TUF Brazil III Finale Preview
The Ultimate Fighter continues to grow every year with new countries participating in the show every season. The first country outside of the USA to adopt the show would naturally be one of the biggest centres for the spot in Brazil. The success of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil would convince the UFC to move into other parts of the world including China and Canada but they would not forget the originals. The UFC would continue to host regular shows in Brazil and the third season is set to end in Sao Paulo at the TUF Brazil III Finale. The conclusion of the show will mark the end of a great season of The Ultimate Fighter where the UFC decided to bring in one of the most charismatic fighters in the UFC, and also one of the most hated fighters. Chael Sonnen would coach for the second time on The Ultimate Fight and his opposing coach would be a fighter he has been calling out for the last two years. Sonnen has regularly made claims about Wanderlei Silva and he would have a fight planned with the Brazilian after he coached opposite him on The Ultimate Fighter Brazil III. The fight would later be cancelled after Wanderlei dropped out of the fight, according to Sonnen it was because Wanderlei ran out of the gym when drug testers came. The two fighters would make for one of the most intense coaching rivalries in the history of the TV show and at one point would event fight on the concrete floor of the training centre. The rivalry between the two fighters would be the focus of the show but it would overshadow some great talent that would come out of the tournament and into the finale. The tournament on the show would see Wanderlei’s team come out to an early lead winning four fights in a row and heading on their way to a sweep of the show. Sonnen’s team would make an amazing comeback winning the last four fights of the season and evening up the series. When all was set and done three fighters from Team Sonnen would make it to the finals while one from Team Wanderlei would earn his spot in the finals. In the heavyweight division Team Wanderlei’s Antonio Carlos Junior would finish his way to the finals earning a TKO in his first fight and a submission win in his semi-final fight. He will meet Team Sonnen’s Vitor Miranda who also finished his way to the finals earning two TKO victories on the show. The matchup will see a striker in Vitor take on a jiu jitsu practitioner in Antonio, which became a theme on the show as Wanderlei’s fighters were generally ground specialists while Sonnen’s were strikers. Although Antonio is a great ground fighter his hands are still strong in the stand-up and that will be the difference in the fight. Vitor is very much one-dimensional while Antonio is more versatile which will give the young Team Wanderlei product the win. In the Middleweight division will be one of the more exciting fights in on the card with two very good fighters on the show. Marcio Alexandre Junior was Sonnen’s first choice in the division and has a unique karate style that has earned him the nickname of Lyoto due to his similar style to the Middleweight top contender. On the other side of the octagon will be Warlley Alves who was probably the most impressive fighter on the show with dominant performances and a smothering stand-up game. The matchup of two strikers will be a good one as both fighters look for their shot at a UFC contract and it should be a war. In the end it is the striking game of Warlley will win out as a he looks to be a top-tier fighter in the UFC. Two more fighters will enter the UFC and will become superstars in Brazil after spending their time on the show and earning a contract.
After the two new fighters will enter the UFC and fight their way to a 6-figure contract there will be a matchup of two heavyweights looking to make an impact. On one end of the octagon will be Stipe Miocic who came in to the UFC with plenty of hype. The boxing of the young Ohio native was considered some of the best in the heavyweight division. Add that to his speed in the stand-up game and Miocic looked like a potential champion. After three straight wins in the UFC he seemed on his way to the top of the division. Then a loss to Stefan Struve would end his fast rise and send him a little further away from the title shot he seemed sure to get eventually. He would recover from the loss though winning his last two fights against some major contenders in Roy Nelson and Gabriel Gonzaga. Now he will look to match his longest win streak at three wins when he takes on Fabio Maldonado. Maldonado struggled at the start of his UFC career and has paid for it without a ranking in the heavyweight division. After three straight losses in the UFC Maldonado would begin to figure things out and has now put together three straight wins. He will step up in competition against Miocic and is looking to make some major noise in the division by beating a top 10 fighter in the division. It is a true test for Maldonado and he truly has nothing to lose as he will be fighting someone ranked while he sits out of the rankings with a win sure to put him in the top 15 of the division. For Miocic it is a dangerous fight as Maldonado will fight with nothing to lose and is one of the toughest fighters in the division as he can take plenty of shots. There is no question Miocic will give him some great strikes to try to survive and Maldonado will look to take everything and put the fight where he wants it, on the ground. It is an interesting matchup between two fighters at different spots in the division with the same end goal.
Fight Card
Main Event:
Stipe Miocic vs. Fabio “Caipira de Aco” Maldonado (UFC Fight Pass)
Main Card:
Vitor “Lex Luthor” Miranda vs. Antonio “Cara de Sapato” Carlos Junior [TUF Brazil III Heavyweight Title] (UFC Fight Pass)
Marcio “Lyoto” Alexandre Junior vs. Warlley Alves [TUF Brazil III Middleweight Title] (UFC Fight Pass)
Demian Maia vs. Alexander Yakovlev (UFC Fight Pass)
Rony Jason vs. Robbie “Problems” Peralta (UFC Fight Pass)
Undercard:
Rodrigo Damm vs. Rashid Magomedov (UFC Fight Pass)
Elias Silverio vs. Ernest Chavez (UFC Fight Pass)
Paulo Thiago vs. Gasan “Cobra” Umalatov (UFC Fight Pass)
Kevin Souza vs. Mark Eddiva (UFC Fight Pass)
Ricardo “Demente” Abreu vs. Wagner “Wagnao” Silva (UFC Fight Pass)
Marcos “Pezao” Rogerio de Lima vs. Richardson “Rick Monstro” Moreira (UFC Fight Pass)
Pedro “The Young Punisher” Munhoz vs. Matt “The Crowbar” Hobar (UFC Fight Pass)
The Sport Addiction 