Another season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show comes to an end on Sunday night as the TUF 19 Finale is slated to go down from Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center.
The 19th domestic season of the long-running series was on of the most forgettable in recent memory, but two new winners of the six-figure UFC contract will still be crowned on the FOX Sports 1-televised event – one in the light heavyweight division and one in the middleweight division.
Crowning two new “TUF” champions is just the event appetizer, though. The main attraction of the fight card will be none other than a matchup between the two coaches from the season as Frankie Edgar (16-4-1 MMA, 10-4-1 UFC) and B.J. Penn (16-9-2 MMA, 12-8-2 UFC) are scheduled to run it back one final time despite the fact Edgar already holds a 2-0 advantage over “The Prodigy.”
Defeating Penn for a third time would be a historic accomplishment in more ways than one, and Edgar appears to have all the most important factors in his favor in order to get the job done.
For more on the event that will conclude another season of reality TV for the UFC, here are 25 pre-fight facts about the TUF 19 Finale.
Edgar, with a victory, would become the first fighter in history to defeat a single opponent on three separate occasions under the UFC banner.
Edgar is 1-1 since dropping to the UFC featherweight division in February 2013.
Edgar has fought just five different opponents in his past nine UFC fights.
Edgar has completed 46 takedowns in his UFC, the 12th most of any fighter in company.
Edgar’s 908 significant strikes landed rank fourth all-time behind Georges St-Pirre (1,254), Michael Bisping (987) and Sam Stout (970).
Edgar is the only fighter in UFC history to suffer three knockdowns in a single round and not lose the fight. The feat occurred in his UFC 125 draw with Gray Maynard.
Penn, 35, will become the oldest fighter to ever compete in a UFC featherweight bout.
Penn enters the event with a record of 1-4-1 in his past six UFC appearances.
Penn will compete in his 23rd UFC bout, the fourth most of any fighter in UFC history behind Tito Ortiz (27), Matt Hughes (25) and Randy Couture (24). His total fight time of 5:03:51 in UFC competition ranks second in company history behind Georges St-Pierre (5:28:12).
Penn moves to the featherweight division for the first time in his more than 13-year, 27-fight career. A victory would make him just the third fighter in UFC history to register wins in three different weight classes. Only Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian have also accomplished the feat.
Penn faces a single opponent in a third fight for the second time in his career. He bested Matt Hughes 2-1 in their notable trilogy.
Penn has earned 11 of his 12 UFC victories by knockout or submission. The last time Penn won a UFC bout by decision was against Matt Serra at UFC 39 in September 2002.
Penn’s 11 stoppage victories inside the octagon are tied for fourth most in UFC history. It’s also the second most for any fighter who has competed at 170 pounds or below behind Matt Hughes (12).
Penn has defeated 12 fighters under the UFC banner. Diego Sanchez is the only one of those fighters who is still an active fighter in the organization.
Penn’s 858 significant strikes landed are the fifth most all-time in UFC history.
Corey Anderson (2-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has the fewest professional fights of any “TUF” finalist since season 7 winner Amir Sadollah, who has zero professional bouts to his name.
Derrick Lewis (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) enters the event on a career-high seven-fight winning streak.
Guto Inocente (6-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) competed in his first bout since earning a May 2012 victory under the now-defunct Strikeforce banner. The break from competition isn’t entirely uncommon for Filho. He has competed in just eight bouts dating back to his professional debut in March 2005.
Jesse Ronson (13-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered both of his UFC defeats by split decision.
Jumanbieke Tuerxun (14-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will drop the bantamweight division for his second UFC contest after losing to Mark Eddiva in a featherweight contest at the TUF China Finale.
Alexis Dufresne (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has earned all five of her professional victories by knockout or submission. Her past three victories are by knockout.
Robert Drysdale (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has earned all six of his career victories by first-round submission in a total fight time of 8:54.
For the latest on The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.
FightMetric research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
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