TUF 22 Finale Set for December 11 as a Warm-Up to UFC 194

Although they have yet to reveal a venue, UFC officials on Wednesday announced that The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale would land on Friday, Dec. 11, in Las Vegas, serving as a lead-in to Saturday night’s UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor.

UFC 194 is slated to be one of the promotion’s biggest events of the year, headlined by featherweight champion Jose Aldo putting his belt on the line against interim champ Conor McGregor, as they unify the 145-pound title. If that weren’t enough, the co-main event features UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman defending against Luke Rockhold.

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With the TUF 22 Finale, the UFC is doing something similar to International Fight Week, where The Ultimate Fighter Finale generally follows a blockbuster pay-per-view. Only this time, the finale will serve as a precursor to the pay-per-view offering.

Though the promotion has yet to reveal a main event, there are already two bouts slated for the TUF 22 Finale fight card. Bonus-winner extraordinaire Joe Lauzon will square off with Evan Dunham, each of whom is coming off of an important career victory. Lauzon recently TKO’d Japanese legend Takanori Gomi, while Dunham bested Ross Pearson in Scotland.

The other announced bout is a welterweight affair pitting Mike Pierce against Ryan LaFlare.

TUF 22 features Team McGregor vs. Team Faber, with Conor McGregor and Urijah Faber serving as coaches. It premieres on Wednesday, Sept. 9 on FOX Sports 1.