Check out the MMA stars from Canada and Australia who will fight it out for a contract.
The UFC has revealed the cast members for their latest inter-country version of The Ultimate Fighter, with some of the best mixed martial artists from Australia and Canada facing off.
With a contract with the UFC on the line, the fighters will live and train together ahead of the final which the promotion tips to be explosive.
“If guys thought fighting in the toughest tournament on television was hard, imagine how they feel doing it with a whole country on their shoulders,” said UFC President Dana White.
“These country vs. country seasons of The Ultimate Fighter are awesome because not only do these guys deal with living in a house with other fighters, training twice a day and putting everything on the line for their dream opportunity, but now it’s even more personal – it’s patriotic.
“Next season, the we lined up one of the deepest talent pools with some of the toughest up and coming fighters and put national bragging rights on the line along with the UFC contract, as Canada and Australia go head-to-head to kick off 2014.”
A nine-year veteran of the UFC, Canadian coach Patrick Côté appeared on the reality series in 2006 when he joined a cast of UFC alumni in The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback.
Originally from Rimouski, Quebec, the bilingual fighter was the first Canadian to reach the series final, and remains only one of two Canadian fighters’ to have done so.
Côté then went on a five-fight win streak in the UFC, earned a shot at then-UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Aussie coach Kyle Noke, a native of Dubbo, New South Wales, joined the reality series ranks when he fought his way onto season 11, The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz.
He was Hall of Famer Liddell’s No.1 pick, and reached the quarterfinals.
He has since gone 4-2 in the UFC, including an impressive Submission of the Night win over Chris Camozzi and a devastating KO last time out over Charlie Brenneman.
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