Joe Giannetti
Age: 23
Nationality: American
MMA Record: 6-0
UFC Record: Debut
Notable Wins: None
Notable Losses: None
Last Fight: Submission win over Keenan Raymond
Fighter Profile: A veteran of Cage Titans, Giannetti was one of the most impressive prospects in the TUF 27 lightweight tournament. After winning five of six fights by tapout on the regional scene, Giannetti went back to his wheelhouse on the show when he submitted John Gunther in the quarterfinals and then tapped out Allan Zuniga in the semifinals to make it to the finals. He has an excellent ground game and was one of the youngest fighters on the show. He has a lot of upside and could be someone who sticks around the UFC for a while. A win here in the finals would obviously do wonders for his MMA career.
Mike Trizano
Age: 26
Nationality: American
MMA Record: 6-0
UFC Record: Debut
Notable Wins: None
Notable Losses: None
Last Fight:
Fighter Profile: A veteran of both Bellator and Ring of Combat, Trizano was one of the more impressive fighters on the show as well. He defeated Thailand Clark via TKO in the quarterfinals and then defeated John Gunther by decision in the semifinals to advance to the finals. He’s a very well-rounded fighter who should be able to stick around the UFC for a while, but he does have his hands full in the finale here. But if he can pull off the upset, he could be someone really special to watch out for, but this is his toughest fight to date and it will be a real good test to see just where he’s at in his career.
Fight Breakdown: This is a pretty good fight between two guys who impressed on TUF but I have to go with Giannetti. I just view his submission game as very dominant and as good as Trizano looked at times I was even more impressed by Giannetti. I think this kid has a lot of upside considering he’s only 23 and I believe he has what it takes to run the table and win this show. Having said that, Trizano is the best fighter he’s fought to date, so this should be a pretty competitive fight overall. Both men are going to fight their hearts out to win the contract and I’m expecting a fun battle here but at the end of the day I have to go with Giannetti to get the win via tapout and cotinue his incredible run of submission wins.
Prediction: Joe Giannetti via submission
