The second international edition of the UFC's popular reality series, "The Ultimate Fighter," now has its coaches.
"The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs. U.K.," which will begin taping soon for fall episodes, will be coached by George Sotiropoulos and Ross Pearson. UFC president Dana White announced the coaches on FUEL TV following Wednesday's UFC on FUEL TV 4 event in San Jose, Calif.
Pearson (13-6 MMA, 5-3 UFC) will coach the fighters from the U.K. Sotiropoulos (14-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will coach the Aussie fighters. Both are coming off losses. Pearson in June lost a second-round TKO to Cub Swanson. Sotiropoulos has not fought in more than a year after being knocked out by Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 132 – his second straight loss after seven straight wins in the UFC.
UFC officials on Wednesday night confirmed to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Sotiropoulos and Pearson will fight at the season's conclusion in a lightweight fight. Pearson, the Season 9 winner of "The Ultimate Fighter," recently dropped from 155 to featherweight, where he has gone 1-1.
The series will feature fighters from Australia against fighters from the United Kingdom, the first national rivalry for the show since "TUF 9," which pitted the U.S. against the U.K. with coaches Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping. This will be the second international edition of "TUF" after "TUF Brazil" earlier this year.
Also dubbed "TUF: Smashes" as an homage to an old cricket rivalry between the U.K. and Australia, the series will be broadcast on FX in Australia this fall, UFC officials recently announced.
There is no word on possible broadcast plans in the U.S. The first season of "TUF Brazil" had episodes shown online each week after airing on Globo in Brazil. FUEL TV then began airing episodes for U.S. viewers in June.
Source: Ross Pearson, George Sotiropoulos will coach 'TUF: Australia vs. U.K.'
Thanks for the updates!