Author: John Morgan [kingofabuelos]

LAS VEGAS – The debut season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ has long been
recognized as the starting point of MMA’s current popularity boom and
was responsible for launching the careers of stars such as Stephan
Bonnar, Kenny Florian, Forrest Griffin, Josh Koscheck, Chris Leben,
Diego Sanchez and Mike Swick.

But as successful as the 2005 series debut proved, imagine what it could have been with one Chael P. Sonnen.

Sonnen, who coaches on the upcoming 17th edition of the series, says he actually turned down a spot on “TUF 1.”

LAS VEGAS – The debut season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ has long been
recognized as the starting point of MMA’s current popularity boom and
was responsible for launching the careers of stars such as Stephan
Bonnar, Kenny Florian, Forrest Griffin, Josh Koscheck, Chris Leben,
Diego Sanchez and Mike Swick.

But as successful as the 2005 series debut proved, imagine what it could have been with one Chael P. Sonnen.

Sonnen, who coaches on the upcoming 17th edition of the series, says he actually turned down a spot on “TUF 1.”

Five months from now, Chael Sonnen will fight for the UFC’s light heavyweight title.

He hasn’t registered a 205-pound win in the octagon since 2006, and he
was soundly defeated by UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in his
most recent appearance. So why did UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon
Jones agree to coach opposite Sonnen on “The
Ultimate Fighter 17” and ultimately face him in the octagon?

“Bones” said it was an easy choice. This is his chance to silence the trashtalking master by beating him down in a cage.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (21-6 MMA,
5-4 UFC) is auctioning a pair of fight-worn gloves in the name of a
Brazilian charity.

Rua autographed the gloves he used in his UFC on FOX 4 win over Brandon
Vera and is hosting an auction for them at doesantacasa.org.

All money raised from the auction will go to the hospitals of Irmandade
da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Curitiba in Rua’s native Curitiba,
Brazil.

Ticket’s for the UFC’s traditional Super Bowl weekend event go on sale this week.

“UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar” takes place Feb. 2 at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center and features a featherweight title fight between current champ Jose Aldo and former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, as well as Antonio Silva vs. Alistair Overeem.

UFC 156 tickets range from $75 to $750 plus fees.

Welcome to our mini-recap for episode No. 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs. UK.”

The show, also dubbed “TUF: The Smashes,” features Australian fighter George Sotiropoulos and the U.K.’s Ross Pearson as head coaches of their country’s respective teams, which feature a total of eight lightweights and eight welterweights.

Check out the highlights from this week’s new episode.