The 13th season finale of The Ultimate Fighter takes place tonight and features an impressive card for live television.
Here are my takes on the main card bouts and who I think will come out victorious.
Ultimate Fighter Season 13 Championship – Ramsey Nijem (5-1) vs. Tony Ferguson (11-2) – This should be an explosive fight, but I see Nijem controlling the bout wherever it goes. Eventually I expect a submission finish from Ramsey, but he has to be careful, as Ferguson has one-punch power in his hands. Don’t look for either man to go down lightly.
Lightweight Bout – Clay Guida (28-8) vs. Anthony Pettis (11-1) – This is a bout I am very excited about. It should be fireworks from the opening second. Guida has great wrestling, but Pettis has great ground defense and is one of the best strikers in MMA. I look for Pettis to land some big kicks in the early rounds before catching a dazed Guida in a choke to wrap up the win in the third round.
Middleweight Bout – Ed Herman (17-7) vs. Tim Credeur (13-5) – This should be another solid all-around fight. Both guys are tough and scrappy, but the difference will be Credeur’s grappling. I see him out-classing Herman on the ground and eventually winning in the third round with a rear-naked choke.
Light Heavyweight Bout – Kyle Kingsbury (10-2) vs. Fabio Maldonado (18-3) – Maldonado hasn’t lost since 2007 and is coming off an impressive TKO of James McSweeney at UFC 120. Kingsbury is on a three-fight win streak, but his opponents haven’t quite been up to par. Maldonado has more power to work with and will be pressuring Kingsbury often. I look for Maldonado to get a TKO finish late in the first round.
