFC 171

Julianna Pena vs Jessica Andrade set to battle at UFC 171

by Ben Heather @benheather

After the recent announcement that the TUF 17 champ Kelvin Gastelum will face Rick Story at UFC 171 it has today been announced that he will be joined by the TUF 18 champ Julianna Pena will also fight on the card.

The first ever female TUF champion. Julianna Pena (5-2 MMA 1-0 UFC) is set to face Jessica Andrade (10-3 MMA 1-1 UFC) in her first UFC fight outside of the ultimate fighter tournament. Pena won the most recent series of The Ultimate by defeating Jessica Rakoczy by first round TKO after coming in to the tournament as team Tate's number 1 pick.

Her opponent at UFC 171 Jessica Andrade is very familiar to the UK fans after her one sided victory in her most recent fight against Rosi Sexton at UFC Fight Night Machida vs Munoz in Manchester this past October. In that fight she showcased her skills as a great martial artist, at just 22 and if it was not for the heart and determination of Rosi Sexton she would have won by TKO. I believe if she put the beating she did that night on anybody else, other than Rosi Sexton she would have been able to finish that fight but not that night in Rosi's hometown. Before that Andrade lost via TKO to Liz Carmouche in her UFC debut.

UFC 171 is headlined by the battle for the vacant UFC Welterweight Title between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler.

John Hathaway vs Dong Hyun Kim Headlines TUF China Finale

John Hathaway vs Dong Hyun Kim Headlines TUF China Finale
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

John Hathaway will take on Dong Hyun Kim at the Finale of The Ultimate Fighter China, in the main event of the evening.

The Finale of TUF: China will take place on March 1st, at The Venetian Macao’s CotaiArena and streams on UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s recently launched digital network which is currently unavailable in The UK. A launch date for the service in the UK is yet to be confirmed.

Hathaway vs Kim where originally scheduled to meet over 3 years ago at UFC 120 in London, however an injury force Kim to withdraw from the card.

One of the UK's most promising prospects, John Hathaway (17-1, 7-1 UFC) had his UFC debut in 2009 at UFC 93, where he defeated Tom Egan by TKO. He followed that up with decision wins over Rick Story, Paul Taylor and Diego Sanchez before falling short against Mike Pyle, who replaced Kim at UFC 120.

Following the loss to Pyle, Hathaway rebounded with decision wins over Kris McCray, Pascal Krauss and John Maguire, however the 26 year old has not fought since 2012 due to an inflammatory bowel disease known as ulcerative colitis.

South Korean, Kim (18-2, 9-2 UFC) enters the bout on a 3 fight win streak made up of impressive decision victories over Paulo Thiago, Siyar Bahadurzada, and most recently Erik Silva, who he knocked in a shock “Knockout of the Night” victory.

A long time top 10 welterweight, Kim's only 2 losses have come to former interim champion Carlos Condit, and Damian Maia, a bout which Kim lost due to an injury sustained during a throw.

The Ultimate Fighter: China features a cast of featherweights and welterweights and is currently airing on Liaoning Satellite TV in China. Former Strikeforce champion Cung Le serves as an a mentor to the fighters.

Fighter vs Writer - TUF 18 Finale

Fighter vs Writer: Michael Wootten - The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 Finale 
by Ben Heather @benheather

Welcome to another Kingdom MMA fighter vs writer challenge.

For this challenge we challenge some of the biggest names from the world of MMA to give us their picks and fight outcomes for specific MMA events. Then they will be challenged by one of our writers, who will make their own predictions. Previously we have challenged the likes of Luke Barnatt, Jim Alers, Mike Wilkinson, Phil Harris, Cathal Pendred and Dustin Poirier.

This weeks opponent was a perfect man for the job and the only man for the job this weekend. He was part of Team Rousey on the current series of TUF, unfortunately losing in the semi final of the show to Chris Holdsworth. He is of course Michael Wootten.

The Scoring
If you predict the correct winner of the fight you will get one point and if you predict the correct method of victory you will get an extra point. However, if the fight ends in a stoppage and you predict the round as well the method you could earn a third bonus point. If the fight goes the distance you can only earn a maximum of two points.

The Predictions

Gray Maynard vs Nate Diaz

Wootten: Great main rematch and main event. It will be a very close fight and both posses different styles but I am a Diaz fan so I am going with Nate.

Prediction: Nate Diaz - Submission Round 2 

Heather: I love this fight, it could go either way and is a perfect replacement main event for the event, even though both guys come in to the fight after losing in their last outing. My main thought on this is whether Diaz can get the fight to the ground if he can it should be his fight to lose but on the feet I give Maynard the advantage. That being said over three rounds I see Diaz having enough to take the win.

Prediction: Nate Diaz - Unanimous Decision

Julianna Pena vs Jessica Rakoczy

Wootten: Having seen a lot from both girls throughout my time in the TUF house I am very excited to see both girls fight against each other. I think Jessica will win via TKO in the third round. I feel her footwork and boxing experience will be the key.

Prediction: Jessica Rakoczy - TKO Round 3

Heather: Like Mike I think that Jessica will be able to dominate this fight if it stays on the feet. How confident I am that it will stay there I am not sure.... Pena looked a beast in the house dominating her fights and getting the wins but was never really challenged. Rakoczy will certainly do that tonight but I think Pena will have enough and keep Rakoczy down to bring home the win and title of first women's TUF champion.

Prediction: Daniel Cormier - Unanimous Decision

Chris Holdsworth vs Davey Grant

Wootten: Chris and Davey are two great athletes that have different styles. Its a very interesting match up but I think Davey will win via TKO in the second round due to his physicality.

Prediction: Davey Grant - TKO Round 2

Heather: For me, this is the ultimate clash between head and heart. My heart certainly is telling me that Davey will win and bring home the title to the UK. As Mike knows unfortunately all too well, Holdsworth is a beast and certainly has proved why he is a BJJ black belt with the way he submitted Mike on the show.

That being said if Davey turns up bringing his A game like he did to make it on to the show and no thinks no matter what happens I will get the win then it will be a very entertaining fight and could go either way. However, I have to go with my head on this and predict a win for the American.

Prediction: Chris Holdsworth - Submission Round 2

Jessamyn Duke vs Peggy Morgan

Wootten: Tough fight for me to call having seen both these girls train and fight. Two similar styles match up wise as both are very competent strikers. Peggy has the size advantage and Jessamyn has the advantage on the ground. I think Jessamyn will win via sub in the third round.

Prediction: Jessamyn Duke - Submission Round 3 

Heather: I like Mike think that Duke should be able to make the most of her skills getting the fight down to the ground where she will finish the fight.

Prediction: Jessamyn Duke - Submission Round 2

Roxanne Modafferi vs Raquel Pennington

Wootten: Roxy vs Rocky is a clash of styles and experience. Roxanne has been in the game for many years now and rocky is inexperienced compared to Roxanne. But I see rocky being too big and strong at the weight and finishing the fight in the first round.

Prediction: Raquel Pennington  - TKO Round 1

Heather: As Mike has said, you can not even try and say that Roxanne does not have the experience on her side in this fight. I think that experience should see her through and help her defend against the size and strength advantage that Pennington will certainly have.

If she does not use her past experience this fight will be very tough for Modafferi but I think she will be able to pull of a decision victory.
Prediction: Roxanne Modafferi - Unanimous Decision


So that's our predictions for the fights, we will be live tweeting on Saturday night as always and we will keep you all informed as to how the challenge is going with latest scores throughout the main card.

Thanks again to Mike for providing us with his picks for this weekends fights and it just leaves me to say.... May the best man win!!

Miesha Tate: An unwanted surprise in to face Ronda Rousey

Miesha Tate replaces injured Cat Zingano for coaches role on TUF 18

by John Haigh @JohnBJayHaigh

Filming for season 18 of TUF Rousey vs. Zingano began on Tuesday but there was a huge shock in store for UFC women’s champ Ronda Rousey. Cat Zingano blew her knee out while training on May 16th.
Rousey did not know about Zingano’s injury... nobody did, it was a very well kept secret by the UFC and when Miesha Tate walked out in the UFC training centre she was clearly shocked and stormed out of the gym looking for UFC President Dana White. She later said she was angry because she thought she was the one being replaced, apparently?

Rousey, though, was pleased with the change.
“This is what we really wanted all along,” Rousey told Yahoo! Sports. “Everyone said an Ultimate Fighter between me and Miesha would be the best. We have a personal history with each other and this is a personal show. For some reason, me and Miesha are intertwined in fate like Ali and Frazier or something like that."

“I think people will look back at this as one of the monumental rivalries and look back at this as one of those things that really cemented women’s MMA.”
Tate said she was disappointed that it had took an injury to Zingano to get the spot on the show but felt she was winning the fight with Zingano when referee Kim Winslow stopped the fight. A lot of people agree with Tate it was a fight full of controversy that we at Kingdom MMA took time to discuss – http://www.kingdommma.co.uk/2013/04/kingdom-mma-roundtable-on-talking.html

Tate said she was thrilled to not only get the spot on the show but also the shot at the tittle and to see Rousey get visibly angry when she appeared.
“It was rewarding to see that,” she said. “I was like, ‘Yay! This is getting good.’ I watched her go to her corner and her corner was up in arms. I was just sitting there in the doorway thinking, ‘This is awesome.’"
“I felt I was cheated a little in that fight with Cat. I had two solid rounds and one not-so-good round. Either way, I felt I was meant to be here and it’s come full circle.”

Season 18 of TUF will be on our screens in September and is part of the new Fox Sports 1 channel in the states, I believe this will be on BT Sports in the UK as part of the new TV deal. The coaches are slated to fight December 28th and that fight could turn out to be one of the most anticipated fights of the year.

This is also the first season to feature women coaches with men and women’s divisions in the competition.
Added to that the rivalry between the two coaches, these two really don’t like each other and have history as Rousey took the title from Tate under the now defunct Strikeforce promotion in 2011. It was that fight which got UFC president Dana White’s interest in women’s fighting. To that point, White had maintained that the UFC would be men-only.

Zingano underwent surgery on her right knee on Tuesday to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus, as well as to clean up other damage. She said she injured the knee as she came down after clearing a short hurdle.

“I was doing my regular routine, my strength and conditioning,” Zingano told Yahoo! Sports by telephone shortly before she was wheeled into surgery. “I was jumping over tunnels that were about 12 inches high. I’d jumped over them like 10 times already. This one time, I jumped up and my left knee came down right on track and my right knee bent outward."

Zingano said she will be able to resume training in six to nine months. She said the most crushing part of the injury is that she will lose the opportunity to fight Rousey for the belt. She said White promised her she would have the first shot at the Tate-Rousey winner.

Dana white said it made more sense for Tate to fill the spot on the show rather than one of the others in the UFC’s women’s division.
“But with Miesha, she and Ronda already had a great fight and they have a history together. They don’t like each other. We’ll make it work. We always do. You know how I say every day when I wake up, I know some bad [expletive] is going to happen? Well, this was one of them, but we’re doing the best we can here.”

Expect an explosive season with these two coaching and the men and women competing on the show all living under one roof.

New TUF series reported TUF Canada vs Australia

The Ultimate Fighter: Canada Vs Australia

by John Haigh @JohnBjayHaigh

It has been reported today that the TUF Team Canada vs. Team Australia is in the works. According to a report on FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight,” “TUF: Team Canada vs. Team Australia is expected later this year.”

Few details have been confirmed as of yet but try outs are expected to be held over the next couple of months.

Apart from “TUF Brazil”, “TUF The Smashes” is the only other international version of the show to be held out of the United States and the only one to have fighters competing from their respective countries.

UFC officials have long hinted at other international versions of the show and Canada has often been mentioned as a participant. Canada has one of the UFC’s biggest followings holding several pay per views a year now for the last couple of years.

There has been no speculation over the coaches for this season yet but keep checking Kingdom MMA for any updates on this story.

Luke Barnatt Interview "I want Francis Carmont"

Kingdom MMA: Exclusive Interview with Luke Barnatt

by Ben Heather @benheather

Kingdom MMA recently had the pleasure of asking Luke Barnatt some questions about his time in The Ultimate Fighter house, his fight at the Ultimate Fighter Finale and what happened between the two.

Luke made it to the the quarter finals on the show losing to Dylan Andrews in the fight of the series but was still rewarded with a fight in the UFC after the show. Luke made his UFC debut at the Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale as part of the prelims just over a week ago where he beat Collin Hart.

Ben: What was it like to leave the UK behind and live in Vegas for 6 weeks with a house full of guys wanting to stop your dream from coming true?
Barnatt: I've always been a bit of a lone wolf and moved around... lived all over the UK and left home at a young age... so it was easy. I was a bit naive when it came to the house, I thought it would be a lot easier than it turned out to be... but I was living out my dream and would love to do it all over again it was a life changing experience.

Ben: Was TUF as hard as Chael described it, "The Toughest tournament in sport"?
Barnatt: 100%... there is nothing in reality that comes close to matching the TUF house, eating breakfast with a group of trained fighters who are all willing to beat the hell outta you to get where they want to be.. having to fight 4 times in 6 weeks as well as be cut off from the world and all support networks is TUF...

Ben: Have you kept in touch with any of the guys from the house?
Barnatt: I made some amazing friends in that house, and we will all have a special bond for the rest of our lives, because there is no one else on the planet who can understand what happened apart from us. I speak to Jimmy Q and Thor the most outta everyone, but I tweet pretty much the whole group every now and then.

Ben: Was it hard not being able to talk to anyone once you were back about the whole series of TUF, even though you knew all the details?
Barnatt: Everyone tried to trick me into telling them things... trying to be smart, but I'm built like Fort Knox.

Ben: I met you in the bar in the Hilton after UFC on Fuel 7 and during our chat you told me I had to watch your next fight on the show as it was a great fight. We later found out that fight was the fight vs Dylan (Which won FOTS and earned you $25k)
Going in to the last round of that fight did you think the fight was yours to be won?
Barnatt: Fighting Dylan was a very important part of my career so far, its the first time I've been 3 rounds with a man who's willing to do as much as I am to win, we had a back and forth fight that was a high pace... but going into the 3rd I remember thinking I had what it took in me to take Dylan out, I searched for a FINISH... not just to win the round and I think that was my mistake... but Dylan is a tough competitor and come out stronger than I did, he was the better man on the night.

Ben: After Losing that fight, did you learn anything from it and work on in training?
Barnatt: I'm always trying to improve and have so much to get better at, I don't think there was anything specifically that let me down against Dylan so I didn't come away with anything I had to 100% get better at, it was a fight and sometimes you lose, I learnt from it that I had more fight in me, and next time I'm in that situation again you'll see that... Unless you've had to reach deep down into the depths of your soul before you won't understand, but I didn't reach far enough against Dylan, I thought I did at the time... but after the fact you realise you have more to give... so next time I'll be able to reach even deeper.

Ben: Do you think it was an advantage for you to have a fight like that and learn from it without the loss going on your record?
Barnatt: 100% I had the best possible outcome a fighter could ask for... I lost in the Quarter Finals got FOTS against a guy who's had 4x the amount of fights as me (16-4) and took him to a 3rd round, it taught me a lot and made me realise after a very short period of time I've really gained some skills and deserve to be in the UFC.

Ben: You met some true warriors while in the house not only Chael and Jon but people like Ronda Rousey and Mike Tyson. Which person did you think was great to have met?
Barnatt: Everyone was great to meet all in their own way. But Chael was the biggest person for me personally, even now when I've spent nearly half a year training with the guy every day he still holds that star power. the man is a true inspiration.

Ben: In my opinion Chael has to go down as the best coach in TUF history, some of the speeches he gave were incredible. Do you think that you have changed not only as a fighter but as a person after that experience?
Barnatt: I don't know about best TUF Coach in history I've not seen every coach to comment, but he definitely had an impact on me as a fighter, I have a very similar outlook on fighting to Chael... a fights a fight, you don't always win but you show up and fight every time. So having his point of view on things was very eye opening I changed as a fighter but not drastically.. it sort of excelled what I was already becoming.

Ben: After you had finished fighting on TUF, it seemed that you and John Maguire were travelling around America training with some really top level fighters in Chael, Vinny Maghalaes and Michael Bisping, who do you think you learnt the most from?
Barnatt: Probably from John... I mean the guys I've been training with are unreal and talented, but fighters are fighters not coaches... I've been getting great sparring and work in with the guys but John is the one who takes the time with me to break things down, talk about technique and really improve...

John Maguire is a World Class fighter with talent in every area of the game... hes not made his impact on the UFC scene yet because he's been fighting above his weight at 170... when he is clearly a 155er so at UFC 161 you'll get to see what John is all about.

Ben: Once the series was finished it was announced you would fight Collin Hart at the TUF Finale, What was the plan going in to your fight at the ultimate fighter 17 finale?
Barnatt: Don't get taken down... I worked religiously with Chael and the wrestling guys over here in Tualatin at defending the body lock take downs and scrambling to my feet...

Colin is a very talented athlete and strong in certain positions, so I avoided them and told myself I was going to work harder than him everywhere and push the pace so he would break. Collin's strengths are his grappling and his endurance, I pride myself on my conditioning and really feel I have some of the best conditioning at 185 there is, so when I hit Collin 119 times in 15 minutes and pushed the pace harder than him, I could feel him dwindle off and need more rest than me, It felt great... Chael has the best work rate in the UFC and I aspire to be the same way. 

Ben: I believe you have been working with Mike Dolce ahead of this fight, what changes to your diet has he made?
Barnatt: I worked very closely with Dolce for this camp, following the Dolce Diet 100% and he helped me cut the weight required for the fight. If you want to know what I ate... then go buy a Dolce Diet copy of Living Lean, because the grocery list is in it... that's all I had for 8 weeks leading up to the fight and now I'm doing it all year round.

Ben: You had Chael in your corner on Saturday night, was that a surreal moment for you?
Barnatt: I see Chael as a team mate now, so Surreal is the wrong word, but when I look at photos etc it does seem strange, if you had told me 6 months ago that Chael P Sonnen would be cornering me for my UFC debut on my Birthday... well you get my point!

The moment that I'll remember most is when I was walking into the octagon and Chael put his hand on my shoulder and said "I believe in you" that was a very powerful message.

Ben: How great did it feel when Bruce Buffer announced you as the winner of the fight at the end and do you think you did enough to edge the decision?
Barnatt: I thought I won all 3 rounds pretty convincingly... but that was because I knew I was fighting my fight, I dictated what was happening.

Collin did not want to stand he wanted it on the canvas, he couldn't get me there so he was forced to stand, he hit me a lot... but he punched like my mother so I was happy to take the shots and hit him back, I landed the more vicious blows and out struck him, so I knew I'd won the fight.... but you never do know with those bloody Judges... Collin was a tough guy and fought a great fight, I honestly felt the UFC should reward him with another fight. 

Ben: After winning your first UFC fight, who would you like to fight next and when would you next like to get back in the octagon?
Barnatt: I want Francis Carmont... Especially after this weekends tragic 15 minutes. He lost to Tom Lawlor and to Larkin but somehow stole two decision victories, he's on a 5 fight win streak in the UFC and people seem to be afraid of him.. that's who I want!

But being realistic the UFC aren't going to give me someone who's 5-0 in the organisation so I'd like to get out of the TUF circuit and beat the piss out of another European Middleweight... like Magnus Calenblad, who's been hiding for over a year telling the world hes a UFC fighter when he's not even won a fight yet... give me him and I'll get rid of him for you.

As for when... I'd fight in the UFC tomorrow. 

Ben: Would you like to say thanks to anyone?
Barnatt: Anyone who has ever watched MMA, spent money on MMA or spoken highly of MMA.

Thank you very much for your time and all the guys at Kingdom MMA can't wait to see back in the octagon fighting for the UFC again.

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

The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale: Faber vs Jorgensen (Fightcard)

The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale: Faber vs Jorgensen 
Date: April 13, 2013
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 

Fight Card
Urijah Faber vs. Scott Jorgensen
opponent TBA vs. opponent TBA - "TUF 17" tournament final
Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano
Travis Browne vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Cole Miller vs. Bart Palaszewski
Justin Lawrence vs. Daniel Pineda
Maximo Blanco vs. Sam Sicilia