A WHOLE HOST of promising fighters have grabbed the opportunity presented by “The Ultimate Fighter” series and are now only one fight away from becoming fully-fledged UFC combatants.
Representatives from the UK and Australia face off on “The Smashes” finale in the Gold Coast, while their coaches from the series, Ross Pearson and George Sotiropoulos, will add some spice to proceedings in their fight.
Over in America, Coach Roy Nelson will have to make do with facing Matt Mitrione after Shane Carwin was injured while Pat Barry, Melvin Guillard and Dustin Poirier make up a decent card in Las Vegas.
A walk in the Parke for Norman?
In Australia, the main event between the coaches will no doubt gain the most column inches over the next few days but the fight between Norman Parke and Colin Fletcher holds significance over here.
Although a win will guarantee Parke the UFC contract, a memorable performance could earn him another fight in the organisation, thus helping to raise the profile of UK and Irish MMA.
The Antrim native’s progress through the series to the final has been rather unspectacular and Parke has yet to really reproduce the form that made him so successful on the UK and Irish circuit.
The fight against Fletcher is the biggest of his career to date but he brings with him a lot of experience for his age. The timing seems right for him to finally reach his potential and hopefully open the gates for more local fighters to make it to the UFC.
Here’s a look back at his fight against Stuart Davies in Manchester in 2010 on a card that also boasted current UFC prospect Gunnar Nelson.
YouTube Credit: Cage Contender
If the intense weigh-in stare-down between Ross Pearson and George Sotiropoulos is anything to go by then their fight should really not be missed.
Both men have carried some ill-feeling towards each other throughout the series and although this probably wouldn’t be a main event on any other card, it should be exciting to watch if nothing else.
Hector Lombard makes a rather more low-key return to the Octagon after his hyped UFC debut ended in a disappointing split decision loss to Tim Boetsch.
Lombard faces strong submission specialist Rousimar Palhares, who could prove a tough nut to crack, but the Cuban should ignite his UFC career with a win here.
“Big Country” looks to swallow up “Meat Head”
Former TUF contestants Roy Nelson and Matt Mitrione headline the finale show over in America this weekend as they face off in the heavyweight division. Both men are looking to escape from the middle order of the division with a win.
Although Mitrione has progressed a lot as a fighter from his stint in TUF, Nelson’s biggest weapon, that deadly right hand, could prove tough to avoid and if landed cleanly, will no doubt turn “Meat Head’s” lights out.
Pat Barry and Shane del Rosario both come from a kick-boxing background and are explosive fighters so expect their fight to be a short and sweet affair.
Both men have a habit of either winning by KO or losing by KO so whoever can land that big shot first has the best chance of winning. The younger del Rosario’s significant reach advantage over Barry could prove to be the tipping point in this fight.
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The fight between Melvin Guillard and Jamie Varner promises to be a stand-up war as both fighters like to stand and bang. A win is vital for Guillard to extend his UFC career after losing three of his last four fights but despite losing last time out against Joe Lauzon, Varner could edge this one and condemn “The Young Assassin” to the scrapheap.
Dustin Poirier versus Jonathan Brookins and Mike Ricci versus Colton Smith make up the main card.
