A pair of fighters who got second chances will meet in Las Vegas on Thursday night to determine the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 22.
It was revealed on Wednesday's episode of TUF that Team McGregor's Artem Lobov will square off with Team Faber's Ryan Hall in the lightweight finale bout at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
Team McGregor's Saul Rogers, who appeared to have punched his ticket to the finals by taking out teammate Marcin Wrzosek late in the second round of their semifinal bout with a rear-naked choke, had trouble getting back into the country from Great Britain due to visa issues.
"Saul lied on his visa application and now has problems getting into the country and cannot fight in the Finale for The Ultimate Fighter," UFC president Dana White said. "So, Ryan Hall, who fought Rogers to a majority decision loss, will now get the opportunity."
Hall, a former World Jiu-Jitsu Championships gold medalist, dropped a tight majority decision to Rogers in the semifinals.
Lobov, a Russian expatriate who trains with McGregor at Dublin's Straight Blast Gym, used a brutal left hook to the jaw to finish Team Faber's Julian Erosa early in the first round of the other semifinal.
Lobov lost his prelimary-round bout, but with each fighter allowed to bring back one fighter eliminated in the fight-in round, McGregor gave him a second chance. Lobov has won all three of his tournament bouts since his return via knockout.
"I got back into the house and I believe I proved Dana right," Lobov said. "I got three KOs, no one else got a KO, I brought excitement, I represented my countries with pride and honor."
The other fights announced for Friday's event, according to FOX, are Abner Lloveras vs. Chris Gruetzemacher and Marcin Wrzosek vs. Julian Erosa.
