The Ultimate Fighter Season 20 Finale kicked off a packed weekend of mixed martial arts action. The card featured many of the women who were present on the latest season of the show to give them the opportunity to show what they can do in a complete MMA contest. With those feature bouts and the crowning of Carla Esparza as the UFC’s first women’s strawweight champion, there are a number of directions that these fighters can take for the future of their careers:
Carla Esparza vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Carla Esparza came into this season of The Ultimate Fighter as a name to watch. With her dominating win over Rose Namajunas she elevated herself to a place in UFC history. Now she has a list of viable contenders waiting for cracks at her title, and Joanna Jedrzejczyk is at the top.
Jedrzejczyk displayed high level striking in her win over Claudia Gadelha at UFC on Fox 13. While the win was controversial and close, she proved that she can give a grinding style fighter a tough bout through three rounds. It will be interesting to see if she can do so for 25 minutes, but her style meshes well with what Esparza brings to the cage.
Carla Esparza vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk should be placed in the co-main event spot of a Fox card that features a title defense by either TJ Dillashaw or Demetrious Johnson.
Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier
Charles Oliveira is a man on the rise within the featherweight division. With his third straight win, he should expect to receive tougher matchups at this point in time. He is a fighter that has the potential to be a title contender because his skill set is strong, both on his feet and on the mat. However, he still leaves some questions that need to be answered. Matching him against Dustin Poirier would give him an opportunity to get prove himself against a man whose stock fluctuates from fight to fight.
Oliveira has phenomenal range that he uses in his striking and BJJ game. Poirier is aggressive on his feet but does not mind taking the fight to the floor as well. It would be interesting to see which man would be able to come out on top and solidify himself as a top ten fighter.
Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier would work as a main card opener for a UFC PPV event.
Jessica Penne vs. Heather Clark
The women’s strawweight division has a wealth of potential contenders coming off of the show. Their exposure from that outlet has created an environment for some of them in which fans are either behind them or hoping to see them lose. With their wins on the TUF 20 Finale, Heather Clark and Jessica Penne could use each other as a building block towards future opportunities.
This fight would serve as a mini-tournament of sorts in which the women coming off the show are reshuffled as future opponents for Esparza. Penne and Clark are two veterans of the sport who know their positions in the future development of this weight class. Their fighting styles would also mesh well enough to create a fight that fans are interested in.
Penne vs. Clark would best be served as a preliminary fight for a UFC Fight Night event on Fox Sports 1.
Felice Herrig brought a large following with her into the TUF house, and while many of the other competitors took umbrage with how she developed that following, the storyline basically wrote itself. Angela Hill is still a relative newcomer to MMA who has a lot of room to grow as a competitor. Matching these two fighters against each other would give fight fans another opportunity to learn about two women with the potential to grow from this past season.
Hill vs. Herrig is best served as a preliminary fight for an upcoming UFC Fight Night event on Fox Sports 1 in early 2015.
With another season of The Ultimate Fighter behind them, the UFC and Fox Sports 1 have built up a new crop of names to watch in the Octagon. These individuals were able to get their hands raised this past Friday, and they have a lot to look forward to in the next 12 months.
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The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale took place on December 12, 2014 at the The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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