There’s a mystery fighter taking part in the next season of The Ultimate Fighter who’s so fearsome, he put the fear of God into everybody in the TUF house.
Dana White cryptically hinted at a potential new star on the coming season of the UFC’s long-running reality show, telling outlets like ESPN that this man sent four men to the hospital when he fought them.
Whoever he is, the guy sounds like a badass.
But a recent interview from across the Atlantic might hint at his identity.
Tor Troeng.
Don’t be surprised if the name sounds awesome, but unfamiliar. Swedish fighter Tor “The Hammer” Troeng has spent much of his fighting career in Europe, and prior to trying out for TUF, has never competed on American soil.
But according to a recent interview with Swedish website Kimura.se (via Google Translate), Troeng is indeed a competitor on the show—and he just might be the dangerous phenom that White is talking about.
Troeng was cagey in his interview with Kimura.se, only stating that he couldn’t talk about anything that took place on TUF. Nonetheless, the website seems to state that the middleweight fighter was competing as “a participant in the TUF house.”
However, Swedish website MMAnytt has also confirmed (via Google Translate) that Troeng appears in the latest trailer for the show, very briefly seen using battleropes at the 0:15 mark.
If we know that much to be a fact, that begs the next question: Is “The Hammer” the one who held his TUF 17 cast members in an iron grip of fear?
Not only does this author think so, there’s also strong circumstantial evidence that suggests he’s one of the season’s two finalists. Let’s break down this train of thought.
1. Troeng is definitely a competitor on the show and a cast member of the TUF household.
2. Dana White said that a TUF cast member put four opponents in the hospital. Given that he said so in the same breath and as though this happened during the course the show, it’s fair to assume that this person won his elimination fight, first round match, quarterfinal bout and semifinal qualifier.
3. Troeng is a solid fighter and currently boasts a gaudy 11-1-1 stretch (with nine finishes) dating back over the last four years. That’s impressive, especially considering his last loss was against former UFC fighter Thales Leites.
4. Troeng is an extremely violent fighter.
Just look at this highlight reel of his matches, which includes frantic ground-and-pound, huge slams, one-punch knockout power and dominant wrestling chops. A fighter like that seems to fit the bill of someone who would instill fear in his competitors.
All that circumstantial evidence seems to point squarely at Bloody Elbow‘s 2012 World MMA Middleweight Scouting Report prospect as a TUF 17 finalist.
If all the clues are indeed pointing to the right man, he might even win the whole season.
But as usual, we can’t know for certain unless more information is leaked. Maybe European sledgehammer Tor Troeng really is this mystery fighter—but even if he isn’t, just who the hell is the guy that eventually beat him?
McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.
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