TUF 27 Finale: Quick Hits

Before I start, I'm pretty sure Daniel Cormier is okay after his fall on the stage, which is mind-boggling how that even happens in the first place. On the other hand, Max Holloway is definitely not okay, so let's hope it's just a concussion and that he'll be back sooner rather than later.

I'm going to discuss the fights that I'm particularly interested in or would like to discuss a little.

Tyler Diamond vs Bryce Mitchell should be a good fight. Both fighters are pretty well rounded, but Diamond is the better wrestler, which I believe is going to be the difference here. Mitchell is such a cool dude though and I'd hate to see him lose, but I think Diamond wins by decision.

John Gunther vs Allan Zuniga is probably going to be rough on the eyes if TUF was any indication. Gunther is a plodding punching bag who prefers to lay on his opponents. Lucky for him, Allan Zuniga seems like the perfect candidate for his style. Zuniga is way too small to fight at lightweight, so if Gunther gets a hold of him. he's probably screwed. Plus, Zuniga doesn't seem overly capable of punishing Gunther on the feet, so I'll go with Gunther by three round lay and pray decision.

Luis Pena vs Richie Smullen is one I am very much looking forward to. Luis was my favorite fighter this season and I believe he would have won had he not broken his foot. He kind of reminds me of Tony Ferguson a little which, and I don't care what anyone thinks, is a complement in the highest regard. Also, Richie Smullen is still shrouded in mystery, as he never actually fought this season. He's sort of like an Irish Ryan Hall. Not much has been made of his striking, but this guy is an animal with leg attacks on the ground. However, I think Pena is a special talent and he's just going to add to the depth at lightweight. Pena by first round TKO.

Montana De La Rosa vs Rachael Ostovich: I'm not gonna lie here and give some corny bland fight talk. I simply don't know a great deal about these two, except Ostovich is currently P4P biggest jugs on the roster, probably, just edging out Justin Willis and Junior Albini. The books say De La Rosa, so I'll roll with De La Rosa by decision.

Alessio Di Chirico vs Julian Marquez was flying under the radar as a potential FOTN candidate, but Marquez's missing weight makes this fight a little sour for me. He missed by four pounds, and is only allowed to weigh 210 or less for tomorrow. He'll still have an advantage though, no doubt. This fight shouldn't be happening due to Marquez's breach of contract, but since it is, I'll stick to the 2018 trend and go with Julian Marquez by 3rd round TKO.

Jay Cucciniello vs Brad Katona: For the TUF 145 lb champ, I like Katona to get the job done. He's bigger than Cuccinello and has shown exceptional ground work this season. Jay's gonna have his moments in this fight, but I think Brad will eventually take his back and finish him. Katona by RNC in round two.

Mike Trizano vs Joe Giannetti: Mike appeared to be the second best lightweight on the show behind Pena, in my opinion. He's had two convincing victories on the show, albeit one was against John Gunther, and has looked great. As for Giannetti, he's good too, with some serious Jiu-Jitsu, but I'm not too convinced by him. He submitted John Gunther in like 10 seconds and then submitted the much smaller Allan Zuniga. His sample size just isn't cutting it for me like Trizano's is. I just wish Trizano would drop the whole lone wolf stuff, as it's quite corny. Trizano by third round TKO.

Israel Adesanya vs Brad Tavares. Finally Adesanya is back, and he gets a large step up in competition against Tavares. Tavares doesn't excel in any one area like Adesanya does, but he's not bad in any area either. He's kinda like, maybe a poor man's Gegard Mousasi for comparison's sake. Adesanya is an expert kick-boxer with seemingly serviceable takedown defense. Plus, he avoided really any damage on the ground from Marvin Vettori, who is massive, when he actually was able to take him down. Any round that stays standing I gotta give to Adesanya. I'll prophesize that Tavares will grind Adesanya against the cage for about 12-13 minutes in the fight with a takedown or two, while Adesanya will score the majority of the points in the striking exchanges. Should be exciting, and I'm taking Adesanya by split decision.

I'll release something similar to this for UFC 226 tomorrow, so stay tuned.