Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter” premieres on Sept. 4 in a new regular Wednesday time slot and with a new home on FOX Sports 1. The season also features women coaches for the first time – and both women and men competitors training under those coaches and living in the same house.
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will coach opposite her biggest rival, Miesha Tate, and the two will meet at UFC 168 in December in a rematch for Rousey’s title.
But on Thursday, the UFC revealed, through FOX Sports, the bantamweight fighters they’ll be coaching when the show kicks off less than three weeks from now.
There are some familiar names in the initial cast, as well. Women’s veteran Tara LaRosa (21-3) will be on the show, as will Shayna Baszler (15-8) and Roxanne Madafferi (15-10). All three women have been competing professionally for more than 10 years – and all three have fought each other in the past. Modafferi fought for Strikeforce’s women’s bantamweight title, Baszler has a pair of “Fight of the Night” wins for Invicta Fighting Championship and LaRosa is a former BodogFIGHT titleholder.
On the men’s side, Bellator veteran Cody Bollinger (14-3), who holds a notable win over Cameron Dollar, will get his biggest shot yet. And Lee Sandmeir (9-0), who has seven submission wins while tearing up the Midwest circuit fighting for Monte Cox’s Extreme Challenge and Iowa Challenge promotions, made the cut.
In terms of international flavor, the women’s side features Laura Howarth (4-0) of England and Sarah Moras (3-1) of Canada, and Modafferi is a longtime resident of Japan. But the men’s field will have six countries represented – Brazil (Rafael Freitas is a native), Canada, England, Ireland, Sweden and the United States.
“This season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ was monumental, as we had women as coaches and competitors – fighting and living together with the men – for the first time ever,” UFC President Dana White stated. “Obviously the fierce rivalry between Ronda and Miesha is going to get everyone’s attention, but it doesn’t take away from their dedication and success as coaches and the level of talent this season. One of the things that always makes ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ great is the fights, and this season continues to deliver. Since we added the women’s division earlier this year, they’ve been putting on awesome fights, and the streak continues on the show, giving the men some serious competition and setting up some ‘Fight of the Night’-worthy battles.”
Here’s a look at the 32 fighters who will be part of the Season 18 debut on Sept. 4 on FOX Sports 1:
WOMEN
- Shayna Baszler (15-8), 33, Sioux Falls, S.D.
- Revelina Berto (3-1), 24, Winter Haven, Fla.
- Jessamyn Duke (2-1), 27, Richmond, Ky.
- Tonya Evinger (11-6), 32, Lake St. Louis, Mo.
- Laura Howarth (4-0), 26, Hove, East Essex, England
- Tara LaRosa (21-3), 35, Albuquerque, N.M.
- Valerie Letourneau (4-3), 30, La Prairie, Canada
- Bethany Marshall (4-1), 25, Newport News, Va.
- Sarah Moras (3-1), 25, Kelowna, Canada
- Peggy Morgan (2-0), 33, Nashua, N.H.
- Gina Mazany (3-0), 25, Seattle
- Roxanne Modafferi (15-10), 30, Pittsfield, Mass.
- Julianna Pena (4-2), 24, Spokane, Wash.
- Raquel Pennington (3-3), 24, Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Jessica Rakoczy (1-3), 36, Las Vegas
- Colleen Schneider (4-3), 31, Las Vegas
MEN
- Chris Beal (7-0), 28, Somis, Calif.
- Cody Bollinger (14-3), 22, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
- Louis Fisette (6-1), 23, Winnipeg
- Rafael Freitas (6-0-1), 29, Albuquerque, N.M.
- Davey Grant (8-1), 27, Bishop Auckland, England
- Tim Gorman (9-2), 30, West Des Moines, Iowa
- Anthony Gutierrez (4-0), 22, Lee’s Summit, Mo.
- Emil Hartsner (4-0), 23, Luberod, Sweden
- Josh Hill (9-0), 26, Binbrook, Canada
- Chris Holdsworth (4-0), 25, Woodland Hills, Calif.
- Patrick Holohan (9-0-1), 25, Dublin
- Sirwan Kakai (9-1), 23, Coconut Creek, Fla.
- Danny Martinez (18-4), 28, San Diego
- Matt Munsey (4-1), 26, Hollywood, Fla.
- Lee Sandmeier (9-0), 30, Knoxville, Iowa
- Michael Wooten (6-0), 24, Liverpool, England
For more on Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” stay tuned to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
