The Ultimate Fighter pipeline just spit out another live-finale scrap, and this one comes with a proper bantamweight pressure cooker. Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu and Mehemmedeli Osmanli are set to meet in the TUF 34 bantamweight finale at UFC Vegas 121 on September 26, with a UFC contract sitting at the end of the tunnel like the world’s meanest job interview.
Both finalists came through Team Bisping, which is the wonderfully chaotic twist here. Michael Bisping gets to watch two of his own guys scrap for the season crown while Daniel Cormier’s side of the bracket is out of the bantamweight final. That is a nasty little reality-TV elbow after weeks of house drama, weight cuts, and everyone pretending they are not one bad scramble away from heartbreak.
The TUF 34 Bantamweight Final Is Set For Las Vegas
Akylbek Uulu, a 22-year-old from Kyrgyzstan, pushed through the bracket after entering the season with a résumé that already had some real miles on it. He started his pro run in 2021, built a 7-1 record, won the Octagon League title in Kazakhstan, had a stop in ONE Championship, and later submitted Mo Miller in the fourth round under the American Fight Promotions banner before making the TUF 34 cast.
His run on the show was not exactly a spa day. Akylbek Uulu was cut during the evaluation period after a heated grappling exchange with Sean Mora, then still got cleared to continue. He beat Mora by split decision in the quarterfinals, then handled Xavier Franklin on the cards in the semifinal after a fight that had its own weird momentum swing when Herb Dean paused the action over an illegal blow.
Osmanli brings a different kind of headache. The 22-year-old Azerbaijani fighter came into the show as one of the flashier bantamweights in the house after winning flyweight and bantamweight titles for New Generation Fighting and going unbeaten across three UAE Warriors appearances. He then backed up the noise where it counts, choking Artem Belakh in the first round and later tapping Christian Strong with a second-round buggy choke after calling for that exact kind of finish.
The finale joins a UFC Vegas 121 lineup currently topped by Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Raoni Barcelos. The same card also has the TUF 34 women’s strawweight finale with Tina Black against Melissa Amaya, plus Norma Dumont vs. Ailin Perez, Montel Jackson vs. Ricky Simon, and Yazmin Jauregui vs. Vanessa Demopoulos among the listed fights.
That is a pretty clean lane for both bantamweights. Win on September 26 and the UFC contract is no longer a dream board item taped to a locker. It becomes real paperwork, real matchmakers, and real UFC spotlight waiting on the other side.
