Kingdom MMA TUF 17 Finale Main Card Picks
by Ben Heather @benheather
Urijah Faber (27-6) vs. Scott Jorgensen (14-6)
Scott: These two set aside their friendship to battle it out in what should be an exciting encounter. Both fighters have a good all round skillset, but Faber's game is honed to a higher level with him being a veteran of a number of title fights. Jorgensen will put up a spirited battle, but we have seen him out-gunned by Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland in the recent past and he doesn't seem to have the quality to break the top 5 of the division. Like Faber's recent non-title fights, we'll be reminded why he should still be considered one of the top bantamweights in the world.
Prediction - Faber by Submisson Round 3
John: In recent fights both fighters have pretty similar records and will be both desperate to score back to back wins for the first time in two years. I see Jorgensen just edging this one. In recent years I have found Faber to fall just short of the mark and get any real momentum going since he lost the WEC featherweight title for the first time.
Prediction - Jorgensen by split decision
Ben: I think this fight is a great match up, both guys like to put on shows and are exciting fighters. My Dad even loves Jorgensen from his WEC days and he is one of the fighters he knows by name. As far as the outcome of this fight, I can only see Faber winning. I think it will be a great war and both guys are very well skilled but i think Faber is a little bit better in all areas. I dont think we will see a finish in the fight though and it wont be through them not trying but we will be treated to an absolute war. I see Faber doing just enough in every round to pull of the victory.
Prediction - Faber by UD
Kelvin Gastelum (4-0) vs. Uriah Hall (7-2)
John: I don’t think this fight will make it to the second round. I know Kelvin Gastelum is undefeated but having seen Uriah Hall’s KO power I just don’t see him maintaining it.
Even thought hall has been defeated twice in the cage both were by credible now UFC fighters and think it will be him that gets the contract.
Prediction - Hall by KO Round 1
Ben: Well I may be the only person who will say this out loud, but i think Gastelum has a half decent chance in this fight. He proved in the house that people underrated him and he is now in the finale not them.
Obviously Hall has got crazy power in his hands and can land kicks that others can only dream of pulling off, but he has not been tested on this show and how good is he on his back. Yes, in the semi final he finished the fight from his back but in all honesty he had already broken Andrews well before that point and it was only a matter of time before he finished him.
I think if Kelvin can get him down early and work the ground game we could have a big shock here, but at the same time I wouldnt be surprised if we saw a 10 second 1st round KO by Hall.
Prediction - Gastelum by Submission Round 2
Scott: Forget the main event - this is the Uriah that everyone wants to see. Uriah Hall has a lot to live up to after his fights in the house delivering devastating KO after devastating KO. His performances make me think this will be nothing but a similar win for Hall, but there is just a shade of doubt creeping into mind and it's all down to the performnces of Gastelum in the house. He has been the underdog in every fight and whilst not being the most technically sound fighter has always come away with the finish. His only chance in my mind is to get in Hall's face from the opening bell and make the fight a real grind. I don't see it happening though, but there is always that shadow...
Prediction - Hall by TKO Round 2
Miesha Tate (13-3) vs. Cat Zingano (7-0)
Ben: In this fight i see Tate being a step up in competition for Cat and am not sure how she will cope. I think we will see Tate put on a performance and impress on the biggest stage of all in only the 2nd womans fight in the UFC. The prize which awaits the winner of this fight is exactly what Tate has been calling for since she lost to Rousey. Tate has more experience in the cage and on bigger shows so I think we will see the best Tate come saturday night. I hope we get the same from Cat, if we do they will put on a great fight but I think Tate will pick up the win.
Prediction - Tate by UD
Scott: No disrespect to the TUF finalists, but the rewards for the winner of this fight are bigger than any other. A Zingano win is much more interesting proposition in terms of gaining another contender in the UFC's fledgling women's bantamweight division, but I think she'll have her hands full with Tate who I think has the edge grappling wise. Tate can also call on her big fight experience from her time as the Strikeforce champion and should take the W.
Prediction - Tate by UD
John: I’m really looking forward to this fight, I think it will be a close one and turn into a submission battle. While Zingano comes into the fight undefeated, Tate has won 7 of her last 8 fights. And that one defeat was to now UFC women’s Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and the way she’s destroying the women’s division, its hard to hold that against her. With that in mind and Tate having more fight experience I thin she will just edge this fight.
Prediction - Tate by Submission Round 3
Travis Browne (13-1) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (14-6)
Ben: I really felt for Browne in his last fight, I think if he was fit and not picked up the injury early in that fight he could have caused Big Foot Silva a lot of problems.
As far as this fight goes I think Browne will use his cardio and wear down Gonzaga before finishing him in the third round. Gonzaga comes in to this fight with 3 wins in a row, with all coming via submission. In my opinion this has to be what he tries to do if he is going to have any chance of winning this fight. If he can't take Browne down and try for the submission then it will be a long night for Gonzaga.
Prediction - Browne by KO Round 3
Scott: This seems like an epic mismatch with Browne being by far the fitter, faster and more athletic fighter. Gonzaga's cardio was questionable in his last fight and I can see Browne wearing him down early and getting the KO victory quite handily. The only factor in Gonzaga's favour is his BJJ, but I feel Browne has enough wrestling ability to avoid getting taken down.
Prediction - Browne by KO Round 1
John: Having suffered the first loss of his career last time out against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, he’ll be looking to bounce back with a win. And I think if he can stay out of the clinch and avoid Gonzaga’s submissions, I think he will get the victory.
Prediction - Browne by KO Round 2
Bubba McDaniel (20-6) vs. Gilbert Smith (5-1)
Scott: This fight seems like a bit of a grudge match resulting from the events of episode 2 of this season of "The Ultimate Fighter" where Bubba wasn't fully behind his Team Jones teammate.
From his fights on the show, Smith seems like a fairly one dimensional fighter that will be looking for the takedown from the off. McDaniel is undoubtedly the more well rounded fighter and provided he can defend the inevitable takedown attempts could make this a long night for Smith.
Prediction - McDaniel by UD
John: Honestly I don’t know much about either of these fighters but after looking at the stats I’m favouring McDaniel. With both fighters making their UFC debut I think experience will count and McDaniel has far more. Both fighters have had most of their success with submission victories and think it will turn to a submission match with McDaniel edging it.
Prediction - McDaniel by Submission Round 2
Ben: I think throughout the whole series of TUF 17 I didn't see anything from Gilbert Smith that made me think he could be a UFC calibre fighter. That may be down to the fact he lost in the 2nd episode of the series but from what we have seen on the show I cant see him causing Bubba any problems.
I see Bubba using his experience, the fact he trains with Jon Jones and Greg Jackson in his corner to come up with a plan to easily cruise this fight. I see Bubba picking his shots and cruising his way to his first win in the UFC.
Prediction - McDaniel by UD
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