After visa issue, 'TUF 22' concludes with surprising tournament final

Saul Rogers

“The Ultimate Fighter 22” will conclude on Friday with an unlikely tournament final.

On Wednesday’s season finale of the reality series, a would-be finalist was pulled from the lightweight tourney due to a visa issue.

On the episode, UFC President Dana White said Saul Rogers (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who submitted Marcin Wrzosek in the semifinals, provided inaccurate information on his U.S. visa application, and the English fighter is now barred from entering the country. As a result, grappling specialist and Team Faber fighter Ryan Hall (4-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who lost to Rogers in the show’s quarterfinal round, was named the replacement. He now meets finalist Team McGregor fighter Artem Lobov (11-10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who knocked out Julian Erosa in the semifinals, for the tourney title.

The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale takes place Friday at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. The full event airs on FOX Sports 1.

Like Hall, Lobov also got a second life in the tourney. He dropped a decision to Mehdi Baghdad in the show’s elimination round, but he was coach Conor McGregor’s pick for the second-chance opportunity to reenter the tourney.

In addition to the tourney final, some other cast members are getting a shot in the UFC octagon as part of the undercard. Those bouts include Abner Lloveras (19-7-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) vs. Chris Gruetzemacher (12-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Wrzosek (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) vs. Erosa (14-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC).

The full TUF 22 Finale card includes:

MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 10 p.m. ET)

• Frankie Edgar vs. Chad Mendes
• Ryan Hall vs. Artem Lobov – “TUF 22” lightweight tournament final
• Edson Barboza vs. Tony Ferguson
• Evan Dunham vs. Joe Lauzon
• Ryan LaFlare vs. Mike Pierce
• Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Jason Knight

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)

• Konstantin Erokhin vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
• Geane Herrera vs. Joby Sanchez
• Julian Erosa vs. Marcin Wrzosek
• Chris Gruetzemacher vs. Abner Lloveras

For more on The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale, check out the UFC Events section of the site.