Tune in tonight for the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter season 23, as coaches Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha look to lead their teams to victory.
Folks, you’ve been waiting in anticipation. You’ve been feeling the absence. You’ve been salivating at the thought of MMA’s biggest return. Well tonight, you get it.
The Ultimate Fighter is back.
Yes indeed, for the 23rd time (or 32nd if you want to count the international seasons, but who does?) we are going to bear witness to the fitness of the modern warrior and find out who is TUF. No, they haven’t used that song in years. No, I don’t care.
Tonight launches the debut of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia, a season focused on Light Heavyweight men and Strawweight women with coaches Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha. The two hour season premiere airs tonight on Fox Sports 1 at 10:00 p.m. ET.
There are two things to like about this show right off the bat. #1 – the coaches. Joanna Champion has gained a real cult following in her run as UFC Women’s Strawweight champion, and this is a great chance for her to gain more of the spotlight. And I love that this spotlight is being focused firmly on Joanna and challenger Gadelha. The company is using TUF to build interest in these relatively lesser known coaches, and I will take that over Team Cruz vs Team Faber II any day. Indications are that the two had quite the rivalry on set too, so that could be fun. #2 – the inclusion of the Women’s Strawweight division. That’s a relatively thin division in the UFC, so this provides a good opportunity to bring in some strong prospects and should make for some very good fights.
On the other hand, 16 Light Heavyweight prospects? Oh boy.
Tonight, 32 fighters compete for the 16 spots in the house, so lots and lots of fighting tonight. Here is the full list of 32:
Light Heavyweight: Abdel Medjedoub, Andrew Sanchez, Cory Hendricks, Elias Urbina, Eric Spicely, Jamelle Jones, John Paul Elias, Josh Stansbury, Kenneth Bergh, Khalil Rountree, Marcel Fortuna, Muhammed Dereese, Myron Dennis, Norman Paraisy, Phil Hawes, Trevor Carlson
Women’s Strawweight: Alyssa Krahn, Amanda Cooper, Amy Montenegro, Ashley Cummins, Ashley Yoder, Chelsea Bailey, Helen Harper, Irene Rivera, Jamie Moyle, JJ Aldrich, Jodie Esquibel, Kate Jackson, Kristi Lopez, Lanchana Green, Mellony Geugjes, Tatiana Suarez.
See how it all shakes out tonight on the TUF 23 season premiere.