TUF 18 Finale: 5 Reasons to Watch
Another season of The Ultimate Fighter is set to come to an end this weekend, as the historic season that featured women for the first time wraps up.
The card features plenty of alumni from different seasons, including Season Five, the live fifteenth season and the first Brazilian edition.
Not only will those participants be showcased, but those who took part in this season's cast will get a chance to show off their skills.
Here are five reasons you need to watch TUF 18 Finale this Saturday on Fox Sports 1.
The Unofficial Rubber Match
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The main event for this card was originally supposed to be a rematch for the UFC Flyweight Championship between Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez.
However, when the main event of UFC on Fox 9 fell out of place, they were pushed back to that event, leaving the main slot open.
That is where the unofficial rubber match between Nate Diaz and Gray Maynard came to be the main event. Both are top lightweights looking to reverse recent misfortunes.
Their first fight came in an exhibition bout that took place on TUF 5.
Diaz was able to utilize a guillotine choke to tap out Maynard and would eventually move on to win the entire show.
They had a rematch at UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs. Diaz in January of 2010. It was a close back-and-forth bout, but Maynard came out on top when it was all said and done.
These two will settle their competitive rivalry come main event time. It will be the power game of Maynard against the technical cardio game of Diaz.
TUF Finals Bouts
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With two different classes being showcased this season, the men's and women's bantamweight division, we will be treated to two TUF finals bouts.
As of the writing of this piece, only one final has been set.
For the men, we have Team Alpha Male's Chris Holdsworth taking on England's Davey Grant. This fight represents a Team Tate member vs. a Team Rousey member.
Holdsworth has easily been the most impressive male member during this season.
He choked out eventual teammate Louis Fisette to get into the house before outstriking and submitting Chris Beal in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he quickly dismantled Michael Wootten, tapping him out in the first round. All three of his wins came in the first stanza.
Grant's road was a tad easier, but that was not entirely up to him.
After dominating Danny Martinez and tapping him to get into the house, Grant tapped out Fisette in the quarterfinals to set up a bout with teammate Anthony Gutierrez. However, his fellow Team Rousey rep could not make weight, leaving the visibly upset Grant with a bye to the finals.
As for the women, Jessica Rakoczy and Raquel Pennington are set to do battle Wednesday night to decide who will slug it out with Julianna Pena.
Pena made it into the house by decisioning a bigger Gina Mazany. After making it into the house, she repeatedly won fights in which she was the underdog.
After falling behind on the scorecards, Pena came back to submit a visibly exhausted and heavily favored Shayna Baszler. Then, she avenged a loss earlier in her career against teammate Sarah Moras, battering the Canadian and choking her out.
Say what you will about the TUF format, but this season was refreshing and the finals should be interesting bouts.
The Rest of the Field
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For those who didn't make the finals, they will likely be given a second chance come finale time.
This is a definite as only six pro bouts have been announced, plus the two finals of the show.
That leaves four or five spots open for fights, which the cast members should take.
Two of the fighters will obviously not be taking part, as they missed weight and were kicked off the show. Those two men were Anthony Gutierrez and Cody Bollinger.
However, all the women are in good favor and could fill the light-on-occupants women's division in the UFC.
The loser of Jessica Rakoczy vs. Raquel Pennington will likely fight Roxanne Modafferi, as Shayna Baszler and Sarah Moras are hurt and will wait to make their debuts at a later date. This would add to the announced bout between teammates Jessamyn Duke and Peggy Morgan.
As for the men, the only ones left from the field are Chris Beal, Michael Wootten, Josh Hill and Louis Fisette. One could assume that Tim Gorman may return, as he became injured after the elimination round.
Either way, there were some talented people on this season. Tune in to see who pans out and who can't handle the cut.
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Intriguing Debuts
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In addition to the cast members who will be making their official UFC debuts, there are six others who are set to make their UFC premieres at this event.
A pair of newly signed flyweights are set to compete on short notice, as Josh Sampo takes on Ryan Benoit.
Although Benoit has good upside, Sampo is the real catch here, as he is considered a top—if not the top—flyweight outside the UFC.
A couple of new heavyweights will also square off, as Jared Rosholt takes on Walter Harris. Both men will add youth and depth to a light-on-talent division, as both men are hard hitters and athletic fighters.
TUF 15 alum Drew Dober will make his debut on short notice, as the normal lightweight moves up to 170 to take on Sean Spencer.
He takes the bout on short notice after injuries to Zak Cummings and Sergio Moraes were forced to bow out of their scheduled appearances.
Lastly, top Finnish prospect Tom Niinimaki is set to make his anticipated UFC debut opposite of jiu-jitsu ace Rani Yahya. It will be a tough test, but at least we will get to see the potential and hype that the Finn brings with him to the UFC.
It's Free!
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How can you be disappointed when a card is on free TV?
The simple answer is you can't because even if you don't like the card, you don't have to watch it!
Usually the finales of TUF are among the most exciting cards due to the balls-to-the-wall efforts from the fighters and glimpse into the future we get by watching all these prospects.
You don't have to pay to watch this. All you need is cable, a TV, some free time and a couple of brewskis (if you are of age, of course) to have a good night.
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