While the women’s finale is a clash between fellow Team Gastelum members, in Friday’s heavyweight battle it’s Team Whittaker versus Team Gastelum.
Early in the season, Kelvin Gastelum and his coaching staff expressed concerns over Frazier’s conditioning after he was left throwing up following an early training session, but the 29-year-old “Grizzly Bear” alleviated all those concerns by securing back-to-back wins to land a place in the finals.
Sporting a 10-2 record overall with losses to TUF alum Mike Wessel and recent title challenger Derrick Lewis heading into the competition, Frazier scored a unanimous decision win over Anderson da Silva in the quarterfinals before collecting a first-round TKO stoppage victory over Michel Batista to arrive in Friday’s finale.
Meanwhile, the 38-year-old Espino continued his impressive resurgence upon entering the house, posting a decision win over Team Gastelum’s top pick Ben Sosoli in the opening round before quickly submitting his second heavyweight selection, Maurice Greene, in the semis to secure his place opposite Frazier, the final competitor picked on the men’s side of the draw, this weekend.
Espino began his career in 2011 with a pair of first-round submission wins in Spain before suffering a nine-second loss to unbeaten Russian standout Vitaly Minakov and taking a sabbatical from competition. He returned to action in March 2017 with a first-round submission win and added five more victories, including a decision over UFC vet Rodney Wallace, before joining this season’s cast.
New names are always welcomed in the heavyweight ranks and whoever emerges victorious should get a chance to prove themselves in the ever-fluid big boy division in the opening half of 2019.
