The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale: December 15, 2012 Las Vegas, Nevada UFC Heavyweight Contender Shane del Rosario (-145) Profile: After a car accident threatened his life and career in 2011, Shane del Rosario (11-1) made a near miraculous recovery and a year later was transferred from Strikeforce with an 11-0 record into the UFC heavyweight division. Del Rosario would go on to lose his UFC debut to Stipe Miocic via brutal elbows, but it only pushed him to work harder in preparation for his next fight. Del Rosario has championship-level kickboxing experience along with a decent ground game. Luckily for everyone involved, especially the fans, del Rosario will make his second UFC appearance against Pat Barry, a man who knows a thing or two about a stand-up fight. UFC Heavyweight Contender Pat Barry (+115) Profile: The always jovial Pat Barry (12-5) has been part of some of the most exciting fights of the last few years. His kickboxing, although not unbelievable in the kickboxing world, is world-class for MMA, and he uses his baseball bat-like kicks to cut down his opponents with scary efficiency. Although he made the move to Minnesota from Milwaukee to train with Brock Lesnar and the Death Clutch team in order to focus on his lacking ground game, it’s come with only marginal improvement. Now, Death Clutch has been disbanded, and Barry is like a ronin. This doesn’t mean he isn’t extremely dangerous to anyone who dares trade blows with him. Opening TUF 16 Finale Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas has made del Rosario a slight -145 favorite (bet $145 to win $100) against Barry, who opened as a +115 underdog (bet $100 to win $115) according to the MMA odds. This is an interesting heavyweight battle between two kickboxers turned mixed martial artists, who like most fighters in their division do most of their damage by knocking out their opponents. Barry has dropped three of his last four bouts along with four of six and will be fighting in the UFC for the 10th time with a previous record of 4-5. Six of his seven career wins have come via TKO/KO while all five losses have resulted in stoppages (three submissions and two knockouts). Meanwhile, del Rosario will be making his second appearance in the Octagon and try to atone for a disappointing debut against Miocic. After missing more than a year of action following his accident, he looked rusty in his last fight but showed glimpses of what he could do. What he lacks in top-level MMA experience, del Rosario will try to make up with his 5-inch height and 3.5-inch reach advantage over Barry along with being four years younger. Del Rosario also shares a common opponent in Lavar Johnson, submitting him in his last Strikeforce bout while Barry was knocked out by him in his last UFC fight.
