Finally, the cast of Spike TV's
The Ultimate Fighter season 8 was finally revealed. As always, the contenders will divided into two teams and will be coached by former
UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir and reigning interim heavyweight titleholder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The two will also figure in a bout for the interim belt at a pay-per-view event in December. This year, the
Ultimate Fighter hopefuls belong to the lightweight and light heavyweight divisions.
It is set to premiere on September 17 at 10pm. Similar to last season's format, the 32 finalists will be trimmed down to 16 on the first episode. The teams will battle it out, leading to the two finalists in each weight class, who will meet in
The Ultimate Fighter 8 Live Finale on December 13 in Las Vegas live on Spike TV. Read on to see who is slugging it out at
The Ultimate Fighter's eights season.
Some of the notable lightweight contenders include John Polakowski, 26, a World Extreme Cagefighting veteran, Shane Nelson, 24, a B.J. Penn protégé who's on a five-game winning streak, Efrain Escudero, an unbeaten Rage in the Cage veteran, Lance Evans, brother of undefeated
UFC light heavyweight contender, and Brandon Garner, as yet the only man to submit UFC mainstay Jason Dent.
Meanwhile, the light heavyweight side will comprise of Ryan Bader, a former All-American wrestler, Ryan Jimmo, a rising Canadian sensation, Jason Guida, brother of
UFC lightweight contender Clay Guida, Krzysztof Soszynski, an International Fight League veteran, Tom Lawlor, from the American Top Team, and Vinicius Magalhaes, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black-belter.
The remaining lightweight fighters are Jose Aguilar, 25 from Las Cruces, New Mexico; Fernando Bernstein, 25, from San Clemente, California; Allen Browning, 22, from Lexington, Kentucky; Rolando Delgado, 26, from North Little Rock, Arkansas, Joseph Duarte, 24, from San Diego, California; David Kaplan, 28, from Camp Springs, Maryland; Brian McLaughlin, 23, from Tampa, Florida, Wesley Murch, 25, from Bristol, UK; Phillipe Nover, 24, from Brooklyn, New York, Ido Pariente, 30, from Tel Aviv, Israel; George Roop, 26, from Tucson, Arizona;
Jules Bruchez, 30, of Lafayette, Louisiana; Charles Diaz, 25, from San Diego, California; Karen Grigoryan, 26, from Russia; Kyle Kingsbury, 26, Sunnyvale, California; Ryan Lopez, 25, from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Eliot Marshall, 27, from Boulder Colorado, and Shane Primm, 23, from Tampa, Florida.
Glenn L. Diaz, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source:
Sherdog News
(Image Courtesy of Sherdog News)