The highly anticipated season of The Ultimate Fighter season 31 is almost here. On this season of The Ultimate Fighter we have the return of “The Notorious” Conor McGregor and “Iron” Michael Chandler as the coaches going head to head.
You already know that this will make for good TV, especially with Conor McGregor. Chandler may not be the most charismatic fighter but the animosity that McGregor brings to the table will bring out the character in Chandler.
On this season of The Ultimate Fighter, we have a mix of UFC veterans along with regional fighters rounding out the cast. The mix of the UFC veterans trying to get back onto the big stage and regional fighters being hungry to finally make it will create great fights throughout the season.
Before the season gets started let’s take a look at the cast for season 31.
#TUF31 cast pic.twitter.com/FXNoXNyPQ0
— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) March 5, 2023
The Lightweights
We have eight of the best lightweight fighters outside of the UFC either trying to get their second chance with the promotion or their first. Let’s check out who is getting their shot on The Ultimate Fighter:
Lee Hammond (5-0)
Kurt Holobaugh (19-7)
Austin Hubbard (15-6)
Nate Jennerman (16-5)
Jason Knight (22-7)
Aaron McKenzie (11-2-1)
Landon Quinones (7-1-1)
Roosevelt Roberts (12-3)
In this list of lightweights, we have a mix between veterans and newcomers alike. The list of newcomers consists of Lee Hammond, Nate Jennerman, Aaron McKenzie, and Landon Quinones.
Hammond is the most inexperienced of the bunch with only five professional fights but that is because he is teammates with his head coach on the show Conor McGregor. Another name to watch out for out of this group is Aaron McKenzie who is the LFA Lightweight Champion.
For the group of UFC veterans looking to get their second shot with the promotion, we got Kurt Holobaugh, Austin Hubbard, Jason Knight, and Roosevelt Roberts.
If you’re a fan of the UFC then you head most likely know the name Jason Knight who some call “Hick Diaz”. He was once a top-ranked featherweight contender turned BKFC fighter but is back at it trying to get back to the big show.
The Bantamweights
The UFC compiled a list of the top bantamweight fighters outside of the promotion. Let’s see who we got for the bantamweight for season 31.
Hunter Azure (10-3)
Rico DiSciullo (11-2)
Cody Gibson (19-8)
Mando Gutierrez (8-2)
Brad Katona (12-2)
Timur Valiev (18-3)
Carlos Vera (12-3)
Trevor Wells (8-3)
The UFC compiled a great list of regional fighters that are more than deserving of a shot on the big stage. The group of newcomers is Rico DiSciullo, Mando Gutierrez, Carlos Vera, and Trevor Wells. The fighter to watch out for out of this group is Gutierrez who fought on Dana White’s Contender Series but ultimately lost to the ultra-talented Raul Rosas Jr.
The list of the UFC veterans trying to make their comeback to the octagon is Hunter Azure, Cody Gibson, Brad Katona, and Timur Valiev. There were two surprising cuts out of this list of fighters and that were former The Ultimate Fighter winner Brad Katona and Timur Valiev. Expect both of these fighters to make some noise on season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter.
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