The Ultimate Fighter season finale has been set for Saturday, June 20th at the Palms in Las Vegas, with Damarques Johnson fighting James Wilks for the welterweight crown and Ross Pearson taking on Andre Winner for some good ‘ole Brit on Brit violence. Check out the breakdown after the jump.
Starting with the welterweights- Damarques knows what he's doing on the ground but he showed in his fight against Nick O that he's got no problem standing and bangin', which is probably where he wants to keep this fight. Like the rest of the UK guys, Wilks has a solid base on the feet but he has a few lazy tendencies. He lets his hands drop and he threw some pretty sloppy knees in earlier fights. If Johnson is paying attention on Saturday night, that's a combo that could potentially set Wilks up for a short nap and long ride home. He does have a good front kick, but he overuses it so Johnson will probably come prepared.
All this said, Damarques looked pretty sloppy himself when he started to run out of gas in the semi-finals so if Wilks can stay awake long enough to wear out the American, he might be able to catch him on the chin and end it late, which is going to be his best chance. Johnson is probably going to get the better of most exchanges -at least early- so if it goes to a decision, I don't see the judges favoring Wilks.
I'm giving the edge to Johnson here, but if he wants to win this, he better have on his game face. You can never count out a fighter like WIlks. As the rest of Team UK showed us this season, they're hard-nosed dudes and they show up fight. They're young, but technically sound and what they lack in skills, they more than make up for in guts -Wilks is no exception.
Before we get to the lightweight fight, check out what Joe Rogan had to say about the main event.
