Tag: The Ultimate Fighter 20

Gilbert Melendez Says He Never Wanted to Leave the UFC

When the UFC pushed him into a corner, Gilbert Melendez took the most significant gamble of his career, a choice that ultimately paid major dividends for the 31-year-old former title challenger.
Melendez, who in the midst of a contract dispute with the…

When the UFC pushed him into a corner, Gilbert Melendez took the most significant gamble of his career, a choice that ultimately paid major dividends for the 31-year-old former title challenger.

Melendez, who in the midst of a contract dispute with the UFC agreed to a deal with Bellator MMA earlier this month, accepted a handsome matching offer from the UFC on Sunday night.

Because of his brazen choice to improvise in the negotiation process, the UFC, fearing that it would lose one of its most talented and entertaining fighters, offered “El Nino” a deal that he couldn’t refuse.

The agreement stipulated that Melendez will not only square off with lightweight champ Anthony Pettis in his next bout, but in the buildup to the fight he’ll coach opposite “Showtime” on season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter, which begins filming in May.

Before the ink had even dried on his new UFC deal, Melendez explained to MMAJunkie’s Ben Fowlkes why he made the risky decision to agree to a multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA.

It’s a tough thing to do, but I never wanted to walk away. I never wanted to leave the UFC. It’s the best organization in the world, has the best fighters in the world, it’s where I wanted to be, but I had to put that aside to think about my family and my future. I had to weigh it out and I had to explore my options. I got to a point where I had a good plan for my future, and I just had to hope that the UFC would come along with me so I could get to that point and still be with them.

The last Strikeforce lightweight champ, Melendez turned to Georges St-Pierre’s manager, Rodolphe Beaulieu, when he couldn’t come to terms on his own with UFC President Dana White. 

White eventually removed himself from the negotiation and allowed UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, a more cool-headed businessman, to smooth things over with Melendez.

With Beaulieu‘s help, Melendez got what he wanted and more. Not surprisingly, though, Melendez remained humble and took little credit in the wake of his strategic gamble.

“I have a great team and I left most of it to them,” Melendez told Fowlkes. “They’re a great management team. I voiced my opinion, and they helped me keep my emotions in check. When it comes to stuff like this, you have to take your emotions out of it and think of your family. It’s about more than just the title shot.”

El Nino has tasted defeat just twice since 2008, a split-decision loss to Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox 7 and a unanimous-decision loss to Josh Thomson at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson. Both fights were lightweight title scraps.

Melendez is the UFC’s second-ranked 155-pounder. Henderson is ranked first, and Thomson is ranked fourth.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Anthony Pettis vs. Gilbert Melendez Perfect Choice for ‘TUF’ 20 Fighters, Fans

There have been a lot of seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. Eighteen regular seasons, two in Brazil, one in China and one between England and Australia. There is one currently airing between Canada and Australia, another one that will air soon in Brazil,…

There have been a lot of seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. Eighteen regular seasons, two in Brazil, one in China and one between England and Australia. There is one currently airing between Canada and Australia, another one that will air soon in Brazil, starting in March, and a 19th regular season that will start airing in April…just a lot of The Ultimate Fighter.

The Ultimate Fighter season 20, though? That one is different.

While essentially every season of The Ultimate Fighter since season six has been content in generating an anonymous middle-tier fighter or two for either the middleweight, welterweight or lightweight division, TUF 20 sets a lofty goal. It plans to end with the crowning of a new champion. Not just any new champion, but the first women’s strawweight champion.

It will be the first time The Ultimate Fighter features an all-female cast. It will be the first time TUF will crown a champion.

The idea itself is a rare stroke of genius for the long-running show. The Ultimate Fighter, in theory, has always been about grooming somewhat-established talent in a live-and-breathe training environment to the point where they become legitimate forces in their division. In reality, though, The Ultimate Fighter became complacent in generating mediocre ratings with stupid, testosterone-fueled shenanigans.

The results speak for themselves.

There has been precisely one title contender produced by The Ultimate Fighter since season five (season 13’s John Dodson). There are no champions that have come from The Ultimate Fighter at this point. There are only nine top-10 ranked fighters at this time that have entered the UFC through The Ultimate Fighter.

Fans have picked up on that, and the ratings have accordingly fluctuated between mediocre and bad. You know…just like any other tired reality show. 

The Ultimate Fighter season 20, though? That one is different. 

For the first time in about seven years, there is a clear importance to what is happening. There are no vague promises of future success. The women who will fight are not “future contenders.”

These are the best in their weight class, each one entering “The House” with an established highlight reel. Each one of them is a contender right now.

Thankfully, the UFC and Fox Sports actually realize that The Ultimate Fighter season 20 is different. They know that they can’t just plug anybody into the fabled coaching spot. This is a different season, and it’s one that requires top-flight, legitimately-relevant fighters. Fighters who can actually teach something to those who are only a few fights away from becoming champions.

And they have them. 

The UFC announced that the coaches are two champions, Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis. Neither fighter needs an introduction. All that needs to be said is that their years sitting near or at the top of the lightweight division makes them two of the handful of fighters that could be tasked with producing a champion.

So now, for the first time in years, there is reason to get excited for a season of The Ultimate Fighter well in advance. It might not be the biggest, but it will definitely be one of the best.

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Jessica Penne, Former Invicta FC Champion, to Try out for TUF 20

Jessica Penne, former Invicta FC atomweight champion, will try her luck with The Ultimate Fighter tryouts later this year instead of returning to Invicta and attempting to recapture her title.
She first made her intentions known on Twitter in January:
…

Jessica Penne, former Invicta FC atomweight champion, will try her luck with The Ultimate Fighter tryouts later this year instead of returning to Invicta and attempting to recapture her title.

She first made her intentions known on Twitter in January:

She posts a record of 11-2, with her only two losses coming to Zoila Frausto Gurgel and Michelle Waterson. The bout against Gurgel was at 115 pounds, which is the class that she will be moving back to for her TUF Season 20 bid.

The Californian dropped her title in a Fight of the Year candidate against Waterson. The match concluded when Waterson secured an armbar in the fourth round.

Penne’s final Invicta FC fight was a dominant victory over Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc. She finished the bout via a rear-naked choke in the first round. She laid claim to being the top contender to Waterson’s strap, but with this news, the rematch is off the table.

Currently, the cast of the upcoming season features 11 of the top strawweights from Invicta FC:

The remaining five spots in the house will be determined via tryouts to be held later this year. A strong performance at the tryouts does not, however, guarantee a spot on the show. There will also be interviews with producers as well.

Per her appearance on MMAjunkie Radio, Penne does not think that will be an issue: “I think that I’m comfortable enough with myself and my personality to where I can show who I really am. It’ll appeal to them.”

She has a fantastic ground game and has continued to develop her stand-up. More importantly for her move back to 115 pounds, she has the physical attributes that could make her a dark-horse contender.

She stands at 5’5”. That was tall for the atomweight division, and she will still hold height and reach advantages over most of the strawweights as well. Given the amount of time before the tryouts and the filming of the show if she is selected, she can add muscle and strength to accentuate her physical gifts.

If she performs well at the tryouts, the UFC would be foolish not to add her to the cast of The Ultimate Fighter. She brings in all of the physical tools to compete, and she has name value in the women’s MMA community.

The addition of Penne to the cast would cement the season as one of the best ever in terms of quality of competition. The season already boasts six of the top 10-ranked women in the world, and Penne is ranked No. 2 at atomweight.

The Ultimate Fighter Season 20 is shaping up to be one of the most compelling installments to date, and it will all be capped off by the final two survivors battling for the inaugural UFC Strawweight Championship on the show’s finale.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Updating the 5 Women to Add to TUF 20

The Ultimate Fighter 20 does not start until later in 2014, but WMMA fans are already buzzing over the season.
The main question at this point, though, is about casting, as 11 women are already announced and five more will be casted.
Upon the announcem…

The Ultimate Fighter 20 does not start until later in 2014, but WMMA fans are already buzzing over the season.

The main question at this point, though, is about casting, as 11 women are already announced and five more will be casted.

Upon the announcement of the season, I wrote a piece that made the case for five women who should be added to the season’s roster. With this article, I update my picks based on recent events and new possibilities.

Now, let’s take a look back at the five I selected before and update them with a new set of faces who should make it onto the show.

 

Original List

Name Record Status
Stephanie Eggink 4-1 On
Alida Gray 4-1 Off
Amber Stautzenberger 4-2 Off
Heather Clark 6-4 On
Lisa Ellis 15-8 On

As you can see, of the five ladies I picked, three stay while the other two are off the table.

Alida Gray is the first to be taken out of consideration due to the fact that she has since signed and competed with World Series of Fighting. One has to assume she is tied with them for at least another fight. She recently fought for the inaugural women’s title against Jessica Aguilar—albeit in a losing effort.

As for Amber Stautzenberger, the promising prospect was recently beaten rather quickly by veteran Lynn Alvarez, who should be in consideration for a spot on the show. Stautzenberger definitely has a future in this sport, but after that loss she should rebuild herself slowly and take to Invicta to rebound.

The other three should still be considered for the show.

Lisa Ellis is a longtime veteran of the sport whose beef with Rose Namajunas over Twitter could relay nicely onto the show. She is skilled and experienced, and the show could re-surge her career, which is currently off track at the moment due to her becoming a mother.

Heather Clark is another woman with beef coming onto the show that could make it drama-filled and interesting. Clark, who was competing for XFC, got permission to try out for the show (see tweet). Her skill and natural beef with Felice Herrig could make for interesting TV.

Lastly, Stephanie Eggink should still be in consideration for the cast. The current XFC champ has an abundance of skill and the gold to back it up. It is not known if XFC will let her try out, considering she is the champ of their organization, but here’s to hoping they will.

 

New Additions

Name Record Notables Wins
Jessica Penne 11-2

Naho Sugiyama, Lisa Ellis, Angela Magana, Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc, Amy Davis
Justine Kish 4-0 Munah Holland, Randa Markos, Christine Stanley

The two women who will now be added to the likes of Clark, Ellis and Eggink are former Invicta 105-pound champion Jessica Penne and RFA veteran Justine Kish.

Penne, who tweeted that she will be trying out for the season, is a former champion with a good resume, camp and skill set at her disposal. She was big at 105 pounds, meaning that a move to 115 wouldn’t make her that small in comparison to the rest of the cast.

She is incredibly well-rounded but showed in her win over Naho Sugiyama that her ground game is to be feared. She tapped out a well-respected grappler with a beautiful triangle choke and can take that accolade in with her to the open tryouts.

Kish is sort of a dark horse at 115 pounds to make the competition. The one thing she really has going for her, other than her undefeated record, is her association with RFA, an unofficial feeder organization for the UFC.

Kish is gifted in the stand-up department—her Muay Thai skills especially impress crowds. She is coming off a big win over the weekend against fellow 115-pound prospect Randa Markos, where she wowed the crowd en route to an impressive unanimous decision victory.

Both women would be great additions and provide depth to an already star-studded cast.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF 20 Could Have Female Coaches, but Doesn’t Need Them

The upcoming 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter is historic because it will not only be the first all-female cast in the show’s history, but it will also crown the first ever women’s strawweight champion. As of right now, the show has 11 ladies w…

The upcoming 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter is historic because it will not only be the first all-female cast in the show’s history, but it will also crown the first ever women’s strawweight champion. As of right now, the show has 11 ladies whose contracts were purchased from Invicta to compete on the show (the other five contestants will be chosen from a tryout).

So far, the cast includes Invicta champ Carla Esparza, Claudia Gadelha, Joanna Calderwood, Tecia Torres, Felice Herrig, Bec Hyatt, Rose Namajunas, Emily Kagan, Paige VanZant, Alex Chambers and Juliana Lima.

One of the questions that has been posed since the announcement of this cast is who the coaches would be. Would it be two female fighters or would they use male fighters?

Despite everything, it would be best for the UFC to incorporate male coaches for this season, especially a pair of coaches that have a background or rivalry.

Sure, TUF 20 could employ female coaches, but the options aren’t really aplenty.

Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate both coached season 18 and are still set to have their coaches battle at the end of this month at UFC 168. That, of course, was an obvious choice for coaching the first-ever season that included women, but they will not likely coach again.

That leaves the UFC with the rest of the bantamweight division as choices to coach.

Cat Zingano was supposed to coach and then fight Rousey, but a knee injury bumped her from that spot and gave Tate the opportunity. She is likely to get her earned title shot after the Tate-Rousey fight goes down, so throwing her on the show as a coach wouldn’t make sense because she already has a title ticket punched.

That leaves the rest of the division, which includes Sara McMann, Alexis Davis, Jessica Eye and Amanda Nunes, to name a few.

First off, I think we have to remove anybody from the running that doesn’t speak English, as that is a requirement for performing on the show. Nunes isn’t exactly fluent, nor is Jessica Andrade or Bethe Correia.

When you go further than that, none of the women in the division who could be potential opponents have an intriguing storyline with another woman. Plus, you have to find somebody who is marketable to warrant views.

Liz Carmouche has pushed hard on Twitter to get that coaching spot, but with all due respect, her record in the UFC doesn’t suggest she should land the spot. Sure she had a title shot, but she is 1-2 with the company and coming off a one-sided loss to Alexis Davis.

Davis could be a viable contender to coach, as she could be right behind Zingano in the line for a title shot. However, finding her a dance partner to coach against would be tough, especially because the most interesting coaching seasons come between rivals that dislike each other.

Sara McMann could be a decent coach, but we haven’t heard from her since she pulled out of her fight back in the summer against Sarah Kaufman.

What it comes down to is that the UFC needs these strawweights to get the best attention possible, so they can develop into marketable, seasoned fighters that make the division more legit than it is now. It worked with Rousey and Tate, but outside that, it may be tough.

That’s why the UFC may have to go with male coaches for this season.

There are well over 200 male fighters on the roster, many of whom have an opponent who could not only create a great rivalry, but could make for a close, interesting fight when it’s all said and done.

What about Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson coaching a season that ends in a title rematch between the two? That would be a great competitive rivalry.

Then there’s the idea of having Rich Franklin coach opposite another top fighter, which could be the ultimate sendoff for the legend who will probably retire next year. Franklin has a lot to offer having coached the show before.

Michael Bisping and Tim Kennedy would be great to have, as their rivalry continues to heat up through the media. It would be a tense season that resulted in an important middleweight bout.

The possibilities are endless. Basically, even though it’s an all-women’s season doesn’t mean the coaches need to be female fighters.

Whatever happens, I’m sure the season will be filled with high drama and great action. That’s why there is such a buzz about the keynote 20th season.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF 20: Guide to the Strawweight Division

Dana White announced on a conference call this week that the UFC has acquired 11 strawweight fighters from Invicta FC. Those 11 will compete in a tournament on The Ultimate Fighter’s 20th season to determine the first ever UFC Strawweight Champion.
The…

Dana White announced on a conference call this week that the UFC has acquired 11 strawweight fighters from Invicta FC. Those 11 will compete in a tournament on The Ultimate Fighter‘s 20th season to determine the first ever UFC Strawweight Champion.

The 115-pound division has long been considered the deepest division in women’s MMA. However, it has not been a long time where the elite have been able to compete against one another.

It was Bellator who signed several of the top female athletes to have them compete in a tournament back in 2010. Longtime divisional standout Megumi Fujii would take on Zoila Frausto Gurgel in the finals and lose a controversial decision.

Since then, the division has changed. Gurgel moved to 125-pounds, Jessica Aguilar moved to the top of the division with a seven-fight win streak and Invicta FC appeared on the scene.

Invicta finally began to build a true elite 115-pound division, and Carla Esparza would take their inaugural title. The organization brought in several of the top ranked women from around the world and helped foster prospects such as Tecia Torres.

A lot of hard work has paid off, and now the deepest division of women’s MMA will be under the big top of the UFC.

This is what you need to know in advance of TUF 20.

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