TUF 22 Finale: SportsJOE picks the winners so you don’t have to

Day two and nobody’s getting tired.

For those who are going all in with UFC 194 weekend and staying up through the night, congratulations… You’ve reached the halfway point.

And if UFC Fight Night 80 is anything to go by, we’ve got a tremendous TUF finale ahead of us.

Artem Lobov will undoubtedly be the reason for Irish fans to stay awake while the main event likely decides the next featherweight challenger for the winner of McGregor v Aldo.

Here’s what our MMA writers’ records look like thus far.

Bourbon Ben Kiely: 142-82

Darragh The Quizmaster Murphy: 142-82

Frankie Edgar (19-4-1) v Chad Mendes (17-3)

DM: How has this not happened eight times already?

The smaller octagon would lead you to believe that Mendes could cut off Edgar’s angles and win a grinding battle against the fence but I think that Edgar will find “the answer.”

I learned a long time ago never to bet against Frankie Edgar. He’s the smarter fighter, the grittier fighter and I see no area in which he is inferior to Mendes.

Edgar via decision

BK: Sweet zombie Jesus, I love this fight!

Two of the best wrestlers-strikers in the division and while you can never count out Mendes when he can wind up haymakers that would flatten small cities, I feel like Edgar’s fight IQ is too high to get sucked into a battle that favours Money.

I expect this to be similar to Edgar’s win over Faber, only Mendes will make more of a contest out of it. Precision beats power nine times out of ten.

Edgar via unanimous decision

Artem Lobov (11-10-1-1NC) v Ryan Hall (4-1)

DM: If this was a pick for who deserves to win TUF, I’d be picking Artem Lobov all day as his comeback in the tournament will not soon be forgotten, providing all three knockouts of the season.

But I just feel Hall is too cerebral to get lured into a stand-up war with “The Russian Hammer” and will eventually get the fight to the mat. If the fight does get there then there will be only one winner.

Hall via submission (round one)

BK: It’s difficult not to like Lobov. His fan-friendly, high risk, striking orientated style means he’s rarely if ever in a boring fight.

That being said, I think Hall’s decorated BJJ career will give him the edge.

Hall by submission (round two)

Edson Barboza (16-3) v Tony Ferguson (19-3)

DM: Is there a bad fight this weekend?

Edson Barboza’s ludicrously entertaining Taekwondo comes up against Tony Ferguson’s surprisingly powerful Muay Thai tonight and the striking exchanges are bound to be insane.

While each fighter’s stand-up may cancel the other’s out, if the fight ends up on the mat there will be only one winner.

I love Ferguson’s guard. I love his elbows from the bottom and top. And I love his tenacity in pursuit of the finish.

Ferguson via submission (round two)

BK: I picked against Tony Ferguson once before I started believing in the hype and it came back to bite me in the ass. I won’t be doing that again any time soon, not even against someone as dangerous as Barboza.

Ferguson by decision

Joe Lauzon (25-10) v Evan Dunham (16-6)

DM: Joe Lauzon is one of my favourite fighters and I will never, ever pick against him.

Lauzon via somehow 

BK: Dunham seems to be still in his prime. Lauzon is very much not. A few years ago, I would have chosen J-Lau, but this is 2015 and I feel that Dunham has made the requisite improvements to beat the submission specialist.

Dunham by decision

Tatsuya Kawijiri (34-8-2) v Jason Knight (15-1)

DM: I’m a Kawajiri fan but his record has been somewhat padded by facing big names when they’ve been past their prime.

Jason Knight, meanwhile, is a monster on the mat and I fancy him making a successful octagon debut.

Knight via submission (round one)

BK: These are the types of fights Crusher wants. Doo Ho Choi can call him out all he likes, but the smart move would be to avoid him at all costs.

Night, Knight.

Kawijiri by unanimous decision

Julian Erosa (14-2) v Marcin Wrzosek (10-2)

DM: I’m of the McGregor opinion that Erosa’s technique of throwing single shots leads to easy opportunities to counter and Wrzosek is technical enough to figure that out early.

Wrzosek is also more adept at taking the fight to the ground so I don’t see how he comes out worse off in this fight. GO EUROPE.

Wrzosek via decision

BK: Firstly, it really pisses me off the the UFC had the opportunity to have only one TUF fight on a finale main card and they didn’t take it!

Secondly, I didn’t watch this season of The Ultimate Fighter so I’ve gone for the foolproof “eeny, meeny, miny, moe” technique.

Erosa via something