Dammit, who are all you guys again?
Say what you will about The Ultimate Fighter (not like you need an invitation), but the finale shows tend to be pretty damn fun. This season, we actually have two fairly solid finalists, a dynamite co-main in Pettis-Guida, plus a handful of other matchups calibrated for striking showdowns and crowd amazement.
Here’s a quick and dirty rundown of the fights scheduled for this weekend, with a few of those fancy moving pictures that you like so much. Who ya got?
Ramsey Nijem
VS
Tony Ferguson
Well, either this fight is the one you’ve been waiting for, or you’re just wondering what these two nobodies are doing on your UFC card. Tune in to find out which guy gets a contract with the UFC. (Spoiler Alert: It’ll be both of them.)
Anthony Pettis
VS
Clay Guida
If you aren’t looking forward to this fight, you just go ahead and get the hell out of our website. Neither dude is capable of being in a boring fight. Guida is confident that he’ll handle Pettis; meanwhile we’ve gotten reports that Showtime is practicing something called a “Shaolin-McTwist bicycle kick.” Now, maybe we made that up, but maybe not.
Fabio Maldonado
VS
Kyle Kingsbury
Maldonado (18-3) made his UFC debut in October last year, when the Brazilian boxer TKO’d James McSweeney in his hometown. Maldonado has hands of stone and a chin to match – he’ll want to sleepify Kingsbury standing. Kingsbury (10-2) has been tearing up the undercard scene ever since he lost to Tom Lawlor in the TUF 8 finals, plus he’s been getting some high-tech training. This one has flown under the radar, but it should be a good scrap. We got Kingsbu.
Ed Herman
vs
Tim Credeur
It’s been almost two years (and two surgeries) since Ed Herman’s injury TKO loss to Aaron Simpson. Of course, Short Fuse (19-7) is coming back better than ever — they all say that. His opponent will be Tim Credeur (12-3), who is taking a step up in competition after nearly two years away from the cage himself. We’re leaning toward Herman here, but after that long away from the cage, it comes down to who knocks off the ring rust better.
Chris Cope
VS
Chuck O’Neil
The two guys who lost in the semis will mix it up for third place, presumably for a smaller etched-glass thingie and a nice TapouT watch.
Danny Downes (8-1) v Jeremy Stephens (19-6)
Danny Boy Downes steps in on short notice to replace Jonathan Brookins for his UFC debut after going 2-1 in the WEC. He’ll look to match firepower with Jeremy Stephens in a knockout race, which we are totally fine with. Why yes, we would like some popcorn. Thank you.
George Roop (11-7) vs Josh Grispi (14-2)
George Roop has lost to the cream of the crop at 145 and 155, including Eddie Wineland, George Sotiropoulos, and Mark Hominick, so try not to focus on the numbers too much. On the other hand, his opponent is 22 year old Josh Grispi, who was in line for a shot at Jose Aldo before losing to Dustin Poirier at UFC 125. Expect Grispi to return to form Saturday night and finish the fight in the first round.
Scott Jorgensen (11-4) v Ken Stone (9-2)
Damn, Ken Stone gets Slampaged at the last-ever WEC show, and his return fight is Scott Jorgensen? That just doesn’t seem right. Jorgensen is going to make an impression in his UFC debut, especially after that frustrating loss to Dominick Cruz. We’re looking for Jorgensen to score a submission win over Keith Stone’s little bro.
Clay Harvison (6-1) vs Justin Edwards (6-0)
Justin Edwards didn’t last long in TUF, suffering a KO loss to Tony Ferguson in the first round of fights. That’s the risk you run when you’re an offense-first kind of guy. Edwards has never been to a decision, and a fight with Clay Harvison is likely to be the first. Expect a brawl … and a knockout. We’re thinking Harvison, if only because he seems to have a better chin.
Shamar Bailey (13-6) vs Ryan McGillivray (11-4)
McGillivray is the guy that Mike Russel referred to as “the Canadian guy”, while Shamar Bailey has a vanity website. The Canadian guy lost to finalist Tony Ferguson in the quarterfinal round, while Sham-Wow got sniped off by Chris Cope. If one of them pulls of a spectacular finish, you can expect to see him around. Otherwise, expect them to pick up some wins in the minors before getting an invite back.
Francisco Rivera (5-1) v Reuben Duran (7-3-1)
Both coming off losses in their debut fights under the Zuffa banner, Rivera and Duran both need to impress some people if they want to stay on at the big show.
[RX]