Middleweight Bout: Brad Tavares (17-4) vs. Israel Adesanya (13-0)
Nolan Howell: Tavares is a decent enough wrestler to get this to the ground if he wants to, but his game relies more on striking and Adesanya has shown fairly capable of shrugging off takedowns with his kickboxing angles. Having faced better wrestlers than the likes of Tavares, Adesanya will be able to keep him away and pepper him as he comes in with his reach advantage. Adesanya wears him down and gets him out. Israel Adesanya by second-round TKO.
The Ultimate Fighter Lightweight Finals: Joe Giannetti (6-0) vs. Mike Trizano (6-0)
Nolan: Giannetti was one of the more impressive prospects on this season of TUF, scoring submission wins in the first rounds of both his tournament bouts. Trizano will likely be the better striker of the two, but Giannetti should be able to catch him slipping with a quick submission. Joe Giannetti by first-round submission.
The Ultimate Fighter Featherweight Finals: Brad Katona (6-0) vs. Jay Cuccinello (8-0)
Nolan: Cucciniello looked really unimpressive after he got bounced in the first round, but scored a TKO victory as an injury replacement to get to the finals. Katona managed to submit Bryce Mitchell, who lapped Cucciniello and looked to be one of the better fighters on the show at that point. Katona should have the advantage just off that. Brad Katona by unanimous decision.
Featherweight Bout: Alex Caceres (13-11) vs. Martin Bravo (11-1)
Nolan: At his best, Caceres should be able to take a guy like Bravo easily, but it is really hard to tell what version of Caceres you will get on a given fight. He is not a stable fighter and his cautious approach at times can cost him, especially against a finisher like Bravo. Still, as the more talented of the two, Caceres should be able to take advantage. Alex Caceres by unanimous decision.
Women’s Flyweight Bout: Barb Honchak (10-3) vs. Roxanne Modafferi (21-14)
Nolan: While Modafferi has shown great improvements after her TUF run and seems to be patching together a serviceable stand-up game, Honchak owns a submission win over Modafferi before and beat her at her own game. Despite aging and a bad loss against Lauren Murphy after a long layoff and stint in the TUF house, Honchak is still the fighter with the higher ceiling overall. Barb Honchak by unanimous decision.
190lb Catchweight Bout: Alessio Di Chirico (11-2) vs. Julian Marquez (7-1)
Nolan: Marquez is the more impressive fighter on paper, coming off the DWTCS or whatever the hell the initials are. Julian Marquez by first-round TKO.
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