The 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter has widely been referred to as one of the best of all time.
From an athletic standpoint, there are very few seasons that match up. The first few seasons of the show featured strong athletic talent, but then the talented fighters gave way to the “personalities” that attracted television ratings. That was fine for TV, but it fell far short of creating interesting prospects coming out of the show.
That all changed last season, when a very good crop of middleweight fighters flooded the TUF house in Las Vegas for their chance at glory. The end result was a season filled with exciting action and at least one prospect who could potentially be an immediate contender at middleweight.
Now, the season is over and it’s time to take a look at the traditional finale, including the culmination of the season-long Ultimate Fighter tournament and a main event featuring two very good bantamweight stars. Check out my predictions in the following pages, and then let me know who you think will win on Saturday night in the comments below.