Tonight, the semifinals of season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter will conclude in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions.
In the bantamweight division, Johnny Bedford and John Dodson will face off for a spot in the finals opposite T.J. Dillashaw, and in the featherweight division, Bryan Caraway will fight Diego Brandao for a spot against Dennis Bermudez.
The bantamweight matchup between Bedford (17-9-1) and Dodson (11-5) is an interesting one. Bedford comes into the fight with more experience and a huge size advantage.
On the ground and standing, I give the edge to Bedford, as he can use his size and superior grappling to control Dodson. However, should Bedford prove unable to hold Dodson down, there’s still a huge reach advantage Dodson would have to overcome.
I give this fight to Johnny Bedford via unanimous decision. He’ll move on to face Dillashaw Saturday night.
The featherweight matchup features Bleacher Report’s own Bryan Caraway (15-5) against Diego Brandao (13-7). This is a matchup between two of the top guys on the show, as Caraway had hoped to face Brandao at the finale.
Many people are expecting Brandao to win this one, as he has proven to be a terrifying man to stand across the cage from. However, I’m going to pick the upset here and say Brian Caraway wins via second-round submission.
Caraway moves on to face Bermudez in the finals.
The Ultimate Fighter airs tonight on Spike at 10 p.m. (EST).
Tim McTiernan is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on twitter @tmt2393.
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