Press Release – Las Vegas, Nevada – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization will be hosting a casting call for the next US edition of its long-running reality series, The Ultimate Fighter®, on September 17, 2012, in Las Vegas. Season 17 will feature middleweight (185lbs) and light heavyweight (205lbs) fighters.
All TUF™ 17 candidates must be at least 21 years old, have a minimum of three professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights – and hold a winning record (with verifiable records). Applications, which should be completed and brought to the tryouts, can be found online at http://www.ufc.com/tuf17. Tryout details are provided below:
Where:
Palace Station Hotel, 2411 West Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada 89102
Tryouts will be held in the Grand Ballroom
When:
Monday, September 17, 2012*
Registration begins at 8:00 AM PT
Fighters will be required to grapple & hit pads. Please bring appropriate gear.
*Applicants will be notified at the end of the tryouts if they have been selected to continue on in the casting process. If selected, applicants must be prepared to stay in Las Vegas until September 22.
Middleweights were most recently featured on TUF 11, where Court McGee emerged as season winner; while light heavyweights were last featured on TUF 8, the title captured by Ryan Bader.
TUF, which debuted in 2005, has launched the careers of more than 100 UFC fighters and has produced past champions such as Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, Michael Bisping and Matt Serra.
With the UFC’s landmark seven-year deal with FOX, FX became the new home of TUF in 2012. The two-hour season premiere of TUF 16 is set to air Friday, September 14 at 9 PM ET/PT.
TUF 17 is expected to debut on FX in early 2013. Coaches have not yet been announced.
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About Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Universally recognized for its action-packed, can’t-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX.
In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 20different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website, UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with over two million followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best-selling DVDs, an internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TV offering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, the best-selling UFC Undisputed® video game franchise distributed by THQ, and a new franchise in development with EA, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel and trading cards.