“The Ultimate Fighter 31” will end in Boston.
Following the season’s final episode Tuesday night, the lightweight and bantamweight finals are set and will take place Saturday at UFC 292 from TD Garden, as was first reported by MMA Junkie.
In the lightweight final, UFC alumni Kurt Holobaugh and Austin Hubbard will collide for a six-figure UFC contract. The two were members of Michael Chandler’s team during the show.
A grudge match materializes in the bantamweight final, as Cody Gibson, of Team Chandler, faces Team Conor McGregor’s Brad Katona.
Holobaugh (19-7 MMA, 0-4 UFC) enters his third stint with the UFC after consecutive wins on the reality series. His first stint was only one fight long (a loss to Steven Siler in 2013) and it immediately followed the Strikeforce merger. In 2018, Holobaugh returned after a win on Dana White’s Contender Series and lost three consecutive fights against Raoni Barcelos, Shane Burgos, and Thiago Moises.
First, Holobaugh rallied to submit McGregor underling Lee Hammond before he put forth a brutal TKO beatdown of teammate and friend Jason Knight to win in the semifinals. The bout vs. Knight is considered by many one of the best in series history.
Hubbard (15-6 MMA, 3-4 UFC) competed seven times in the UFC from May 2019 to August 2021. His wins included Kyle Prepolec, Max Rohskopf, and Dakota Bush. Though he alternated losses and wins for his entire UFC tenure, Hubbard and the promotion separated following a loss to Vinc Pichel.
During the “TUF 31” filming, Hubbard defeated LFA lightweight champion Aaron McKenzie by unanimous decision and former UFC fighter Roosevelt Roberts by split decision.
While Holobaugh and Hubbard remained cordial throughout the season, Gibson (19-8 MMA, 1-3 UFC) and Katona (12-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) have not.
Due to his mixed allegiances of having coach John Kavanagh as the opposing team’s coach, Katona departed Team Chandler to join Team McGregor – a move many in the house saw as overdue.
In the final episode of “TUF 31,” an argument between the two broke out after Gibson wrote “F*ck you, Brad” on a note in the kitchen.
Gibson returns to the UFC after nearly a decade outside of the promotion. He competed four times for the UFC from February 2014 to February 2015 and went 1-3 including a loss to future bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, who headlines Saturday’s event. En route to the finals, Gibson defeated Mando Gutierrez by knockout, then submitted Rico DiSciullo.
Katona seeks his second “TUF” championship after wins over Carlos Vera (unanimous decision) and Timur Valiev (split decision).
In 2018, Katona won “The Ultimate Fighter 27” at bantamweight. Though he won his next bout vs. Matthew Lopez, Katona dropped decisions to Merab Dvalishvili and Hunter Azure immediately thereafter and he was let go. Katona has gone 4-0 in professional bouts since.
With the additions, the UFC 292 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley – for bantamweight title
- Champ Zhang Weili vs. Amanda Lemos – for women’s strawweight title
- Ian Machado Garry vs. Neil Magny
- Mario Bautista vs. Da’Mon Blackshear
- Pedro Munhoz vs. Marlon Vera
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Brad Tavares vs. Chris Weidman
- Gregory Rodrigues vs. Denis Tiuliulin
- Kurt Holobaugh vs. Austin Hubbard – “TUF” 31 lightweight final
- Cody Gibson vs. Brad Katona – “TUF” 31 bantamweight final
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
- Gerald Meerschaert vs. Andre Petroski
- Andrea Lee vs. Natalia Silva
- Maryna Moroz vs. Karine Silva
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.
