The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale Main Card Recap

Within 48 hours, the UFC held two cards in which everyone was saying were going to be two very lackluster cards due to the fact that they both lacked star power. Fans really need to stop saying that cards aren't going to be good just because of the lack of star power because these last two cards have been absolutely outstanding. Nine finishes? Check. Six knockouts? Check. Three submissions? Two wars? Check. A heartfelt cap off the TUF season? Check. 

Seriously, this card was awesome. 

Dustin Poirier vs. Jonathan Brookins: This was one of the best one round fights of the year. Poirier came out a bit cocky and Brookins’ improving standup took complete advantage of that and started to attack. They literally stood toe-to-toe and swung for the fences for almost a minute straight. It was absolutely nuts. When they finally took a break, Poirier caught Brookins off guard with a solid straight punch that dropped him. Brookins went in for a very sloppy takedown and ran right into Poirier’s favorite submission, the D’Arce choke.

Possible matchups for Poirier: This was a huge win Poirier, who was looking for a rebound win after his Fight of the Year submission loss to The Korean Zombie. Hacran Dias, who was supposed to fight Chad Mendes at UFC on FX 6 but injured himself about a week beforehand, is definitely looking for a fight once he heals. I would love to see him fight Poirier in a fight that would lead the winner into a number-one contender’s bout.

Possible matchups for Brookins: With this being Brookins’ second loss via submission in-a-row, there is a good chance that his next fight could possibly be a loser goes home bout. I would like to see him fight the winner of Cody McKenzie and Leonard Garcia which will be held at UFC 155.

Pat Barry vs. Shane del Rosario: What a comeback that was for Pat Barry. Not only in the fight, but career wise as well. After a few minutes of feeling each other out with kicks, Shane took down Barry and almost submitted him on multiple occasions. In the second, Barry was on a mission and hurt del Rosario with a body punch. He followed it up with a huge left that backed him up to the fence. Barry finished him off with a monstrous right hand that put del Rosario as unconscious as unconscious gets. Many were considering this to be a loser goes home fight, and I think that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

Possible matchups for Barry: This guy will always be a fan favorite as long as he is with the UFC. After this huge win for him, I would like to see him fight the winner of Phil de Fries and the returning Todd Duffee.

Colton Smith vs. Mike Ricci: Man, I am seriously impressed with Colton Smith. As Joe Rogan said, “This was the Colton Smith Show”. He reminds me of GSP in the way that he just smothers you with his top game and never lets you get up. He never gave Ricci a chance to ever capitalize on anything. He just completely dominated him from beginning to end; no breathing room was sparred. A judge even gave it a 30-26 in favor of the army Ranger.

Possible matchups for Smith: Now that Smith has entered the prestigious group of Ultimate Fighter winners, he will be thrown through the fast track. Now he did state that he was thinking about dropping down to lightweight, which I personally think would be a brilliant idea. But I’m going to say he isn’t going to drop down. I would like to see him fight Sean Pierson, who is coming off of a decision win over Lance Benoist at UFC 152 and I’m sure he’ll be looking for revenge for Canada.

Possible matchups for Ricci: Mike Ricci was a very hefty favorite heading into this fight and lost in demoralizing fashion. But he is a natural lightweight, so that certainly took a big part in his performance. I would like to see him fight Rafaello Oliveira, who is coming off of a decision win over Yoislandy Izquierdo.

Roy Nelson vs. Matt Mitrione: This was really disappointing. Matt Mitrione was looking really good, landing body kicks and moving in and out really well. Nelson was having a lot of trouble closing the distance to try and land his signature right hand. That is, until two and a half minutes in. He landed a huge uppercut that stunned Mitrione and followed it up with a right hand on the temple that dropped him. He finished him off with ground and pound to ultimately win by TKO.

Possible matchups for Nelson: With the heavyweight division being almost as thin as the flyweight division, it’s very difficult to find matchups that make sense. If Shane Carwin doesn’t retire and heals up sooner rather than later, I would love to see these two finally settle their rivalry.

Possible matchups for Mitrione: With this now being Mitrione’s second loss in-a-row, he needs to take a step back in competition. A fight with the loser of Mike Russow and Shawn Jordan makes sense for it would be two heavyweights on a two fight losing skid. 

The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale Predictions

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Matt Mitrione vs. Roy Nelson: This fight makes me nervous. Its not the fact Mitrione took this fight on short notice because he had a fight lined up anyway. What makes me nervous is that Mitrione hasn’t fought in over a year and is coming off his first and only loss. Roy Nelson has been quite active but his results have been mixed to say the least. This fight is hard for me to pick. I like Mitrione and I think he could have a good future ahead of him and I think we have seen Nelson’s ceiling in this sport. I want Mitrione to win but the safer pick is Nelson. Nelson has the better ground game and I think is just too seasoned. I think Roy will take it to the ground and grind it out. = Nelson by unanimous decision.

Mike Ricci vs. Colton Smith: This season was really bad and I questioned why I was watching it during almost every episode but Ricci is what made me keep watching. He is the only guy who showed true promise (Jon Manley showed some too). I think Ricci is well rounded and has an amazing training camp behind him. Ricci has also beaten good fighters and his two loses are to very good fighters. Colton does not have a good resume. I think with a full camp with TriStar will be way too much for Colton who is a one trick pony…no pun intended. Colton does have a chance to win but it is holding Ricci down for 15 minutes. I think Ricci can do enough in this fight to pick up the win. = Ricci by unanimous decision.

Patrick Barry vs. Shane del Rosario: I love Pat Barry fights. Can’t wait for this one. Shane should take him down and ride out a decision while going for subs but Shane didn’t look all that great against Stipe Miocic. Barry has a great chance at knocking Shane out so cold he wakes up 5 years from now. But Shane has more ways to win. This is a close one for me but I am going with who I think is the safe pick. = SDR by submission in round 2. My Pick for Submission of the Night!

Melvin Guillard vs. Jamie Varner: Wowza. I see this fight going almost identical to Melvin vs. Jim Miller. I see Varner getting it to the ground and ending it there. But Varner needs to be careful because Melvin can KO anyone at 155. But I see Varner playing it smart and picking up a finish. = Varner by submission in round 2.

Jonathan Brookins vs. Dustin Poirier: Fight of the year candidate right here. Both of these guys are super fast and well rounded. I think Brookins has the better ground game and maybe even the more technical striking but I think the ever improving Poirier will come out guns blazing and win a close decision by controlling the pace and keeping is where he likes it. = Poirier by unanimous decision. My Pick for Fight of the Night!

Prelims

James Head vs. Mike Pyle = Pyle by unanimous decision.

Johnny Bedford vs. Marcos Vinicius = Vinicius by submission in round 1.

Rustam Khabilov vs. Vinc Pichel = Pichel by split decision.

Nick Catone vs. T.J. Waldburger = Waldburger by split decision.

Reuben Duran vs. Hugo Viana = Duran by unanimous decision.

John Cofer vs. Mike Rio = Rio by unanimous decision.

Tim Elliott vs. Jared Papazian = Elliot by split decision.

Sam's Picks

Main Card

Roy Nelson vs. Matt Mitrione: Man, I’m having trouble with who I want to pick in this fight. Nelson has yet to really impress me with anything other than his power. His wins over Schaub, Struve, and Herman are all great, but he hasn’t shown any real technique aside from a great right hand. Mitrione has tons of potential but he’s been out for so long and he’s coming off of his first loss, so I’m not sure he can hang with Nelson. I don’t think that Nelson will be able to finish him and vice versa. But the thing to take into consideration is the fact that this is a 5 round fight. Nelson’s cardio is famous for being downright awful. Mitrione is the opposite. Considering he’s a former professional football player, he is unbelievably athletic, fast, and has great cardio for a heavyweight. I see Nelson winning the first two rounds due to aggression and takedown attempts, but then Mitrione takes advantage of Nelson’s gas tank and wins the last three rounds = Mitrione via unanimous decision.

 

Mike Ricci vs. Colton Smith: Like Dave said, Ricci was the only real reason that I continued to watch the TUF season. He’s a natural lightweight and destroyed everyone at welterweight on TUF to get to the finals. Colton Smith is a very strong and talented wrestler but his standup is rather weak. Ricci is very good at all facets of MMA. Colton showed in his fight with Eddy Ellis that he is capable of being KO’d and I think that’s exactly what Ricci is going to do = Ricci via 1^st round KO. My pick for KOOTN!

 

Pat Barry vs. Shane Del Rosario: I really like this fight in terms of entertainment. Pat Barry always puts on awesome fights and Shane is no different. Barry really seems to not be a UFC caliber fighter while Shane shows a lot of promise. Shane will take him down and will finish him with strikes. It won’t fail to be an awesome fight though = Del Rosario via 3^rd round TKO. My 3^rd pick for FOTN!

 

Jamie Varner vs. Melvin Guillard: Oh dear lord am I looking forward to this fight. Ever since Varner’s return to the UFC, he has looked great despite his loss to Lauzon, where he even had a lot of good moments. Guillard is the type of fighter that has shown tons of greatness in his fights but his ground game has always been his downfall. Varner has a great ground game and after an incredible slugfest, Varner will submit him with Guillard’s arch nemesis = Varner via 2^nd round RNC. My 1^st pick for FOTN! My pick for SOTN!

 

Dustin Poirier vs. Jonathon Brookins: Both of these guys are very similar fighters; with underrated standup and a very dangerous ground game, this fight will be very close. I feel as though we have all been overrating Brookins a little too much. I mean, Oliveira completely dominated him in every aspect of MMA and a lot of people felt as though Brookins would win that, including myself. Poirier has finally changed to a really good camp in American Top Team and will be the best Dustin Poirier that we have seen = Poirier via unanimous decision.

 

Prelims

James Head vs. Mike Pyle = Pyle via unanimous decision.

Johnny Bedford vs. Marcos Vinicius = Bedford via 3^rd round TKO.

Rustam Khabilov vs. Vinc Pichel = Khabilov via unanimous decision.

Nick Catone vs. T.J Waldburger = Waldburger via unanimous decision.

Reuben Duran vs. Hugo Viana = Duran via split decision.

John Cofer vs. Mike Rio = Rio by unanimous decision.

Tim Elliott vs. Jared Papazian = Papazian via split decision. My 2^nd pick for FOTN!