LAS VEGAS — The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale, in addition to hosting the tournament finals of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos”, will also co-feature two lightweight bouts showcasing four of the UFC’s top 155-pounders.
Following his third round knockout of Marcus Davis at UFC 125 back in January, hard-hitting Jeremy Stephens (19-6) will return to action against The Ultimate Fighter season 12 winner Jonathan Brookins (13-3).
The bout will mark Brookins’ first Octagon appearance since he won a six-figure contract with the UFC by defeating Michael Johnson via unanimous decision at the TUF 12 Finale in Dec. 2010.
In the other TUF 13 Finale co-feature, WEC lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis (11-1) will make his UFC debut against wily veteran Clay “The Carpenter” Guida (28-8).
Who can talk about Anthony Pettis without mentioning his “kick heard around the world”? This fight will mark Pettis’ first since he delivered his now legendary “Showtime kick” and took the lightweight title from Ben Henderson at WEC 53 back in December.
Guida is on a three-fight win streak, having stopped Shannon Gugerty and Rafael dos Anjos, both in 2010, and most recently having submitted Takanori Gomi via guillotine choke at UFC 125 on Jan. 1, 2011.
In both of these bouts we have up-and-comers new to the UFC taking on established seasoned fighters who have maintained themselves as solid forces in the UFC lightweight division for years.
A win for either Pettis or Brookins will make a statement and serve notice to the rest of the UFC’s 155-pound fighters that the next generation has arrived and should be taken seriously.
Other TUF 13 Finale bouts include a bantamweight contest between Ken Stone (9-2-0) and Scott Jorgensen (11-4-0), a featherweight battle between George Roop (11-7-1) and Josh Grispi (14-2-0), and a middleweight match-up with Tim Credeur (12-3-0) facing Ed Herman (19-7-0).
More fights to be announced at a later date. The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos premieres Wednesday, March 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.