Sixteen middleweights and 16 featherweights will comprise the starting field of 32 Brazilians selected for the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.
The contestants were revealed today by the UFC’s Brazilian TV broadcast partner, Globo, and features mostly a host of young but unfamiliar names.
Among those that might be recognizable to North American fans are former Strikeforce fighter Rodrigo Damm and IFL veteran Delson Heleno. As is customary on the U.S. version of the show, the biggest names belong to coaches Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva.
The oldest (Gustavo Sampaio, 35) and youngest (Thiago Rela, 22) fighters in the field both come from the middleweight category. Meanwhile, Heleno with his 29 pro fights, is the most seasoned while 3-0 Richardson Moreira is the least experienced.
The elimination round is set to debut on March 25, and will air on UFC.com. The UFC and FUEL TV have both acknowledged a hope of airing the show on television, but as of yet, a deal that would make it possible has yet to be officially announced.
The full list of competitors for TUF: Brazil is as follows:
Middleweights
Sergio Moraes
Cezar Ferreira
Leonardo Mafra Teixeira
Daniel Sarafian
Gustavo Sampaio
Richardson Moreira
Fabio Luiz Vital da Costa
Renee Forte
Joao Paulo de Souza
Francisco Drinaldo
Thiago Rela
Charles Maicon
Gilberto Galvao
Thiago de Oliveira Perpetuo
Samuel Trindade
Delson Heleno
Featherweights
Alexandre Ramos
Rony Mariano Bezerra
Godofredo Pepey
Marcos Vinicius Borges Pancini
Anistavio Medeiros
Johnny Goncalves
Hugo Viana
Fernando Duarte Guerra
Rodrigo Damm
John Texeira
Rafael Bueno
Wagner Campos
Pedro Nobre
Fabricio de Assis Costa da Silva
Dileno Lopes
Giovanni da Silva Santos, Jr.