Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche got the main event of a pay-per-view card, countless buildup and loads of mainstream media attention.
Those two competed in the first UFC women’s fight in February. The second female bout in the company history is Saturday and unless you were a hardcore MMA fan you wouldn’t know it. And that’s a shame.
Urijah Faber and Scott Jorgensen, two well-known bantamweights, will get top billing at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale in Las Vegas. Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano? They aren’t even in the co-main event. That distinction will go to Uriah Hall and Kelvin Gastelum, the “Ultimate Fighter” finalists competing for a six-figure UFC contract.
Apparently, UFC president Dana White wasn’t kidding when he called his company’s women’s division “The Ronda Rousey Show.” But this is a missed opportunity, even when it comes to Rousey. The winner of Saturday’s bout between Tate and Zingano will coach against Rousey on the 18th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” and then fight Rousey for the title, probably in December.
There is very little hype being given to this matchup. Tate-Zingano could have headlined a Fuel card or been the co-main event of an FX card somewhere. It didn’t have to be buried on a night of good fights. Tate, a beautiful and talented brunette, is extremely marketable and Rousey’s top rival. Zingano is undefeated at 7-0 and a slight favorite. With some money thrown in its direction, Tate-Zingano would have drawn viewers on its own.
The UFC seemed to jump in headfirst to women’s MMA with Rousey-Carmouche, but took a step back in not promoting this fight enough. That’s somewhat surprising considering the first female fight reportedly drew north of 450,000 buys on pay per view.
Maybe UFC officials owed that to Rousey and maybe they were right. But this was a chance to build a credible contender for her belt and the UFC missed the boat.
Urijah Faber vs. Scott Jorgensen
The main event of this card was supposed to be a flyweight title fight between Demetrious Johnson and John Moraga, but Johnson got hurt and Faber and Jorgensen stepped in. Faber just fought Feb. 23, a submission win over Ivan Menjivar. He’ll put himself in the bantamweight title picture with a victory Saturday. As for Jorgensen, beating Faber would amount to the biggest accomplishment of his solid career.
Uriah Hall vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Hall is the most exciting prospect to come out of “The Ultimate Fighter” in many, many years. His coach Chael Sonnen believes he can contend for the UFC middleweight title right away. First, though, he’ll have to get by Gastelum, who was Sonnen’s last pick. He surprsingly showed excellent wrestling and knockout power as the Cinderella of the season. Gastelum is an interesting stylistic matchup for Hall, who is dynamic with his striking and sent every person he faced to the hospital.
Travis Browne vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Browne injured his leg in his last fight against Antonio Silva back in October and now Siva is fighting for the title next month. Browne must be wondering what if. But the 6-foot-7 Hawaiian has a chance to gain back his momentum with a win over Gonzaga, a longtime UFC veteran.
Bubba McDaniel vs. Gilbert Smith
McDaniel was one of the favorites to win “The Ultimate Fighter,” but ended up losing twice, the second time after being brought back as a wild card. The Jackson’s Gym fighter dealt with the death of his best friend since leaving the house and is motivated to embark on a long, successful UFC career. Smith, his former housemate on the show and a solid wrestler, is standing in his way.
PRELIMS
Josh Samman vs. Kevin Casey
Luke Barnatt vs. Collin Hart
Jimmy Quinlan vs. Dylan Andrews
Clint Hester vs. Bristol Marunde
Bart Palaszewski vs. Cole Miller
Daniel Pineda vs. Justin Lawrence
Maximo Blanco vs. Sam Sicilia
Samman and Andrews were both semifinalists on the show and talented fighters with futures in the UFC. Casey, Barnatt, Hart, Quinlan, Hester and Marunde are also “TUF” products. Pineda is a solid prospect and Palaszewski a WEC vet who always has exciting fights.
PREDICTIONS
Faber
Hall
Tate
Browne
McDaniel
Samman
Barnatt
Quinlan
Hester
Palaszewski
Pineda
Sicilia
Fight of the Night: Tate vs. Zingano
Knockout of the Night: Uriah Hall
Submission of the Night: Faber