By Anyaa Carter 
I have watched 20 minutes of this whole TUF season. So of course this makes me totally qualified to talk about the finale. Hasn’t TUF become the red headed step child for MMA fans? It’s there. We acknowledge it but only when it’s paired with something we care about. For some reason, the hardcore MMA fan in me wants to be on the record about 3 or 5 of these fights. I might need to talk to someone after this.
Daniel Downes vs. Jeremy Stephens
Any Duke Roufus product fighting gets my attention. Any under Zuffa contracted fighter who takes a meaningless warm up fight in the Midwest will get a tip of the hat. (This is greater than my attention) How old school of Downes to say “Screw it, I want to fight now and I’m not on any cards so I’ll go beat up a local dude?” Well, he gets to step in for a injured Brookins on Saturday against Lil’ Heathen (one of the worst nicknames in the sport) It sucks Jeremy wasn’t able to hype this fight by calling anyone the “n” word but this is a legitimate opponent for the seasoned lightweight. At what point do we call him a stepping stone though? If Danny Boy is able to win the scrambles and not get dragged into a sloppy stand up war with Stephens, he could cement Lil Heathens stepping stone status in the UFC LW division.
Scott Jorgensen vs. Ken Stone
Scott’s first fight after the five round majority decision loss against Dominick Cruz should look like his fight against Chad George. “Mommy I want to see the bad man fly!”
George Roop vs. Josh Grispi
I don’t know if a win over Roop gets the Grispi hype train back on track but it would be nice to be reminded of why Grispi used to be a title contender at 145. I expect Roop to use his length to try to pick apart Grispi. For some reason though, I see Grispi hitting a well timed guillotine on the TUF vet. I already hear a train whistle…..
Fabio Maldonado vs. Kyle Kingsbury
This might quench my need for violence Saturday night. Maldonado has significant boxing experience in his back pocket but then again he’s been beating up bums in Brazil. This is a tough test for Kingsbury. I think it may be too tall of task for the TUF vet.
Ed Herman vs. Tim Credeur
Ed Herman is back huh? I smell fight of the night bonus for this fight. (This is dripping in sarcasm)
Anthony Pettis vs. Clay Guida
This is a simple MMA math equation: Clay Guida’s marginal takedowns + Pettis’ array of offensive skills= Trouble for the Cave Man. It’s not that he can’t win but honestly how does he? I could see him lasting all three rounds with Showtime but does he win? No.
Despite the lack of top 10 match ups, this is a perfect amuse bouche to start a lavish month of MMA.
