Longtime former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and Pride legend and former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua have been announced as the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4. The news was first announced on the UFC’s Brazilian website and was then discussed by UFC President Dana White on Twitter:
The next coaches for TUF Brazil are Anderson Silva and Shogun Rua!!! http://t.co/JkTplR1dQC
— Dana White (@danawhite) October 29, 2014
The news was broken Wednesday night and certainly comes as a surprise. Both Silva and Rua currently have fights lined up (Rua fights in the main event of UFC Fight Night 56 this coming Saturday, and Anderson Silva will fight Nick Diaz in January at UFC 183). However, while fans might be getting excited about the idea of two living legends facing off…not so fast. White was quick to state that they were not going to face off after:
They will not fight each other at the end of the season. They will fight different opponents.
— Dana White (@danawhite) October 29, 2014
The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil has been a solid success for the promotion and has featured Brazilian MMA royalty such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort taking on coaching positions. The coaching selection from the show’s third season, however, was filled with controversy as Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva were frequently at odds and had an odd, somewhat-scripted brawl on the set. The previously planned coaches’ fight never came to fruition, and both fighters have been banned from competition by the Nevada State Athletic Commission since.
Details past the coaching selection, however, are sparse. The season will be taped in Las Vegas (previous seasons had all been taped in Brazil) at some point in 2015, but it is unknown which weight classes will be featured. Obviously, it is completely unknown whom Silva or Rua will face following the show.
Keep an eye out here for more news as it becomes available.
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