The first event of International Fight Week kicks off Friday with the Ultimate Fighter 25 Redemption Finale, live from Las Vegas. Cageside Press has our staff picks in — check below to see who we’ve got!
The TUF 25 finale is a mixed bag of fights, and our writers picked a couple of clean sweeps among the six main card fights. Former WSOF lightweight champion Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Johnson was the toughest decision of the bunch, while no one saw the night going against Marcel Fortuna.
| Staff Writers | Jordan Johnson vs. Marcel Fortuna | Brad Tavares vs. Elias Theodorou | Jared Cannonier vs. Nick Roehrick | Marc Diakiese vs. Drakkar Klose | Dhiego Lima vs. Jesse Taylor | Michael Johnson vs. Justin Gaethje |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Anderson (24-17) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Dan Doherty (25-16) | | | |  |  |  |
| Mike McClory (18-17) | | | | | | |
| Heath Harshman (27-14) | | | | | | |
| Harry Davies (24-17) | |  | | | | |
| Paarth Pande (22-13) | | | | | | |
| Jason Payne (13-7) | | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (25-16) | | | | | | |
Aside from Marcel Fortuna getting the clean sweep (no doubt thanks to his big KO of Anthony Hamilton earlier this year), our staff also sees a clean sweep for Jared Cannoier. Once again, that’s no big surprise, as Cannonier’s original opponent, Canadian ex-hockey enforcer Steve Bosse was forced out of the card last minute. Replacement Nick Roehrick is undefeated, but taking this bout on very short notice.
The co-main event, and finale of The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption sees Jesse Taylor taking on Dhiego Lima. Only three of our writers see this going in favor of Lima; are too many jumping on the nostalgia train, or can JT Money cash in Friday?
The main event was 4-4 in favor of Gaethje among the writers checking in. For our main card breakdown, click here, and check back this evening for results and recaps of the night’s action.
