After what may have been the biggest season in the history of “The Ultimate Fighter” — as Conor McGregor, MMA’s biggest star, made his second run as a coach — the show is back for Season 32 in June.
TUF was instrumental in the UFC’s explosion of popularity in the early 2000s, shining a spotlight on fighters such as Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock, who coached MMA hopefuls in a season-long competition in which the participants shared a house for several weeks.
Over the course of 31 seasons, all of which can be seen on ESPN+, the show has featured several UFC champions: Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping, Kamaru Usman, Robert Whittaker, TJ Dillashaw and Rose Namajunas, as well as stars Nate Diaz, Tony Ferguson and Diego Sanchez. Each season tension tends to rise between the coaches building up to a big fight of their own. Fans get to see it all play out behind the scenes.
The 32nd season of “The Ultimate Fighter” features a coaching matchup between women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and former champ Valentina Shevchenko. The two are expected to square off in a trilogy bout for Grasso’s title after the conclusion of this season. In the first bout, Grasso beat Shevchenko by submission to claim the title. The two fought to a split draw in…
