Johnson predicted Elliott to win TUF

The #1 pound for pound fighter Demetrious Johnson is so utterly dominant that the league ran out of challengers. So The Ultimate Fighter 24: Tournament of Champions was designed to find him a challenger.

It was a neat concept – take 16 champions from different promotions worldwide, and have them fight until one remained. Then have the teams coached by top contenders Henry Cejudo and Joseph Benavidez, who will fight each other, and determine the next #1 contender, too.

It began with the coaches picking teams.

Team Benavidez: Tim Elliott, Brandon Moreno, Damacio Page, Eric Shelton, Ronaldo Cândido, Matt Rizzo, Hiromasa Ogikubo and Terrence Mitchell.
Team Cejudo: Charlie Alaniz, Alexandre Pantoja, Adam Antolin, Yoni Sherbatov, Jamie Alvarez, Matt Schnell, Nkazimulo Zulu and Kai Kara-France.

The opening round of fights was made.

Tim Elliott (Titan FC) • Ranked #3 (Team Benavidez pick #1)
vs.
Charlie Alaniz (Hex Fight Series) • Ranked #14 (Team Cejudo)
Winner: Tim Elliott

Alexandre Pantoja (Resurrection Fighting Alliance) • Ranked #1 (Team Cejudo pick 2)
vs.
Brandon Moreno (World Fighting Federation) – Ranked #16 (Team Benavidez)
Winner: Alexandre Pantoja

Damacio Page (Legacy FC) • Ranked #4 (Team Benavidez pick 3)
vs.
Adam Antolin (Tachi Palace Fights) • Ranked #13 (Team Cejudo)
Winner: Adam Antinlin

Yoni Sherbatov (Xcessive Force FC) • Ranked #2 (Team Cejudo pick 4)
vs.
Eric Shelton (Caged Aggression MMA) • Ranked #15 (Team Benavidez)
Winner: Eric Shelton

Ronaldo Candido (Shooto South America) • Ranked #7 (Team Benavidez pick 5)
vs.
Jamie Alvarez (Absolute FC) • Ranked #10 (Team Cejudo)
Winner: Ronaldo Candido

Matt Schnell (Legacy FC) • Ranked #6 (Team Cejudo pick 6)
vs.
Matt Rizzo (Ring of Combat) • Ranked #11 (Team Benavidez)
Winner: Matt Schnell

Hiromasa Ogikubo (Shooto Japan) • Ranked #5 (Team Benavidez pick 7)
vs.
Nkazimulo Zulu (EFC Worldwide) • Ranked #12 (Team Cejudo)
Winner: Hiromasa Ogikubo

Kai Kara-France (Bragging Rights Fight Series) • Ranked #9 (Team Cejudo pick 8)
vs.
Terrence Mitchell (Alaska FC) • Ranked #8 (Team Benavidez)
Winner: Kai Kara-France

Quarter Finals
Alexandre Pantoja beat Kai Kara-France
Hiromasa Ogikubo beat Adam Antolin
Eric Shelton beat Ronaldo Candido
Tim Elliott beat Matt Schnell

Semi Finals
Hiromasa Ogikubo beat Alexandre Pantoja
Tim Elliott beat Eric Shelton

Finals
Tim Elliott beat Hiromasa Ogikubo

So Tim Elliott fights Demetrious Johnson at the TUF 24 Finale on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, and the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, live on FOX Sports 1.

And Mighty Mouse predicted it, more or less.

I picked Tim Elliott or Damacio Page to win this season, said Johnson to Karyn Bryant. At the end of the day, I don’t overlook anybody.”

Elliott is not the undiscovered talent that the series would have ideally generated. But he is the best man on the show. Elliott was released by the UFC last year after losing three in a row. He then won three in a row at Titan FC, and of course won four exhibition f.ights on TUF 24. Johnson is a -1275 favorite to win. The rest of the card is extremely competitive

Main Card (FOX Sports 1)
Demetrious Johnson (c) vs. Tim Elliott
Joseph Benavidez vs. Henry Cejudo
Jake Ellenberger vs. Jorge Masvidal
Ion Cutelaba vs. Jared Cannonier
Sara McMann vs. Alexis Davis
Brandon Moreno vs. Ryan Benoit
Prelim Card (FOX Sports 1)
Gray Maynard vs. Ryan Hall
Rob Font vs. Matt Schnell
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Brendan O’Reilly
Kailin Curran vs. Jamie Moyle
Prelim Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Elvis Mutapcic vs. Anthony Smith
Josh Stansbury vs. Devin Clark