(The folder is fist-posing too, in spirit. Props: @WandFC.)
With filming for The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil starting next month in an undisclosed location, you may be wondering: “And dennnnnn??” So here’s a rundown of what we know so far…
— The season will feature two weight classes, featherweight and middleweight. Each bracket will feature 16 fighters to start, and an elimination round will narrow the talent down to eight fighters in each division, who will then move into the TUF: Brazil house.
— The show will air locally on the Globo channel in Brazil on Sunday nights starting March 25th, and will also be aired on FUEL TV in the U.S.
— The fight between coaches Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort, as well as the show’s featherweight and middleweight finals, will be part of a June pay-per-view card. Wandy is psyched about meeting his old rival: “This is one fight I really, really want to do before I retire. I’m so happy for a fight with this guy in Brazil.”
— Semi-related: featherweight winner Diego Brandao did in fact buy his mother a house. His mother celebrated his TUF 14 Finale win over Dennis Bermudez by getting wasted: “I can tell she’s drunk. She’s completely drunk. My friends told me, ‘Eeesh, it was crazy during the fights in Manaus. Everything stopped.’”