The 18th finale of The Ultimate Fighter reality show goes down on Saturday from a little events center in the Mandalay Bay facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Fans will need to wait another month or so to watch coaches Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate renew their white-hot rivalry inside a cage, but this weekend still holds plenty of action and intrigue. First and foremost is the small matter of fact that, for the first time, a female MMA fighter will earn the six-figure contract at the end of the TUF rainbow. A male winner also will be crowned, and TUF alumni Gray Maynard and Nate Diaz will battle for the third time.
Holiday, shmoliday. We put up the bat signal to assemble our finest team of semi-literate fight analysts to offer some picks for the main card fights. You know the names, maybe: Riley “Kobra” Kontek, James “The Athlete” MacDonald, Craig “The Canadian Cookie” Amos and yours truly, Scott Harris. Let’s get it on.