Ultimate Fighter 5 - The Ultimate Finale

The Ultimate Fighter is a reality series produced by the UFC and broadcast on Spike TV. On the show, 16 prospective MMA fighters are divided into teams and put together in a house near Las Vegas. Each team is trained by a MMA superstar, and a single elimination tournament is held. The winner of this tournament gets a six-figure UFC contract.

The 5th season is a bit different, as only lightweight fighters are featured on the show. On past editions, fighters from all weight classes were involved.
On Saturday, June 23rd, the 5th edition of The Ultimate Fighter will culminate in a fight card from Vegas. Called The Ultimate Finale, fans will not only see the conclusion of the single elimination tournament, but also a showdown between the two head coaches , former UFC welterweight champ B.J. Penn and former UFC lightweight champ Jens Pulver.

ULTIMATE FINALE FULL CARD

Main Card

Jens “Little Evil” Pulver vs. B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn

Manvel “Pitbull” Gambaryan vs. Nathan Diaz (Tournament Final)

Roger Huerta vs. Doug Evans

Thales Leites vs. Floyd Sword

Preliminary Card

Brandon Melendez vs. Joe “Creepy Joe” Lauzon

Andy Wang vs. Cole “Magrino” Miller

Rob Emerson vs. Gray “The Bully” Maynard

Leonard Garcia vs. Allen Berube

Brian Geraghty vs. Matt Wiman

B.J. PENN VS. JENS PULVER

B.J. Penn

B.J. Penn is the first American-born winner of the World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the black belt category. He is a former UFC welterweight champ, and winning that title marked his crowning achievement in the world of MMA. To capture the title, he jumped up in weight to take on Matt Hughes, who was a five-time defending champ at the time. Penn won in the first round via a rear naked choke.

He has career wins over Matt Hughes, Renzo Gracie, Duane Ludwig, Matt Serra and Takanori Gomi. His recent career has not been so bright, though, as he has lost 3 of his last 4 fights (to Matt Hughes, Georges St. Pierre and Lyoto Machida). Winning this fight could very well get his career back on track and allow him to move on to even bigger matches (and perhaps a 3rd match with Hughes).

Jens Pulver

“Little Evil” is noted for his defensive wrestling and boxing, which has become known as “sprawl and brawl” in the MMA world. He is also highly respected for the knockout power contained in his left hand - specifically his devastating left hook.

Pulver has defeated Caol Uno, Dennis Hallman and B.J. Penn during his career, but his last fight at UFC 63 ended in a first round KO at the hands of Joe Lauzon. He has also lost to Duane Ludwig, Takanori Gomi and Hayato Sakurai.

In 2002, Pulver defeated Penn by majority decision to retain his UFC lightweight belt. Despite the fact that Pulver was the champ, Penn was heavily favored to win. It has been said that this didn’t sit well with Pulver, and there has been bad blood between the two men ever since.

BODOG ODDS

Currently, the only odds offered by Bodog are on the Penn/Pulver fight, but others will no doubt be added as the fight date approaches. Keep in mind that there are no parlays, and the maximum wager is limited to $500. Currently, the betting line stands at:

B.J. Penn -330

Jens Pulver +260

For more MMA action, take a look at the following:

Cage Fury 5 - Kimbo Slice vs. Ray Mercer

UFC 72 - Full Results

Ultimate Fighter 5 - The Ultimate Finale