TUF

UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter officially returns in March of 2021

by
UFC, Dana White

Tonight on the UFC Vegas 12 broadcast, it was officially announced that The Ultimate Fighter would be returning in March of 2021. The Ultimate Fighter will feature fighters in the men’s bantamweight division and the middleweight division.

The UFC‘s reality show will air exclusively on ESPN+. On the broadcast, it was announced that the UFC is currently conducting virtual auditions for the show. The announcement was made tonight for the show, but there was one thing missing.

The UFC did not announce who would be the coaches for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. There has been plenty of speculation about who could be the coaches. However, we were left in the dark on that one.

The show has produced some of the best fighters the promotion has ever seen. Guys like Kamaru Usman and Tony Ferguson are two that come to mind. UFC champions have been bred from The Ultimate Fighter, and it’s very exciting that the UFC is officially bringing it back to ESPN+.

Who will be the UFC’s coaches?

While there were no official announcements from the UFC, we can certainly start to speculate on who will coach the next season of TUF. One option that sticks out in my mind would be to have Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns coach the next season.

The two were originally supposed to fight at UFC 256, however the fight was scrapped due to some lingering injuries for Burns. We don’t know when exactly the fight will take place. However, if it can’t take place until April, that would be an option for the promotion.

A sexier option could be to have Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington coach the next season. Masvidal has blossomed into one of the biggest stars in the sport. Colby Covington who’s his former friend has turned into his biggest rival.

The UFC is currently working to book those two in a fight against each other, but nothing is finalized. Perhaps they could coach the next season of TUF to build that fight up even more. However, I’m not sure the UFC will want to push the fight that far out.

Another possibility would be Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz. Tonight, the promotion announced that Adesanya would be moving up to light heavyweight to challenge Blachowicz next year. Could be another avenue for the promotion to build up one of their biggest stars.

UFC: Could Masvidal and Diaz be the next coaches on The Ultimate Fighter?

by

The UFC‘s reality show, The Ultimate Fighter, is coming back. Filming on the promotion’s show is set to begin in late October. Dana White said that the show starts filming as soon as he gets back from Fight Island.

That being said, there has been a lot wondering on who would be the next coaches. Since the show is making it’s ESPN debut, you would think that the UFC would want to put their best foot forward in terms of star power.

Earlier this year, it was rumored that Paulo Costa and Israel Adesanya were the front runners to coach. Of course, that would have been a very solid coaching tandem, but that never materialized. Recently Calvin Kattar said he wanted to coach opposite Max Holloway.

While those are solid options, I think I have an idea that’s just a little better. Why not have two of the biggest stars in the sport coach before their UFC rematch? One of them just happens to be a former winner of The Ultimate Fighter.

TUF and the UFC’s BMF

Recently, it was reported that the UFC is close to finalizing the BMF rematch with Jorge Masvidal (35-14) and Nate Diaz (20-12). The two fought back at UFC 244, but the end result left a lot to be desired in the eyes of the fans.

A doctor’s stoppage took away a definitive finish to the fight. Masvidal won the fight and the right to call himself the UFC‘s BMF. Masvidal has always wanted to give Diaz another shot because the fight didn’t end the way he wanted it to.

The rumored fight is supposed to take place in early 2021. With that timeline, it makes it very possible that the UFC makes Masvidal and Diaz the coaches if they are willing to do it. Diaz competed on season five of TUF and won the show.

Masvidal also has some reality TV experience himself. This might be a tough sell to Diaz, but if the UFC could make it happen, it would be the biggest coaching tandem they could put together for their ESPN debut. I don’t know if it will happen, but don’t be shocked to hear those names being discussed.