On Wednesday, April 16, UFC fans will get their fill of the UFC’s long-running reality series, The Ultimate Fighter, as FOX Sports 1 showcases the season-ending The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale live from Quebec City, followed by the two-hour premiere of the hotly anticipated 19th season headlined by former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and two-division champion BJ Penn.
In the 19th edition of the series, 16 middleweight (185 lbs.) and 16 light heavyweight (205 lbs.) fighters will square off in the most challenging sports tournament on television. The premiere episode will determine the eight men from each division who will successfully move into The Ultimate Fighter house and compete for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a six-figure contract with the UFC.
See this season’s newly released promos featuring Frankie Edgar, BJ Penn and the latest cast of Ultimate Fighters.
The successful fighters will be divided into two teams, coached by Edgar and Penn respectively. The series will follow the teams as they live and train together in preparation for their fights. Then, both coaches will settle their score once and for all at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Sunday, July 6, in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale.
“Frankie Edgar is a guy who many believed should have fought at 145 pounds but fought at 155 pounds and beat everybody including BJ Penn – twice,” said UFC president Dana White. “This kid went from being a one-dimensional wrestler to having some of the best hands, knockouts and toe-to-toe wars.
“BJ Penn is one of the legends in the sport. He basically built the 155-pound division in the sport and had championship belts at 155 and 170 pounds. I can’t wait to see this third fight.”
The competitors are, in alphabetical order (name, professional MMA record, age, fighting out of):
The competitors are:
| Corey Anderson (3-0), 24, Lincoln, Ill. | Cathal Pendred (13-2), 26, Dublin, Ireland |
| Kelly Anundson (6-1), 29, Deerfield Beach, Fla. | John Poppie (3-1), 24, Ettrick, Wis. |
| Anton Berzin (3-1), 24, Philadelphia, Pa. | Doug Sparks (7-2), 31, Bloomington, Ind. |
| Josh Clark (7-2), 29, Richmond, Ky. | Daniel Spohn (8-3), 29, Columbus, Ohio |
| Chris Fields (8-4), 30, Dublin, Ireland | Joshua Stansbury (4-2), 29, East Liverpool, Ohio |
| Matthew Gabel (8-3), 28, Le Mars, Iowa | Ian Stephens (4-0), 25, Ringgold, Ga. |
| Lyman Good (15-3), 28, New York, N.Y. | Adam Stroup (5-1), 27, Denver, Colo. |
| Eddie Gordon (6-1), 29, Uniondale, N.Y. | Nordine Taleb (8-2), 32, Montreal, Canada |
| Jacob Heun (6-3), 26, Coconut Creek, Fla. | Hector Urbina (16-8), 26, Coconut Creek, Fla. |
| Mike King (5-0), 30, Naples, Fla. | Matt Van Buren (6-2), 27, Chula Vista, Calif. |
| Tyler King (7-1), 33, North Attleboro, Mass. | Bojan Velickovic (8-2), 33, Delray Beach, Fla. |
| Dhiego Lima (8-1), 33, Sugar Hill, Ga. | Daniel Vizcaya (7-2), 28, Aurora, Ill. |
| Adrian Miles (14-5), 30, Biloxi, Miss. | Patrick Walsh (4-1), 25, Stoughton, Mass. |
| Tyler Minton (5-1), 26, Johnson City, Tenn. | Tim Williams (8-1), 27, Millville, N.J. |
| Todd Monaghan (8-2), 31, Clinton, Iowa | Roger Zapata (5-1), 27, New York, N.Y. |
| Cody Mumma (5-1), 30, Henderson, Colo. |
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn will run for 13 weeks in its regularly scheduled timeslot of 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Each episode’s winners will advance in the single-elimination tournament, which will culminate in a three-hour finale, live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Sunday, July 6.
Many of today’s most recognizable names in the UFC have emerged from The Ultimate Fighter series, which also produced champions such as Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans and Matt Serra and season winners Michael Bisping, Ryan Bader and Nate Diaz.
For more show information, bios, videos and photos, visit ultimatefighter.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter under our new name @UltimateFighter or on Facebook.com/TUF.
(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
