TUF 24 was supposed to award the winner of the show a flyweight title shot. Now, unexpectedly, the tryouts have been cancelled.
It appears there might not be a flyweight title shot on the line during the next TUF after all. Last week, the UFC raised a few 125-pound eyebrows when it announced that The Ultimate Fighter 24 winner would face off against the winner of the Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo matchup scheduled for next week’s UFC 197 card. The tryouts were scheduled for April 25th, but the UFC has abruptly cancelled them according to a press release:
“UFC announced today that the open casting call for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter originally scheduled for April 25 in Las Vegas has been canceled. UFC apologizes for any inconveniences this cancellation has caused. More information about the next season of the show will be made available in the weeks to come.”
The situation seemed a little strange from the start – why would a guy with no roster experience get a title shot? There’s a pecking order and official rankings, after all. Even Mighty Mouse was confused about it – when told of the show’s premise, he said “that’s kind of f**ked up” and brought up the current roster issue, but ultimately said he’d face whoever the UFC puts in from of him.
For now though, that doesn’t appear to be a reality show tournament winner.