The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale Date: December 11, 2015 Arena: The Chelsea City: Las Vegas, NV The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 22 Finale will be live from The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan tonigt (December 11, 2015). If interested in wagering on these plays, or any plays for this fight card, all betting lines will be made available at Several Bookmakerss. Here are my live dogs: Lightweight bout: Artem Lobov (-175) vs Ryan Hall (+145) Gabe’s Thoughts: Hall gets the short notice call, replacing England’s Saul Rogers who was unable to get a VISA to compete in a fight because he lied on his application. Hall was defeated by Rogers in the tournament on the show and gets new life with this fight. That is a scenario Lobov is familiar with, considering he lost his fight to get into the TUF house but then ended up in the house any way because Dana White allowed the coaches on the coaches on the show to bring back one fighter who lost, and Conor McGregor chose to bring back his buddy Lobov. I believe Dana White only did that to make his Irish boy happy, and it worked. Lobov has let anybody down, as he has gone on to knock all three of his opponents in the competition out. All three of the knockouts recorded on this season of reality television series were by him. This is a classic “striker vs grappler” match-up and we know what we are getting here. The Russian-Irishman will be looking for the knockout and Hall will be looking for the submission. Personally, I think Hall has the better chance of ending this fight and getting his hand raised. At his current underdog tag of +145, I think he is the right side for a play in this TUF 22 lightweight tournament final. I see him going from eliminated competitor to tournament winner this evening. Gabe’s Call: Hall by Submission (heel hook, 0:59 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Hall (+145) 2u to win 2.9u Welterweight bout: Mike Pierce (+205) vs Ryan LaFlare (-225) Gabe’s Thoughts: I am in complete disagreement with the current betting odds for this 170-pound affair and think LaFlare is being over-valued here. I believe this fight is much closer than the betting odds currently indicate, and personally favor the veteran Pierce to get his hand raised, ultimately handing LaFlare his second consecutive defeat inside the Octagon. I am siding with Pierce here, even considering his long injury layoff. I see Pierce either knocking LaFlare out in this bout or grinding out an ugly decision. If it does indeed hit the judges’ scorecards for a decision, I think it will either be a close fight that could go either way or one Pierce clearly won, but I have a hard time seeing LaFlare winning a convincing unanimous decision here. I am not expecting this welterweight contest to be a barn-burner by any means, but I think there could be a highlight-reel finish. To conclude, I’m going with Pierce here, and I say he either grinds out a boring decision or scores an exciting knockout. Gabe’s Call: Pierce by T/KO (punches, 3:44 round 2) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Pierce (+205) 3u to win 6.15u
