The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced the coaches for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter will be former interim UFC heavyweight champion Shane Carwin and top heavyweight contender Roy Nelson.
“This is going to be a very interesting dynamic between these two heavyweights,” UFC President Dana White said in a press release. “They both have huge punching power and great chins, but outside of the Octagon they couldn’t be more different. These two have been going at it on social media for a while and don’t seem to like each other very much, but they are going to be seeing a lot of each other during this series and I guarantee it’ll make for great TV.”
Taping for the show’s second season on FX and FX Canada is set to start in early August, with the first episode scheduled to air in September.
TUF 16 will feature a cast of 16 welterweights.
Carwin (12-2) is arguably the most powerful puncher in mixed martial arts holding knockout wins over former No. 1 contender Gabriel Gonzaga and former champion Frank Mir. The 37-year-old has not fought wince a UFC 131 unanimous decision loss to Junior dos Santos last June and is finally healthy after recovering from back surgery.
“I’m very excited to get this opportunity. Coaching TUF is something I asked for and really wanted to do,” Carwin said. “I see myself being an MMA coach when my own career is over and can’t wait to start working with my Grudge Training team to help the next generation of UFC stars achieve their dreams.”
The former NCAA Division 2 wrestling champion asked for the chance to coach against Nelson, whom he does not respect.
“The fans know how I like to conduct myself both in and out of the Octagon, and I respect every fighter, coach, official and fan in the UFC. But I cannot respect a man like Roy Nelson because he shows no respect himself. He is a keyboard warrior who doesn’t have the guts to talk trash to my face, but now he’s going to have to be in the same room, the same gym and finally the same Octagon as me.
“I know I am a better fighter and trainer than he is. I will prove I’m a better trainer in TUF and then, when we fight, I will hit him harder than anyone has ever hit him and teach him some respect.”
Nelson (17-7) is considered one of the most durable fighters in the sport and is a TUF winner himself. In 2009, “Big Country” defeated Kimbo Slice and Brendan Schaub to become the TUF 10 champ before going on to knockout Stefan Struve, Mirko Cro Cop and Dave Herman in his UFC career.
“Shane Carwin can think he is the better fighter and coach, but I will do my best and try to represent the Average Joe and show my team that, with hard work, you can walk away a winner against any fighter,” Nelson said.
The former International Fight League heavyweight champion is one of a handful of TUF champions — including Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping and Matt Serra — to return to the series as a coach.
“When I found out I was going to be a TUF coach I was like ‘Wow me!’ When I found out I was coaching against Shane Carwin I was so happy to get a chance to compete against this guy. As for being in the same room as him, I try not to hang out with people that make me feel icky on the inside but, to coach TUF, I will make an exception.”
The longest-running sports reality show on television has produced several world champions and some of biggest stars in the UFC over the past seven years and 15 seasons.
Last season, the show switched to a live format, but TUF 16 will revert back to a pre-taped version like the first 14 seasons.
In other TUF news: Filming for The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs. UK — the Smashes begins in Sydney, Australia on Monday with coaches George Sotiropoulos and Ross Pearson.
