'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
After a hiatus of 2 years, UFC's The Ultimate Fighter will be making a return soon with it's 29th edition. The last season of the show aired in 2018.
The upcoming TUF season will have UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski and number one contender Brian Ortega as coaches. The two will go on to fight for the 145-pound belt at the end of the series.
The first episode of the cult series will drop on June 1. Fans can watch the popular show's return on ESPN+.
This season, there will be 16 fighters in total - eight in the bantamweight division and eight in the middleweight division. The weekly show will have 12 episodes in total and a new episode will air on ESPN+ every Tuesday.
The Ultimate Fighter has been crucial to the mainstream success of the UFC. The show has given us stars like Nate Diaz, Forrest Griffin, Robert Whittaker, TJ Dillashaw, Tony Ferguson, Michael Bisping and Rose Namajunas.
The list of contestants that will feature on the show is as follows:
- Bantamweight division : Liudvik Sholinian, Brady Hiestand, Vince Murdock, Dustin Lampros, Ricky Turcios, Mitch Raposo, Joshua Rettinghouse and Daniel Argueta.
- Middleweight division: Miles Hunsinger, Andre Petroski, Gilbert Urbina, Ryder Newman, Tresean Gore, Bryan Battle, Kemran Lachinov and Aaron Phillips.
Potential date for the UFC featherweight title fight between Alex Volkanovski and Brian Ortega
Current UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski recently made an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, where he spoke about his title defense against Brian Ortega and his experience on TUF.
Although no official date has been announced for the Volkanovski vs. Ortega fight, the 145-pound champion did allude to the bout taking place in September.
"I don't know if I'm gonna get in trouble saying this, I'm not sure but I think it is like September. Early September."
The two featherweights were scheduled to fight for the title earlier in March at UFC 260, but the Australian tested positive for Covid-19, resulting in the cancelation of the bout.
