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TUF 5: Finale

Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale
Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, NV
Sat, Jun 23, 2007
9PM EST on SpikeTV

Main Event:
BJ Penn vs. Jens Pulver

Undercard:
Roger Huerta vs. Doug Evans
Manny Gamburyan vs. Nate Diaz
Floyd Sword vs. Thales Leites
Brandon Melendez vs. Joe Lauzon
Andy Wang vs. Cole Miller
Rob Emerson vs. Gray Maynard
Leonard Garcia vs. Allen Berube
Brian Geraghty vs. Matt Wiman

Fight Predictions

MANVEL GAMBURYAN Vs. NATE DIAZ
Manvel Gamburyan (Damon Daniels)
These two can turn this fight into a classic. While I have done nothing but read about what these two have accomplished, I'm going to go with Manny on this one. Much like his cousin (obligatory name drop) Karo, he is always moving forward, pressing the action. With Nate being more of a counter-fighter and submission specialist, Manny is going to simply overwhelm him on the feet, then overwhelm him on the ground. People will see Nate get beat down like he stole something. Manny by unanimous decision. However, Nate will get a contract as well.

Nate Diaz (Mike Ruman)
Let's see, Manny is 5'5" and Nate is 6'0", a slight reach advantage for Nate. Sure Manny has bulldozed his way through the TUF 5 tourney and taken his opponents to the ground for a GNP clinic..........BUT, the fighters he has faced haven't had near the Ju-Jitsu skill level of Mr.Diaz. I see Manny keeping the same game plan and bulldozing Diaz (just like Corey Hill did), but I also see Nate eating a few of those punches and settling in for a sick gogoplata. Nate is taking out Manny, then going after his cousin Karo, but will eventually lose to Reggie Warren Jr. via a sick overhand karate chop.

ROGER HUERTA Vs. DOUG EVANS
Roger Huerta (Damon Daniels)
Okay, now. Let's keep it real. What good ever comes out of Alaska??? I'm kidding. I know you're reading this Spencer. Anyhow, as a welcome gift, Huerta is going to throttle this dude until he's tackled off of him in the second. I think I'm going to have to tip a bottle of juice in respect to Mr. Evans. Talk about breaking someone in...

Doug Evans (Mike Ruman)
Doug is 5-0 and coming off an impressive win vs. Mike Joy. Who's Mike Joy you ask? (in a ‘Rock from the WWE' voice) IT DOESN'T MATTER!!.......JABRONI!!!! I think people give Evans about as much a chance as folks gave Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop. This is the UFC folks, anything can happen...........anything. I don't see Huerta tapping out or being knocked out, so the split decision goes to Evans. (crowd boos)

B.J. PENN Vs. JENS PULVER
Jens Pulver (Damon Daniels)
Another fight of the year candidate, however, while much of the kingdom of Buzz is going for Penn, I will be the black sheep. I will rebel. I will go out into the wild by myself, and proclaim Jens Pulver as winner. While BJ has fought lots of notables, I still don't see him as the young fireplug of yesteryear. Against GSP, he gave up. Against Matt Hughes, he gave up. This time, he's dropping down in weight only to experience another defeat that he'll probably give away. That is, if he doesn't get knocked out by Pulver. As for Pulver, he's going to come out looking to erase the memory of his unexpected loss to Joe Lauzon. Look for Pulver to come out on fire, with only Penn on his brain. I'm gonna say Pulver by either UD or TKO in the third.

B.J. Penn (Mike Ruman)
Sure B.J. doesn't have a fighter in the final bout, but don't confuse ‘his' fighters with B.J. Friggin Penn. The Prodigy is going to come out and ‘whoop dat ass' all over the octagon. B.J. is pissed, very pissed, and is coming in shape and determined to avenge his previous loss to Pulver. Wouldn't it be ironic if B.J. won via armbar with like 1 second to go in the 1^st round? I think so, and that's what I'm going with. Also, this will be B.J.'s first W on his way to dominating the lightweight division.......WRITE THAT DOWN.

Comments (31) add comment

MMAbuzz said:

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Rumor has it that Corey Hill is hurt and thus the reason for him not being on this card.

The Melendez and Lauzon match up is going to be killer.

June 15, 2007

ChrisZacher said:

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I think Lauzon is going to take him down.

June 15, 2007

nasTY said:

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Any thoughts on Penn vs. Pulver- I'd like to see Pulver pull it out again but if I was betting... Penn

June 15, 2007

ChrisZacher said:

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my sentiments exactly nasty

June 15, 2007

Beast said:

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Hey Chris, My picks for this card are as follows:

Roger Huerta vs. Doug Evans
Manny Gamburyan vs. Nate Diaz
Floyd Sword vs. Thales Leites
Brandon Melendez vs. Joe Lauzon
Andy Wang vs. Cole Miller
Rob Emerson vs. Gray Maynard
Leonard Garcia vs. Allen Berube
Brian Geraghty vs. Matt Wiman

Then, for the Pulver/Penn fight, I'm gonna go with Pulver, as you've already picked Penn. It's a pity Corey isn't fighting. I hope he gets better soon. I'll do my write-up on this in the next couple of days. Let me know what you think, bro.

June 16, 2007