Hill one of five Canadians named to TUF 18 cast

TUF 18 featured 16 men and 16 women. (UFC/Zuffa)

Unbeaten bantamweight prospect Josh Hill was one of five Canadians named to the cast of The Ultimate Fighter 18.

Hill (9-0) of Hamilton, Ont., has made a name for himself on the regional scenes in Quebec and Ontario since debuting in 20009 and is considered arguably the best Canadian mixed martial artist not currently in the UFC.

He last fought in August 2012 when he defeated John Fraser at a Score Fighting Series event.

Hill will be joined by Louis Fisette of Winnipeg, Valerie Letourneau of Montreal, Sarah Moras of Kelowna, B.C., and Jessica Rakoczy of Hamilton on the first season of TUF featuring both men and women.

Sixteen men and 16 women will compete in two separate tournaments for spots on the show.

Women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and her chief rival Miesha Tate will serve as coaches.

Other notables named to the cast include established female veterans Tara LaRosa, Roxanne Modafferi and Shayna Baszler.


TUF 18 will airs weekly on Sportnset 360 beginning with the two-hour season premiere on Sept. 4 and sportsnet.ca will have weekly episode recaps.


Below is a preview of what to look forward to on TUF 18 and a list of each fighter vying for a spot on either Team Rousey or Team Tate:

WOMEN

— Shayna Baszler (15-8), 33, Sioux Fall, S.D.
— Revelina Berto, (3-1), 24, Winter Haven, Fla.
— Jessamyn Duke (2-0, 1NC), 27, Richmond, Ky.
— Tonya Evinger (11-6), 32, Lake St. Louis, Mo.
— Laura Howarth (4-0), 26, Hove, East Essex, ENG
— Tara LaRosa (21-3), 35, Albuquerque, N.M.
— Valerie Letourneau (4-3), 30, La Prairie, CAN
— Bethany Marshall (4-1), 25, Newport News, Va.
— Sarah Moras (3-1), 25, Kelowna, CAN
— Margaret “Peggy” Morgan (2-0), 33, Nashua, N.H.
— Gina Mazany (3-0), 25, Seattle, Wash.
— Roxanne Modafferi (15-10), 30, Yokohama, JPN
— Julianna Pena (4-2), 24, Spokane, Wash.
— Raquel Pennington (3-3), 24, Colorado Springs, Colo.
— Jessica Rakoczy (1-3), 36, Las Vegas by way of Hamilton
— Colleen Schneider (4-3), 31, Las Vegas, Nev.

MEN

— Christopher Beal (7-0), 28, Somis, Calif.
— Cody Bollinger (14-3), 22, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
— Louis Fisette (6-1), 23, Winnipeg, CAN
— Rafael Freitas (6-0-1), 29, Albuquerque, N.M.
— David Grant (8-1), 27, Bishop Auckland, ENG
— Tim Gorman (9-2), 30, West Des Moines, Iowa
— Anthony Gutierrez (4-0), 22, Lee’s Summit, Mo.
— Emil Hartsner (4-0), 23, Luberod, SWE
— Josh Hill (9-0), 26, Binbrook, CAN
— Chris Holdsworth (4-0), 25, Woodland Hills, Calif.
— Patrick Holohan (9-0-1), 25, Dublin, IRL
— Sirwan Kakai (9-1), 23, Coconut Creek, Fla.
— Daniel Martinez (18-4), 28, San Diego, Calif.
— Matthew Munsey (4-1), 26, Hollywood, Fla.
— Lee Sandmeier (9-0), 30, Knoxville, Iowa
— Michael Wootten (6-0), 24, Liverpool, ENG

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