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After contemplating retirement, one of the remaining TUF 17 alumni will be testing the waters in a different division, with the help of a new camp.

It is commonplace for cast members of The Ultimate Fighter to change weight classes after filming, and for one member of season 17, he’ll be doing it conjunction with a location change for camp.

Clint Hester (4-2 UFC) confirmed with Bloody Elbow that he has a matchup at 205 lbs, although the date and opponent are yet to be announced. Hester recently left his gym of X3 in Atlanta, Georgia, to train with Blackzilians in Boca Raton, Florida.

“I’ll always go back and help out in Atlanta, but I gotta go where I can be pushed by the best athletes in the world, and that’s what’s down here I think. They’ve given me a renewed sense of interest in my career. I was on the verge of hanging up my gloves, and I got a call to come down and try it out. I’m excited to learn again and get back in there.”

As for the weight class change, Hester cited difficulty in cuts as the catalyst.

“The weights cuts have gradually gotten harder since coming off the show. I almost missed weight last time. It was stressful. It was stressful during camp, stressful during the week of, and I ended up fighting two fights. I gotta go up.”

Hester is 0-2 in his last two fights, after going 4-0 in the promotion. Stay tuned for more details.

Ready or not, No. 9-ranked flyweight contender Wilson Reis is coming for the elite in the 125-pound division.

After ousting Roufusport product Dustin Ortiz at UFC on FOX 18 last weekend (Sat., Jan. 30, 2016), the up-and-coming grappling wizard took his place in the official rankings. Reis’ rather one-sided victory over Ortiz marked his fourth win under the ZUFFA banner and he feels he’s ready for a more difficult challenge.

Reis told Combate (via Bloody Elbow) of his intentions of fighting sooner rather than later:

“The first thing I checked in the morning was the UFC rankings. I went from number 12 to 9. That’s all I wanted. I hope I can fight someone who’s above me. I’m not injured, I’m ready to fight soon. I want to fight in Brazil in May. I think it makes sense to fight the winner of Joseph Benavidez vs. Zach Makovsky, but it could be John Moraga or Kyoji Horiguchi. Whoever is available.”

With the win in New Jersey, the Pennsylvania-based Reis brought his Octagon record up to 3-2. His lone losses have come against ranked combatants Jussier Formiga and Iuri Alcantara.

Now looking to move up the 125-pound food chain, Reis is setting his sights high for the winner of Benavidez vs. Makovsky, which takes place on the FOX Sports 1 main card of UFC Fight Night 82 tonight (Sat., Feb. 6, 2016) inside MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“Joe Jitsu” has held court in the Top 3 of the flyweight division since its inception in 2012. Benavidez’s only “L’s” have come against current champion and pound-for-pound stalwart Demetrious Johnson.

Makovsky, on the other hand, is a former Bellator bantamweight titleholder and he has achieved mixed results since his UFC debut. While his last outing against two-time title challenger John Dodson was very close, it still went down as a loss, bringing his promotional record to 3-2.

Personally, ex-title challengers John Moraga and Kyoji Horiguchi are more reasonable options seeing as how they both do not currently have a fight scheduled. A bout arrangement with Moraga might prove difficult, though, due to the former being slowed by post-concussion syndrome.

Regardless, in a contender-starved flyweight division, Reis isn’t short of options to prove his mettle against.

For more UFC Fight Night 82 news and notes, including up-to-the-minute live results and play-by-play, click here and here.

No. 12-ranked UFC heavyweight contender Jared Rosholt heard the voices — the voices of thousands of mixed martial arts (MMA) fans criticizing his performance over Dutch kickboxer Stefan Struve at UFC 193 last November.

It wasn’t the most thrilling contest, but for “Big Show,” a win is a win.

“At the end of the day, you gotta win. If you got out there and try to put on an exciting fight and lose, then you’re going backwards. I’m trying to go forward and get to be the best,” Rosholt told MMA Fighting.

That doesn’t mean he’s not trying to improve.

The standout wrestler from Oklahoma State University is a winner of three straight Octagon tilts and is scheduled to face potent veteran Roy Nelson in the UFC Fight Night 82 co-main event later tonight (Sat., Feb. 6, 2016) inside MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Though Rosholt has competed against the likes of “The Skyscraper” and Soa Palelei, “Big Country” represents a different kind of test.

“He’s one of those tests where if you get past him, you belong fighting the top-tier guys. I think a win will have to be enough,” Rosholt said, adding. “How many times has he been finished in his career? Twice and once by the heaviest hitter in the UFC probably, Mark Hunt. It’ll be tough to finish Roy. He’s tough everywhere.”

Nelson’s chin is quite incomparable. The 39-year-old can take punishment like no other combatant can in UFC and his wars with former heavyweight champions Josh Barnett and Junior dos Santos are well-documented.

But previously heralded skills can sometimes erode, and it would appear the Nelson may be on the decline when taking a look at his last three performances, which were all losses.

There’s no question as to whether Nelson is still capable of putting on an entertaining tussle, the only one that remains is can he win? “Sin City” likes him to upend Rosholt’s win streak.

We’ll find out in a few more hours.

For more UFC Fight Night 82 news and notes, including up-to-the-minute live results and play-by-play, click here and here.

Bloody Elbow is the place to be for live fight night and post-event coverage of UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson on Saturday, February 6th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event pits Johny Hendricks against Stephen Thompson in a welterweight clash.

Tomorrow night’s card was supposed to be UFC 196: Werdum vs. Velasquez II, but with both men off the card, this PPV is now simply a UFC Fight Night on FS1. The night’s main event is a welterweight contest between former champion Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson, with a co-main event between heavyweight knockout artist Roy Nelson and standout wrestler Jared Rosholt. Also of note, the leading Fight Pass preliminary bout pits Mickey Gall against Mike “The Truth” Jackson, with a shot at CM Punk on the line only for Gall.

As usual, before we get to the fights ahead we have to make sure they all make weight. Bloody Elbow has live updates on the UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson weigh-ins starting at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT on Friday, February 5th. Live video of the weigh-ins can be viewed by pressing the play button at the top of the page. We will provide updates here and on the @BloodyElbow Twitter account.

Here’s the bout order for Saturday’s show:

Main Card (FS1, 10 PM ET)

Johny Hendricks (170) vs. Stephen Thompson (170)
Roy Nelson (258) vs. Jared Rosholt (245)
Rafael Cavalcante (205) vs. Ovince Saint Preux (206)
Joseph Benavidez (125) vs. Zach Makovsky (125)
Misha Cirkunov (206) vs. Alex Nicholson (201)
Mike Pyle (170) vs. Sean Spencer (170)

Preliminary Card (FS1, 8 PM ET)

Josh Burkman (156) vs. K.J. Noons (156)
Damian Grabowski (235) vs. Derrick Lewis (263)
Ray Borg (125) vs. Justin Scoggins (125)
Noad Lahat (145) vs. Diego Rivas (144)

Preliminary Card (Fight Pass, 7 PM ET)

Mickey Gall (170) vs. Mike Jackson (170)
Artem Lobov (145) vs. Alex White (145)