CAST REVEALED FOR THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER®: TEAM BENAVIDEZ vs. TEAM CEJUDO
Flyweight champions from around the world compete for a UFC title shot
Season premieres Wednesday, August 31 at 10 p.m. ET on FS1
Las Vegas – Champions from around the world will descend upon Las Vegas for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter®. This season, 16 seeded competitors, all champions in their current promotion, will be coached by two former flyweight title challengers, top-ranked Joseph Benavidez and No. 2 Henry Cejudo. Season 24 of the long-running UFC® reality show debuts Wednesday, August 31 at 10 p.m. ET on FS1. The series is the network’s highest-rated and most-watched original program since inception in August 2013. Last season’s finale, headlined by a strawweight world title bout between coaches Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha in, was the most-watched on FS1 since the first fall season in 2013.
Currently riding a five-fight winning streak, Benavidez (24-4, fighting out of Las Cruces, N.M.) has met current 125-pound kingpin Demetrious Johnson twice and will utilize the experience gained in those two encounters to help guide his squad of eight fighters from around the world. In addition to his matchups with “Mighty Mouse,” Benavidez has blown through the competition in the 125-pound division and racked up victories over the best flyweights in the world, including Zach Makovsky, Ian McCall and Jussier Formiga.
Coaching opposite Benavidez this season is Olympic gold medalist, Cejudo (10-1, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.), whose only professional loss has come at the hands of Johnson. Cejudo became the youngest American to earn gold in wrestling at the 2008 games in Beijing. After representing his country on the world’s stage, he turned his attention to MMA, where he holds victories over some of the sport’s elite, including former title challenger Chris Cariaso.
The show will feature 12 episodes airing Wednesdays on FS1. Each episode’s winner will advance in the single-elimination tournament. In a new twist from previous seasons, the two finalists will meet in the last fight in the house to determine who will receive a shot at the UFC flyweight world title at the finale in December.
Below is a full list of competitors (name, professional record, promotion, age and fighting out of):
For more show information, bios, videos and photos, visit ultimatefighter.com and follow us on Twitter @UltimateFighter and Facebook.
About UFC®
UFC® is a premium global sports brand and the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Sao Paulo and Singapore, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in over 156 countries and territories to more than 1.1 billion TV households worldwide in 29 different languages. UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service, delivers exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content to fans around the world. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram: @UFC.
About FOX Sports
FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing 21st Century FOX’s wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, FOX Sports includes ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing partnerships. FOX Sports includes the sports television arm of the FOX Broadcasting Company; FS1, FS2; FOX Sports Regional Networks, their affiliated regional web sites and national programming; FOX Soccer Plus; FOX Deportes and FOX College Sports. In addition, FOX Sports also encompasses FOX Sports Digital, which includes FOXSports.com, FOX Sports GO, Whatifsports.com and Yardbarker.com. Also included in the Group are FOX’s interests in joint-venture businesses Big Ten Network and BTN 2Go, as well as a licensing agreement that establish the FOX Sports Radio Network.
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