On Friday, December 12th the UFC will hold the twentieth addition of The Ultimate Fighter Finale. This season was one of the most anticipated coming in. It was the first season to feature entirely women and it will also be the first season to crown a champion at the end. The sixteen women were seeded and placed into a bracket where they fought for supremacy.

In the night’s main event, we will see the finals of that tournament when Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas clash to become the first ever UFC women’s strawweight champion. Esparza came into the season as the number one seed and picked up wins over Angela Hill, Tecia Torres, and Jessica Penne. Esparza was the Invicta FC champion and gave up her title to pursue this opportunity. Namajunas is certainly coming into this fight with an experience disadvantage, but her flashy style and tendency to finish fights made her a fan favorite over the course of the season. The number seven seed defeated Alex Chambers, JoAnne Calderwood, and Randa Markos to earn her spot in the finals.

The night’s co-main event will also be an interesting showdown as featherweights Jeremy Stephens and Charles Oliveira fight to move up the rankings. Stephens had what many would consider a career-best performance last time out in a losing effort against Cub Swanson. That was Stephens’ first loss at featherweight. Upon moving down to 145 pounds, Stephens won three straight including a highlight reel knockout over Rony “Jason”. Oliveira is back on a winning streak after losing two straight to Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar. The Brazilian has since rebounded with two straight submission victories over Andy Ogle and Hatsu Hioki.

The night will also feature a multitude of matchups from competitors from TUF including a matchup between semi-final losers, Jessica Penne and Randa Markos.

The main card kicks off on Friday night at 9 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 with preliminary action airing on Fox Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass beginning at 6 p.m. ET.

Above is video of the official weigh-in with full results below. (video is courtesy of the UFC)

FULL RESULTS
Carla Esparza (115) vs. Rose Namajunas (115) – For inaugural UFC strawweight title
Charles Oliveira (147)** vs. Jeremy Stephens (146)
Daron Cruickshank (156) vs. K.J. Noons (156)
Yancy Medeiros (155.5) vs. Joe Proctor (156)
Jessica Penne (115.5) vs. Randa Markos (116)
Lisa Ellis (115) vs. Felice Herrig (115)
Heather Jo Clark (115.5) vs. Bec Rawlings (116)
Joanne Calderwood (116) vs. Seo Hee Ham (114.5)
Angela Magana (115.5) vs. Tecia Torres (115.5)
Alex Chambers (114.5) vs. Aisling Daly (118)*
Angela Hill (115.5) vs. Emily Kagan (116)

*Misses weight, loses 20% of purse

About The Author

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José began his career as a mixed martial arts journalist while still enrolled at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University. Since graduating in May 2013, he has attended dozens of high profile UFC fight cards as a credentialed member of the media, providing live cage side coverage through his articles and videos. His work has appeared on UFC.com, ArizonaSports.com and AZCentral. He is also currently one of the main contributors on Power MMA Show at Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, one of the first all MMA radio shows on a major radio station.