The Ultimate Fighter season 17 finale fight card will take place this Saturday in Las Vegas.
Over the last several days the focus of the MMA world has shifted from the card’s main event and what is essentially a title-elimination bout in the women’s bantamweight division to the actual finale of the 17th season of TUF, which is both a nice “problem” for the UFC to have and something that has not occurred for awhile on a TUF finale card.
Don’t worry, this isn’t another article pondering the legitimacy of the hype and praise that has been heaped upon Uriah Hall; no, the focus here is on one of those “forgotten” fights mentioned above, specifically the Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano bout.
As with Hall’s bout against fellow TUF finalist Kelvin Gastelum and the main event between Urijah Faber and Scott Jorgensen, there is a great deal at stake in this fight.
First, we’ll start with the least important aspect: the rankings. Tate will enter the Octagon ranked No. 1 in the division behind champion Ronda Rousey, while Zingano comes in at No. 4.
Next, there’s Zingano’s unbeaten streak. She’ll enter the UFC with a record of 7-0, but she’ll have something to prove, as the biggest stage she has competed on in MMA was her last bout in Invicta. Tate may not be unbeaten at 13-3, but she is a former Striekforce champion and has faced some of the top names in the sport.
Then there’s the big prize; the winner of this bout will go on to coach opposite Rousey in the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. So, no pressure ladies.
One very interested observer of this bout will be the No. 6-ranked woman in the UFC’s bantamweight division: Sara McMann.
McMann took some time to break down the upcoming bout between Tate and Zingano. Take a minute to see what the Olympic medalist has to say about Saturday’s fight.
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