There will be few familiar names on the season 17 cast of The Ultimate Fighter, which features middleweights as the show shifts to Tuesdays on its cable broadcast home FX. The show debuts on Jan. 22.
The 28 fighters who will be split up into teams coached by Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen were revealed to USA Today on Wednesday morning.
Those that might have at least a passing familiarity to diehard fans include Kevin Casey, Nik Fekete and Zak Cummings.
Casey, a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black belt, fought twice in Strikeforce, including once against Matt Lindland in May 2010. Casey lost by third-round TKO in that match. He is also well known for a previous affiliation with onetime media darlings Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag. Casey is 5-2 in his MMA career.
Fekete is 5-1 and holds a decision win over Strikeforce light-heavyweight Ovince St. Preux on his ledger. Fekete also fought twice in Bellator, once losing in a memorable submission to Richard Hale by inverted triangle.
Cummings also has experience in Strikeforce and Bellator, and has faced veterans like Tim Kennedy, Ryan Jimmo and Terry Martin during his career. He’s 15-3.
Among the other contestants are Uriah Hall, whose only career losses are to Chris Weidman and Constantinos Philippou, and Robert “Bubba” McDaniel, who has competed against notables like Alexander Shlemenko and Gerald Harris. The cast features some international flavor as well, with an Australian, a British fighter, a South African, a Jamaican, and a Swede.
The full cast list is below.
Dylan Andrews (16-4-1)
Kito Andrews (9-2)
Luke Barnatt (5-0)
Leo Bercier (7-2)
Ryan Bigler (9-3)
Kevin Casey (5-2)
Adam Cella (4-0)
Zak Cummings (15-3)
Andy Enz (6-1)
Nik Fekete (5-1)
Kelvin Gastelum (5-0)
Uriah Hall (7-2)
Collin Hart (4-1-1)
Clint Hester (7-3)
Jake Heun (3-2)
Mike Jasper (6-0)
Nicholas Kohring (3-0)
Robert “Bubba” McDaniel (20-6)
Fraser Opie (10-5)
Mike Persons (3-0)
Jimmy Quinlan (3-0)
Scott Rosa (4-1)
Joshua Samman (9-2)
Gilbert Smith Jr. (5-1)
Eldon Sproat (3-1)
Tor Troeng (15-4-1)
Eric Wahlin (5-1)
Timothy Williams (7-1)