by King Hazard
The UFC announced that the groundbreaking season of The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned will come to an explosive finish in the season finale on Friday, December 12th, at Palms Casino Resort. The two finalists will battle it out to become the inaugural UFC 115-pound champion in the 5-round main event.
As the latest installment of the UFC’s signature reality series, The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned launched the UFC women’s strawweight division, and showcased 16 of the world’s best 115-pound female mixed martial artists as they fought to capture the first-ever strawweight crown. The winner of this season, to be decided in the finale, will emerge as a trailblazer in women’s MMA and follow in the footsteps of current UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.
In addition to a world title fight, powerful striker (No. 10) Jeremy Stephens (23-9, fighting out of San Diego, California, by way of Des Moines, Iowa) will take on 14th-ranked featherweight Charles Oliveira (18-4, 1NC, fighting out of Houston, Texas, by way of Sao Paulo, Brazil) in the co-main event.
Coming off a 30-second win over Sam Stout at The Ultimate Fighter finale in April, former STRIKEFORCE veteran K.J. Noons (12-6, fighting out of San Diego, California) returns to face The Ultimate Fighter season 15 alumnus Daron Cruickshank (16-5, fighting out of Detroit, Michigan). Plus, fellow season 15 standout Joe Proctor (10-2, fighting out of Bridgewater, Massachusettes) looks for a 3rd straight win when he meets the always dangerous Yancy Medeiros (10-2, 1 NC, fighting out of Honolulu, Hawaii) in a 155-pound scrap. Additional bouts to be announced, and will include a collection of women’s strawweight fights.
The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. This week, in episode five, an injury forces one of the fighters out of the competition, and opens the door for another to get a second chance in the tournament. The Team Melendez fighters question the severity of Heather Clark’s nagging knee injury. And the storied rivalry between No. 6 seed Felice Herrig of Team Pettis and No. 11 seed Heather Clark finally comes to a head, as they face off in the 5th preliminary fight.
The Ultimate Fighter Finale will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Friday, December 12th, with the prelims kicking off that evening on FOX Sports 1 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Stay Connected