The final four is set … no, not that one. But at least one with a bracket we can follow, which is better than nothing in this currently crazy world.
The UFC is giving us a little tournament flavor, in the wake of the cancelation of just about every sports event going – including the NCAA Tournament, which means no office pool to get your hopes up for this year.
The promotion, through UFC Fight Pass, set up a 16-fight bracket for the best comebacks in MMA history. If you’re a Fight Pass subscriber, you can head there and watch all the fights. Then you can vote for each round in polls at the UFC Fight Pass official Twitter feed.
The initial round of 16 featured nine UFC bouts, three from PRIDE, two from Strikeforce, one from Invicta FC and one from Cage Warriors. The first round wrapped up Friday – and there was just one upset. The round of eight is complete, and we’ve hit the final four – with the two top seeds, one mild underdog, and one big Cinderella story.
No. 11 seed Darren Elkins’ win over Mirsad Bektic topped No. 6 seed Scodtt Smith’s win over Pete Sell in the opening round. In the quarterfinals, Elkins was a surprise winner over No. 3 seed Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s PRIDE win over Bob Sapp to get to the semifinals.
Elkins-Bektic now is matched up against No. 2 seed Cheick Kongo’s win over Pat Barry. On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 seed Anderson Silva’s fifth-round submission of Chael Sonnen at UFC 148 takes on No. 5 seed Frankie Edgar’s win over Gray Maynard in their trilogy fight.
Check out the current bracket with the semifinals set above. Then check in with the UFC Fight Pass Twitter account for the latest polls in the final four Sunday, followed by the final Monday. The polls are out each day starting at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Take a look at the four finalists inside: