The premiere date for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 29 is set, with the long-standing reality show making its return to the airwaves on June 1, 2021. While the show — which will air on ESPN+ and is coached by Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega — is locked and loaded, a date and a place for a title fight has yet to be secured.
But, according to Featherweight kingpin, the fight should go down sometime in September.
“From what I’m told, I don’t know if I’m going to get in trouble for saying this, I’m not sure, but I think it’s in September … early September,” Volkanovski said during a chat on “The Joe Rogan Experience” (via Middle Easy).
Interestingly enough, Dana White recently revealed that he is eyeing several cities, including Dallas and Boston, as potential host sites for a pay-per-view (PPV) event in September, which could very well be headlined by Volkanovski versus Ortega.
The two were set to throw down at UFC 260 before the fight was canceled after Volkanovski — winner of 19 straight — tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, the two were eventually paired up to coach TUF and their time on set was in an interesting one with White revealing the two almost came to blows during taping.
To hear “The Great” tell it, he doesn’t think much of “T-City” since all she’s shown him during their time together is how “fake” he is.
“To be honest, mate, he doesn’t say much,” Volkanovski said. “I don’t know, I’m a bit over him, to be honest. Just a couple things. I think he’s fake and I don’t believe his s—t. I just think he plays a nice guy, and some of the s—t he says, I think are all bulls—t. You can watch the show and sort of see weird little things. I don’t know, even with a couple of things. I don’t think he’s that bad of a guy, maybe I’m looking for things to hate on him.
“Like I said, it’s not hard to get under his skin,” he added. “Even me just saying that, I’m just he’s boiling up. So maybe that’s going to be strategy for my next fight, because I know how easily he’s triggered. It was funny, because you’re trying to get reads on him, but again, I just think he’s f—king awkward.”
Volkanovski has yet to taste defeat inside the Octagon (9-0), adding to a win streak that is now up to 19 straight. Ortega, meanwhile, is coming off an impressive win over Chan Sung Jung at UFC Fight Island 6 in Oct. 2020.