Press Release: Cast Announced for Next Season of The Ultimate Fighter!
Posted by Larry Csonka on 08.18.2008
Two Of The UFC’s Top Heavyweights, Interim Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Former Champ Frank Mir, To Serve As Coaches!
SPIKE TV sent out the following press release today:
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER: TEAM MIR VS TEAM NOGUEIRA," FEATURING FIGHTERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, PREMIERES SEPTEMBER 17
New York , NY , August 18, 2008 – They come from all over the globe, spanning Brooklyn to Israel , including far-off locales such as Russia , Nova Scotia , England , and Hawaii . Their diverse backgrounds range from a former Division 1 college football player to a CIA recruiter and include the brother of "The Ultimate Fighter 2" winner.
For these 32 up-and-coming mixed martial arts fighters, there is one goal, to win a six-figure contract with the preeminent mixed martial arts organization in the world, The Ultimate Fighting Championship.®
Season eight of Spike TV's wildly successful original series, "The Ultimate Fighter," premieres Wednesday, September 17 at 10:00pm ET/PT, with 16 lightweights (155lbs) and 16 light heavyweights (205lbs) under the watchful eye of the coaches interim UFC heavyweight champion, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.
Each of the 32 contestants must fight his way into the Ultimate Fighter House by winning a preliminary bout that will be featured during the first two episodes (Sept. 17 and 24). The remaining 10 episodes will feature the victorious 16 fighters and their quest for the coveted "Ultimate Fighter" crown.
During the six-week taping of "The Ultimate Fighter: Team Mir vs. Team Nogueira," these 16 men who survived the prelims endured a grueling regimen of jiu-jitsu, judo, muay thai, karate, boxing and wrestling. The intense competition between the fighters continues after they leave the gym – at The Ultimate Fighter House. These warriors must live together, knowing that any day they might be forced to fight each other in the famed UFC Octagon™.
The two finalists will square off in a live finale Saturday, December 13 on Spike TV, when the two weight class winners will be declared The Ultimate Fighter® and net the aforementioned contract and a cash prize. UFC President Dana White will once again serve as host of the series.
After each show, Spike.com users will get exclusive extended footage from each episode and an exclusive video leak of the upcoming episode.
Craig Piligian of Pilgrim Films and Television, Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White of Zuffa, LLC, and Kevin Kay of Spike TV are the show's executive producers. Brian J. Diamond, senior vice president, Sports & Specials, Spike TV is co-executive producer and Christopher Martello is executive in charge of production for Spike TV.
The 32 fighters for "The Ultimate Fighter: Team Mir vs. Team Nogueira" include:
LIGHTWEIGHTS
Jose Aguilar
Age: 25
MMA Record: 17-3-0
Trains With: Grapplers Edge
Location: Las Cruces , NM
Fernando Bernstein
Age: 25
MMA Record: 2-0-0
Location: San Clemente , CA
Marcus Brimage
Age: 22
MMA Record: 1-0-0
Location: Birmingham , AL
Junie Allen Browning
Age: 22
MMA Record: 2-0-0
Trains With: Four Seasons Martial Arts
Location: Lexington , KY
Rolando Delgado
Age: 26
MMA Record: 7-3-1
Trains With: Westside Fight Team
Location: North Little Rock , AR
Joseph Duarte
Age: 24
MMA Record: 3-0
Trains With: Unleashed Training Facility/ Alliance MMA
Location: San Diego , CA
Efrain Escudero
Age: 22
MMA Record: 10-0-0
Trains With: Southwest Martial Arts
Location: Tempe , AZ
Tom Matijacic
Age: 31
MMA Record: 4-0-1
Trains With:
Location: Tigard , OR
Sean O'Connell
Age: 24
MMA Record: 1-0-0
Location: Salt Lake City , UT
Shane Primm
Age: 23
MMA Record: 1-0-0
Trains With: Team Gracie Tampa
Location: Tampa , FL
Krzysztof Soszynski
Age: 30
MMA Record: 16-8-1
Trains With: Team Quest
Location: Temecula , CA
Spike TV is available in 96.1 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV's Internet address is www.spike.com.
Wow they actually have some pretty good talent on this season.
Posted By: Ed (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 04:22 PM
"Darth" Bader ftw.
Posted By: Bren Oliver (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 04:39 PM
Some really good talent, some excellent records (10-0, 17-3, and so on), a bunch of veteran fighters with 15+ fights under the belts already, 2 weight classes again (finally), and at least one amazing training camp (I've yet to hear much about Mir's)... looks like it could be a really impressive season. Hopefully with the new "you break it, you buy it" philosophy about the house it'll mean more fights and less bs filler.
...any ideas who the "next Anderson Silva" that Dana was talking about?
Posted By: cyks (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 04:53 PM
So which one is the guy Dana White was saying is the next Anderson Silva?
Posted By: diavo (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 05:00 PM
Joe Duarte.
Posted By: Schmee (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 05:43 PM
I'm gonna half to say Nogueira's team wone the ultimate fighter because Frank MIR showed up on that UFC event with a SHAVED HEAD evidently he lost some sort of beat during the Taping of the ultimate fighter and had to shave his head as for the guy being the next Anderson Silva id half to say that guy thats form RUSSIA maybe well see win they air it I'm sure people ill figure it out quick
Posted By: Guest#4065 (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 05:49 PM
Jesus, Guest#4065...ever heard of punctuation?
Posted By: mrw420 (Guest) on August 18, 2008 at 06:15 PM
Congrats to DVDVR's Tom Lawlor for just getting to the round of 32.
Posted By: Ryan Mancuso (Registered) on August 18, 2008 at 08:09 PM
My money is on Krzysztof Soszynski.
Posted By: Villainaire (Guest) on August 19, 2008 at 10:23 AM
