Tonight (Nov. 30, 2013) is a historic night for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). For the first time in the promotion's history, a female will be crowned the winner of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).
It's been a long road to get to this moment as for years, UFC President Dana White was adamant that women would never fight inside the Octagon. It was only until Ronda Rousey took the mixed martial arts (MMA) world by storm that White relented and added a women's division.
After a long and stressful season that saw a ton of unprofessionalism from their male counterparts, Jessica Rakoczy and Julianna Pena will step inside the cage to find out who is the Ultimate Fighter.
Pena's road to the finale saw her upset the season's favorite, Shayna Baszler, in the quarter finals. She then avenged her first career loss by submitting Sarah Moras in the semi-finals. Pena was Miesha Tate's first female pick.
Rakoczy is considered a "late bloomer" in mixed martial arts (MMA) as she comes from boxing, where she compiled a 33-3 (1) record with 11 wins coming by way of knockout. To get to the finals, she had defeated Roxanne Modafferi by TKO in the quarter finals and then took a Unanimous Decision over Raquel Pennington in the semis.
With the women's bouts proving to be a ratings success for the eighteenth season of the Ultimate Fighter, the winner tonight could be on the fast track to a title shot.
For all the current news and notes on TUF 18 Finale: "Maynard vs. Diaz," be sure to check out the complete event archive right here.
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