The Ultimate Fighter 15 is set to debut this Friday on FX, and among changes to where the show will be broadcast are format changes as well. Now, the show will be shot and edited the same week of the broadcast and the fights will be broadcast live.
“I think it’s going to be awesome,” said former UFC champion and TUF coach Forrest Griffin. “It was always a thing where the fights were done, and everybody knew they were done. Everybody knows, and you can’t say, it’s kind of like stupid. And then somebody figures out, it ends up on the Internet. This will be cool. We will all find out at the same time.”
“It’s one of the newest things I like,” UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell said. “I kind of know what’s going on from the post-fight so I don’t get to watch it a lot of times of the fight because I already know who won, and I know way ahead of time. Now, they are fighting every week so it gives you a reason to check it out.”
This season’s coaches will be former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber and reigning UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.
Cruz and Faber are 1-1 against each other and will look to settle their rivalry later this year at UFC 148. Cruz got revenge against Faber at UFC 136 after winning a unanimous decision. Faber rebounded with a win over Brian Bowles while Cruz went on to defeat Demetrious Johnson.
“It’s twice as long and everybody has to tune in if they want the fast result,” Faber said. “We’re expecting a lot of viewers. It’s going to be great for everybody.”
Among this season’s cast are fighters Dakota Cochrane, Daron Cruickshank, James Krause, Cristiano Marcello and Jeff Smith. Full cast list available at MMAJunkie.com.
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