The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale goes down this Saturday night in Las Vegas and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights below.
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Main Card:
Urijah Faber vs. Scott Jorgensen
Always interesting when two friends who’ve also trained together fight, particularly when they are two of the best fighters in the bantamweight division.
This should be a very competitive, dynamic scrap, but Faber’s always been slightly ahead of Jorgensen in the pecking order and I think he’ll prove to be a little more effective in his striking, a little slicker in the scrambles on the mat and a little smarter in the way he adapts to the ebb and flow of the battle to claim a decision win.
Urijah Faber to win by decision.
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Uriah Hall vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Hall’s coming into the Ultimate Fighter final with a lot of hype after an unparalleled reign of destruction during the 17th season of the show and rightly so. That doesn’t mean he’s necessarily going to take the middleweight division by storm – he needs time to develop – but against TUF level competition he certainly looks the part and I see that being the case here too.
Gastelum’s not technical enough to cope with Hall on the feet and would be better off looking to take this fight to the mat. Hall’s stronger and quicker though and I think he keeps this one standing and offers up a second round finish.
Uriah Hall to win by TKO in Rd2
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Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano
The armbar loss to Rousey seemed to take a lot out of Tate and she looked out of sorts in her last fight despite getting the win and had been talking about taking time off after that. However, the offer from the UFC seems to have rejuvenated her and at her best she’s tough to beat with good wrestling, stamina and a never-say-die attitude.
She’ll have to be back to her best as while Zingano hasn’t had much time to shine in the spotlight until now she is worthy of this shot and has the potential to cause an upset here with her submissions and aggressive style. Despite her loss to Rousey, Tate has actually been pretty savvy with her submission defense over the years though and I think she’ll limit Zingano’s opportunities and edge out a decision win.
Miesha Tate to win by decision.
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Travis Browne vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Gonzaga’s experienced something of a resurgence of late having gone back to his submission roots and if he sticks to that then he’s certainly a dangerous opponent.
Browne’s the better striker though and his power could be a real problem for Gonzaga who’s not got the best chin. If he can stuff a couple of takedowns from Gonzaga then the Brazilian will become disheartened and Browne should be able to capitalize with his heavy hands in the ensuing striking exchanges.
Travis Browne to win by TKO in Rd2.
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Bubba McDaniel vs. Gilbert Smith
McDaniel’s got a big experience advantage heading into this fight and that could be an important factor under the bright lights of the Octagon.
Both men are at their best on the mat with submissions, but that could well lead to something of a stalemate here. I think McDaniel has a little more in his locker though and will edge a decision win.
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Prelims:
Josh Samman vs. Kevin Casey
Luke Barnatt vs. Collin Hart
Dylan Andrews vs. Jimmy Quinlan
Clint Hester vs. Bristol Marunde
Cole Miller vs. Bart Palaszewski
Sam Sicilia vs. Maximo Blanco
Justin Lawrence vs. Daniel Pineda
