Peña (photo) was the first female TUF champion. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
Maintaining an average of two annual editions in the United States, apart from international seasons, TUF returned to the single recording and episodic editing format – after the only live experience of “TUF Live”, which left athletes confined for more than three months. The main recent news in the reality show were due to the The Ultimate Fighter 18, shown in the second half of 2013.
TUF 18 was the first in history to have female technical command, in charge of rivals Miesha Tate e Ronda Rousey, and also the first edition to crown a woman as champion. The position of first winner in the history of the program went to the North American of Venezuelan descent Julianna Pena, who became famous for playing the rival coach Ronda Rousey crying after her victory over veteran Shayna Baszler in the quarterfinals.
In addition to TUF Brasil 3 and TUF Nations: Canada vs Australia, which are currently on display, the first half of 2014 will also feature the 19th season of the reality show, under the technical command of BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar. The program has already been recorded and will premiere on North American TV on April 16th. The final event, which in addition to the reality tournament decision will also see the end of the trilogy between Penn and Edgar, has also been scheduled and will take place on July 6, in Las Vegas.
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However, it is really the second half of 2014 that holds the biggest news for the The Ultimate Fighter. It is after the middle of the year that the first edition with exclusively Latin American athletes of the reality show will be produced. “TUF Latino América” does not yet have an official premiere date, but it is already known that it will be recorded in Las Vegas, with a finale in Mexico.
The organization intends to call up 16 Spanish-speaking fighters who are residents of the following countries: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay , Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Applicants must be between 21 and 34 years old and have a minimum of three professional MMA fights.
TUF Latin America final will be in Mexico. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
Furthermore, months later, TUF 20 will inaugurate the women's strawweight category in the UFC and award the winner the inaugural belt in the 52,1 kg division. With the lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and challenger Gilbert Melendez as coaches, the 20th edition of TUF premieres in September on North American cable TV.
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In Brazil, the uncertainties are great. Despite assurances from the UFC that the agreement with Rede Globo to maintain the The Ultimate Fighter Brazil on open TV remains unchanged, doubts regarding the future of the program in the country still remain. This is because the reality show's audience numbers have fallen, the debut of TUF Brasil 3 was the worst of the three national editions, and the show has been increasingly pushed into the Rio broadcaster's programming schedule – firstly by Big Brother Brazil and now for the house's new reality show, “SuperStar”.
Despite this, even with setbacks along the way, the The Ultimate Fighter continues to be one of the UFC's flagships around the planet. Increasingly included in the organization's global expansion plans, the reality show is preparing to complete ten years in January 2015, practically half the lifespan of Ultimate itself.
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