The upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter® will once again showcase mixed martial arts’ global expansion, as Polish strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and No. 1 contender Claudia Gadelha of Brazil lead a group of light heavyweight (men) and strawweight (female) hopefuls.
Thirty-two athletes from countries such as the Netherlands, Algeria, France, Norway, Spain, Canada, Brazil, England and the United States fight for one of 16 spots available in the premiere episode on Thursday, April 21 at 3am BST on BT Sport (repeated at 10pm BST later that same day).
There will be no shortage of intensity and drama with Jedrzejczyk (11-0, fighting out of Olsztyn, Poland) and Gadelha (13-1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) as one of the most intense rivalries in all of mixed martial arts plays out on screen. The two fought in December 2014 with Jedrzejczyk narrowly edging out Gadelha before eventually going on to win the strawweight world title. There will be no love lost between the two as their epic feud plays out leading up to their highly anticipated rematch.
The show will feature 12 episodes, airing on BT Sport. Each episode’s winner will advance in the single-elimination tournament, leading to the season finale on July 8 in Las Vegas as part of International Fight Week. The finale will be headlined by this season’s coaches in a world title bout as Jedrzejczyk collides with Gadelha.
The Ultimate Fighter 23 competitors:
|
Strawweight Females |
Light Heavyweight Men |
| Alyssa Krahn, 3-1, Age 28, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
|
Abdel Medjedoub, 3-0, Age 30, Mila, Algeria
|
| Amanda Cooper, 1-1, Age 24, Bath, Mich.
|
Andrew Sanchez, 7-2, Age 27, Shiloh, Ill.
|
| Amy Montenegro, 7-2, Age 32, Forks, Wash.
|
Cory Hendricks, 3-0, Age 27, Lynden, Wash
. |
| Ashley Cummins, 3-3, Age 28, St. Louis, Mo.
|
Elias Urbina, 3-0, Age 22, Weslaco, Texas
|
| Ashley Yoder, 4-1, Age 28, Indianapolis, Ind.
|
Eric Spicely, 8-0, Age 29, Stoughton, Mass.
|
| Chelsea Bailey, 2-0, Age 23, Chewelah, Wash.
|
Jamelle Jones, 6-2, Age 28, Atlantic City, N.J.
|
| Helen Harper, 4-1, Age 28, Farnborough, England
|
John Paul Elias, 3-0, Age 27, Fresno, Calif.
|
| Irene Rivera, 6-2, Age 22, Barcelona, Spain
|
Josh Stansbury, 7-2, Age 31, East Liverpool, Ohio
|
| Jamie Moyle, 3-1, Age 27, Las Vegas, Nev.
|
Kenneth Bergh, 3-0, Age 26, Oslo, Norway
|
| JJ Aldrich, 2-1, Age 23, Aurora, Colo.
|
Khalil Rountree, 4-0, Age 26, Las Vegas, Nev.
|
| Jodie Esquibel, 5-1, Age 29, Albuquerque, N.M.
|
Marcel Fortuna, 8-1, Age 30, Tubarao, Brazil
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| Kate Jackson, 7-2-1, Age 29, Lostwithiel, England
|
Muhammed DeReese, 5-0, Age 27, Titusville, Fla.
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| Kristi Lopez, 2-0, Age 33, Quartz Hill, Calif.
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Myron Dennis, 12-4, Age 27, Oklahoma City, Okla.
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| Lanchana Green, 2-1, Age 26, Darlington, England
|
Norman Paraisy, 15-4-2, 1 NC, Age 30, Paris, France
|
| Mellony Geugjes, 0-1, Age 23, Amsterdam, Netherlands
|
Phil Hawes, 3-0, Age 27, Little Ferry, N.J.
|
| Tatiana Suarez, 3-0, Age 25, Fontana, Calif.
|
Trevor Carlson, 10-2, Age 27, Spring Creek, Nev.
|
All photo credits to:
UFC, Invicta, Joe Pic Photography, Sherdog, Cage Warriors,Bloody Mayhem, Epic Fighting, Google Images, Facebook, http://www.kristilopez.com
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