Wednesday night saw the final episode of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ season 20, which set the finals match-up for this coming Friday night’s event. Carla Esparza advanced to the finals where she will meet Rose Namajunas, who emerges from the TV show run with a lot of momentum. Esparza, who was the No. 1 seed going into the field, defeated the tough Jessica Penne by unanimous decision to make the finals, while Namajunas submitted Randa Markos impressively on the other side of the bracket.
The fight is going to be for five rounds with the inaugural, vacant strawweight title going to the winner. Right nowm at the sport books, Namajunas is riding as the favorite at (-170) based on her strong performance on the show that saw her finish all three of her opponents. She is going to have a big height and reach advantage over Esparza, who is much more compact. Esparza is returning (+140), and the over/under is set at 4.5, with the Over paying (+140) and the Under at (-180).
Esparza, however, was the favorite going into the show. She faced early adversity, meeting the No. 3 seed Tecia Torres, who returned to the show to replace an injured fighter, and her fight with Penne saw her come through a war. Though Namajunas has put on a show and deserves the spot she is in, do not discount what Esparza has done coming through as the No. 1 seed. Esparza is 9-2 overall plus the three ‘exhibition’ wins on the show, and her two losses are to Megumi Fujii and Jessica Aguilar, perhaps the top two competitors in the weight class over the last 10 years.
Also new at the books is the match between Jessica Penne and Randa Markos, as both semifinalists return. The match is a near toss-up, as Markos is paying (-120) and Penne at (-110). The Over/Under for the three-ounder is set at 2.5, with the Over paying (-230) and the Under at (+170). Markos pulled of solid wins over well regarded Tecia Torres and Felice Herrig before running into Namajunas, but Penne has been a more consistent performer over a longer period of time and should probably be favored a bit stronger.
Here is a video preview of the two ladies in the main event:
