Ronda Rousey To Coach On Season 18 Of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’
Ronda Rousey is making history once again.
It was recently announced that the first-ever UFC women’s bantamweight champion would serve as a coach on season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter, marking the first time a female fighter has taken on the the role of working with UFC prospects.
Season 18 will also feature women serving as contestants for the first time in the history of the competition.
During Saturday night’s UFC 158 event, president Dana White announced that Rousey will be coaching against the winner of the upcoming fight between Cat Zingano and Miesha Tate.
“I’m going to announce tonight the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter for the next season,” White said. “It will be Ronda Rousey versus the winner of Tate and Zingano, who are fighting in the TUF ultimate finale on April 13. For the first time ever, two women coaches, and we will have 135-pound men and 135-pound women living and training in the house together.”
White added, “There aren’t enough women to do an entire (series). To do the entire Ultimate Fighter, you’d have to start with 30-something women. That’s a lot of women.”
The season 17 finale of The Ultimate Fighter will take place on April 13 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The main card of the FX broadcast will consist of Travis Browne vs. Gabriel Gonzaga in the heavyweight division, Tate vs. Zingango in the women’s bantamweight division, and Urijah Faber vs. Scott Jorgensen in the men’s bantamweight division.
Tate vs. Zingano will mark the second women’s bout in UFC history. The first took place when Rousey defended her title against Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 last month, winning the match by armbar submission with 0:11 seconds left in the first round.
Open tryouts for season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter will take place April 18 in Las Vegas. Further details will be announced shortly.
What do you think of Ronda Rousey acting as a coach on TUF? Who do you think she will be coaching against, Miesha Tate or Cat Zingano?
