TUF 26 (A New World Champion) Finale

[The Highlight]

TUF 26 Coaches:
Alvarez (28-5) vs. Gaethje (18-0)
This fight is part of UFC 218 on PPV Dec. 2

The main event will feature the two finalists who will compete for the inaugural women's flyweight championship.
TUF A New World Champion Finale Fight Card:
Main Event
#12. Sijara Eubanks (2-2, 3-0 TUF) vs. #14. Nicco Montano (3-2, 3-0 TUF): Women's Flyweight Championship

Sean O'Malley 8 - 0 - 0 vs. Terrion Ware 17 - 6 - 0
_
#1. Roxanne Modafferi (21-13 MMA, 2-1 TUF) vs. #2. Barb Honchak(10-2, 2-1 TUF)

Gerald Meerschaert 26 - 9 - 0 vs. Eric Spicely 10 - 2 - 0
_
#4. DeAnna Bennett (8-3, 1-1 TUF) vs. #7 Melinda Fabian (4-3-1, 0-1 TUF)
_
Brett Johns 14 - 0 - 0 vs. Joe Soto 18 - 5 - 0

Prelims 8pm ET

#9 Christina Marks (8-8, 0-1 TUF) vs. #6 Montana Stewart (7-4, 1-1 TUF)
_
Andrew Sanchez 9 -3 - 0 vs. Ryan Janes 9 - 3 - 0
_
#10. Rachael Ostovich (3-3, 1-1 TUF) vs. #13 Karine Gevorgyan (3-2, 0-1 TUF)
_
#11 Ariel Beck (4-4, 0-1 TUF) vs. #16 Shana Dobson (2-1, 0-1 TUF)

Unexpected Weigh-In Shake-Up

Among those scheduled to weigh in were Sijara Eubanks (2-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Nicco Montano (3-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC), “TUF 26” tournament finalists who earned the right to fight for the UFC’s inaugural women’s flyweight title. However, Eubanks was forced to visit the hospital overnight and was ultimate ruled medically ineligible for the card, allowing Roxanne Modafferi (21-13 MMA, 0-1 UFC) to take her place in the new main event.​

“Due to medical issues, Sijara Eubanks, was hospitalized Thursday morning and has been pulled from her bout against Nicco Montano at Friday’s The Ultimate Fighter Finale,” read an official statement from the promotion. “Stepping in for Eubanks to fight in the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight championship bout will be Ultimate Fighter 26 semifinalist Roxanne Modafferi.”​

Additionally, Lauren Murphy (9-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC), who weighed in as an alternate early in the ceremony, is expected to be added to the card as a replacement opponent for Modafferi’s original foe, Barb Honchak (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC).​

 

[Kinger85]

still pissed they wasted any chance of Gaethje' momentum by putting him as a TUF coach. After his July performance against Johnson, UFC should have been trying to get him back in there as fast as possible. One of the late September/early October cards.

And come fight time, I will be picking Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez will drop to 1-6 in his UFC career.

 

[Halifax]

Introduction: It hasn't been announced yet as official, but in all likelihood this will be the main event taking place December 1st, 2017 at Park Theatre in Las Vegas, NV. Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje will be the TUF 26 coaches for the debut of the women's flyweight division. The co-main event will feature the two finalists who will compete for the inaugural women's flyweight championship.

Gaethje (18-0) vs. Alvarez (28-5): This fight will feature two already legendary scrappers which is almost certain to end in a KO/TKO. Alvarez is the former Bellator Lightweight Champion who was considered a top P4P fighter before being abruptly dethroned by McGregor's famous 1-2 combo KO. He has since had the controversial NC decision with Poirier back at UFC 211 (which many wanted to see a rematch), but Alvarez is still considered one of the best in the lightweight division. Alvarez will be very hungry after not getting a win since July of last year despite fighting twice and will be sure to give Gaethje all he can handle. Justin Gaethje is the former WSOF lightweight champion who defended his belt 5 times before coming over to the UFC only to turn up a Fight of the Night Performance, as well as the Fight of the Year with Michael Johnson at the TUF 25 Finale. Justin has completely destroyed every opponent he has ever faced (18-0) with an incredible 15ko/tkos. Much like Conor, Justin finishes nearly every opponent, but unlike Conor he has yet to taste defeat. However now we will finally see how good Gaethje really is when he's thrown to the wolves of the lightweight division right?

My Prediction: I feel a lot of UFC fans don't truly understand how gifted a fighter Gaethje really is. He may very well be one of the best P4P MMA fighters on the planet already. Alvarez is a much more dynamic fighter than Johnson is so I feel that will give Gaethje a true test of skill and endurance. I also feel like this will mostly be a stand-up fight with it only going to the ground because of fatigue, but I feel this will only give Gaethje the advantage given his wrestling background. This will be a very exciting fight with lots of kicks and punches with the potential takedown given someone feels they are in trouble. After everything I've seen from Gaethje over the years, it's hard to count him out of any fight and I'm not going to start now. He is a complete warrior and will run through Alvarez getting one step closer to gold!

Gaethje by KO.

I know how gifted Gaethje is. But he also eats a shitload of shots every fight. his chin and recovery are great. Its only a matter of time before he is KO'd tho. A guy like Conor would break his jaw into oblivion with the openings he leaves so Gaethje has pretty much zero chance of ever being LW champion unless Conor abdicates.

 

[The Highlight]

I know how gifted Gaethje is. But he also eats a shitload of shots every fight. his chin and recovery are great. Its only a matter of time before he is KO'd tho. A guy like Conor would break his jaw into oblivion with the openings he leaves so Gaethje has pretty much zero chance of ever being LW champion unless Conor abdicates.

I respectfully disagree. You are right about one thing though... Gaethje's chin and recovery are great, so he'll be able to stand in the pocket against Conor and trade punches with no problem. Does he eat a lot of shots?? Of course he does, but he delivers some real bombs as well. You're dead wrong saying he has zero chance at beating McGregor. I think he may be the only one in the lightweight division that's capable of KO'ing Conor actually. It won't be easy though! The only thing that concerns me however is the forward pressure that Gaethje continuously applies to his opponents and not sure that will be smart against a phenomenal counter striker like Conor? That's what makes me think Justin might opt to take it to the ground, and if that happens it's all over for McGregor. Remember how he tapped out to Diaz? It may be Conor's ONLY weakness is his ground game and it would be a huge advantage for Gaethje's given his NCAA Division 1 All-american wrestling background.

Make no mistake about it however, this would be one hell of a war and one for the history books!

 

[The Highlight]

still pissed they wasted any chance of Gaethje' momentum by putting him as a TUF coach. After his July performance against Johnson, UFC should have been trying to get him back in there as fast as possible. One of the late September/early October cards.

And come fight time, I will be picking Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez will drop to 1-6 in his UFC career.

I can see where you're coming from. Gaethje has all the momentum in the world right now after that amazing performance against Johnson. However that makes Gaethje one hot commodity for the UFC. Almost immediately after that fight the UFC felt he deserved recognition and a spotlight by booking him on this show. Since not everyone is familiar with Justin quite yet I feel like they wanted to put him on TUF 26 so everyone can understand who he is and his background. There's that, and also the fact that there's really know one else in the top 5 available to fight besides Alvarez.

 

[Enigma87]

still pissed they wasted any chance of Gaethje' momentum by putting him as a TUF coach. After his July performance against Johnson, UFC should have been trying to get him back in there as fast as possible. One of the late September/early October cards.

And come fight time, I will be picking Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez will drop to 1-6 in his UFC career.

He would actually be 3-3-1 in his UFC career

 

[Bloodworth]

I know how gifted Gaethje is. But he also eats a shitload of shots every fight. his chin and recovery are great. Its only a matter of time before he is KO'd tho. A guy like Conor would break his jaw into oblivion with the openings he leaves so Gaethje has pretty much zero chance of ever being LW champion unless Conor abdicates.

Well said. Its only a matter of time

 

[JonJonesLines]

Bullshit. I want Gaethje vs Ferguson with winner getting McGregor. Khabib can't make weight, Alvarez got fucking starched and embarrassed by McGregor, force him to retire. Barboza could've just Alvarez

 

[Lucifer Alpha]

still pissed they wasted any chance of Gaethje' momentum by putting him as a TUF coach. After his July performance against Johnson, UFC should have been trying to get him back in there as fast as possible. One of the late September/early October cards.

And come fight time, I will be picking Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez will drop to 1-6 in his UFC career.

Guy has a super exciting fighting style. How can we promote him? I got it! Let's put him on a show that does half the amount of viewers of a Fight Night and shelve him for the next six months!

 

[The Highlight]

Bullshit. I want Gaethje vs Ferguson with winner getting McGregor. Khabib can't make weight, Alvarez got fucking starched and embarrassed by McGregor, force him to retire. Barboza could've just Alvarez

That's what I wanted too! I knew Gaethje wouldn't get a shot at the title quite yet because Conor's off doing his own thing.... but I at least wanted a better opponent. I'm not saying Alvarez is bad but Gaethje deserves a title contender fight! We all know Khabib won't make weight and takes him too long to fight so that Ferguson vs. Khabib match is already in jeopardy.

 

[The Highlight]

That's what I wanted too! I knew Gaethje wouldn't get a shot at the title quite yet because Conor's off doing his own thing.... but I at least wanted a better opponent. I'm not saying Alvarez is bad but Gaethje deserves a title contender fight! We all know Khabib won't make weight and takes him too long to fight so that Ferguson vs. Khabib match is already in jeopardy.

Alright, so I had a feeling the Tony vs. Khabib fight wasn't going to happen... and guess what I was right!! Ferguson vs. Lee for the interim title??????? like WTF are you for real?? I'm sorry but that makes absolutely no sense. First of all I feel like you should have to AT LEAST beat somebody in the top 5 to get a title shot! The only significant fighter Lee has beat is CHIESA!!! And now this makes the Gaethje vs. Alvarez fight pretty meaningless because the winner most likely won't get a title shot because who the hell knows when Conor will return right? And both Khabib and Diaz want to fight Conor next.

Honestly I think the UFC will set up a McGregor vs. Diaz trilogy fight because that's the biggest $ fight. So that means the winner of Ferguson/Lee will fight the winner of Gaethje/Alvarez I guess?? The only other contender would be Barboza but he's still recovering from his injury but I heard rumors they'll match him up against Khabib just to keep Khabib active. But you see what the problem now is now... there are way too many worthy contenders that aren't getting their due by getting a chance at the title all because Conor is away.

 

[Streeter]

Can't see where Alvarez fights this. Gaethe has him everywhere. This ends in first rd ko.

 

[Janderson Jilva]

Sean O'Malley has a lot of potential.

All he does on social media is smoke weed though kinda worries me.

 

[Rox22]

I can't wait to see this fight. Both fighters are great and exciting. I think TUF is cool because it gives the coach a chance to be promoted more than just normal fight stuff. As a viewer, I always learn more about coaches and their personalities from watching TUF interviews and how they interact with everybody on the show.

 

[SaigeVanZant]

Shouldn't the main be the title fight? I could see Eddie vs. Justin co headline 218 the next night.

 

[The Highlight]

Shouldn't the main be the title fight? I could see Eddie vs. Justin co headline 218 the next night.

You could be right, still waiting to see how UFC does the scheduling that weekend.

 

[Kanes]

I know how gifted Gaethje is. But he also eats a shitload of shots every fight. his chin and recovery are great. Its only a matter of time before he is KO'd tho. A guy like Conor would break his jaw into oblivion with the openings he leaves so Gaethje has pretty much zero chance of ever being LW champion unless Conor abdicates.

Conor abdigates? You're such a little joker aren't you? He'd sooner defend than abdigate(relinquish actually) and he's not doing that any time soon. He bitched and moaned like a schoolgirl when he was finally stripped of the featherweight title which he had no intentions of ever defending.

 

[Halifax]

Conor abdigates? You're such a little joker aren't you? He'd sooner defend than abdigate(relinquish actually) and he's not doing that any time soon. He bitched and moaned like a schoolgirl when he was finally stripped of the featherweight title which he had no intentions of ever defending.

Apparently you have a reading comprehension issue

 

[Ramon Antonio]

I know how gifted Gaethje is. But he also eats a shitload of shots every fight. his chin and recovery are great. Its only a matter of time before he is KO'd tho. A guy like Conor would break his jaw into oblivion with the openings he leaves so Gaethje has pretty much zero chance of ever being LW champion unless Conor abdicates.

If he survives for two rounds Gaethje will knock Conor out. We all know Conor gasses hard and Gaethje will continue to pressure.

 

[HelterSkelter]

The Gaethje vs Alvarez fight is going to be in Detroit on December 2nd for UFC 218 not in Las Vegas for Tuf 26 finale. PPV should be strong for this one.