The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale: December 15, 2012 Las Vegas, Nevada UFC Featherweight Contender Dustin Poirier (-170) Profile: At only 23 years old and almost a horrifyingly complete fighter, Dustin Poirier (12-2) is a featherweight who will have a long career in the UFC. His work ethic, superb ground game and strong striking make him a danger no matter where the fight goes. Poirier may be young, but he is experienced and has beaten good competition. He was enjoying a five-fight winning streak until he met up with “The Korean Zombie” in a four- round war that is considered to be one of the best fights of 2012. After the loss, an emotional Poirier pledged to improve his fight game and keep climbing the UFC featherweight rankings. UFC Featherweight Contender Jonathan Brookins (+140) Profile: The Ultimate Fighter 12 winner has had a 50/50 split of wins and losses inside the Octagon. With a 2-2 mark so far in the UFC, Jonathan Brookins (13-5) is still trying to find his stride and string a couple wins together since winning the title. Brookins is best on the ground, but he can trade punches decently as well. His most recent highlight comes from a sub-two minute knockout of Vagner Rocha at UFC on FUEL TV 1. His upcoming matchup with Poirier should be a fairly evenly matched one, as Brookins is fairly hard to finish. Opening TUF 16 Finale Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas has made Poirier a small -170 favorite (bet $170 to win $100) against Brookins, who opened as a +140 underdog (bet $100 to win $140) according to the MMA odds. One of these fighters will prove he is a solid prospect in the UFC and deserves to climb the ranks while the other will continue to slide and could fall out of the mix in the division. Poirier is still very young and seemed to be on his way to stardom before the Zombie stunned him. A second consecutive loss here would be equally shocking after he won five in a row while Brookins may have already peaked when he won TUF. Brookins is a vet at this point of his career and does not seem to have any killer instinct, and a third loss in four bouts could put him on the brink of being cut. Anybody who watched Brookins on TUF saw a quiet young man who was very coachable and improved more than anybody in the house. But is he an elite talent who is capable of becoming a real champion someday? That remains to be seen, and the hungrier fighter will win.
