THE CANADIAN PRESS
From firefighter to financial planner and corrections officer to water inspector, the cast of Season 11 of "The Ultimate Fighter" draws from all walks of life. Their common goal is to fight their way into the UFC.
Calgary’s Nick (The Promise) Ring, the lone Canadian in the 28-man cast of middleweights, says every one had skills.
"I was pretty impressed with everybody," he said Tuesday. "I don’t think there was really a weak link in the show. This is the best group of fighters I’ve every seen on ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ by far.
"I thought any one of us could have won the show."
The new season of the mixed martial arts reality show kicks off Wednesday night (Spike TV and Rogers Sportsnet, check local listings), with a slightly tweaked format and a return to action for former light-heavyweight champion Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell.
The 40-year-old Liddell, who has lost four of his last five bouts, had been effectively retired by UFC president Dana White after being knocked out by Mauricio (Shogun) Rua at UFC 97 in Montreal last April. But Liddell wasn’t ready to go to pasture and, revitalized after a stint on "Dancing With the Stars," agreed to appear as a coach on "The Ultimate Fighter" if it facilitated his return to the Octagon.
Liddell is due to fight rival coach Tito (The Huntington Beach Bad Boy) Ortiz after the show has run its course on TV in Part 3 of their grudge match. Liddell won when they met at UFC 47 and 66.
There have been rumours concerning Ortiz’s participation in the project, but no confirmation that anything was amiss other than a White tweet early in March saying "Nothing happened to Tito. Tito and I are cool." Still the 35-year-old Ortiz was noticeably absent from a conference call Monday to publicize the series.
"I’ve heard the rumours, of course" said Liddell. "But what I understand he’s signed to fight and he’s still going to actually show up and get the beating that he’s supposed to get."
One of the rumours has former middleweight champion Rich Franklin stepping in to replace Ortiz.
"I hope that’s not true, because I think I earned the right to punch him," Liddell said of Ortiz. "He pissed me off. I want him bad so that would really upset me if that doesn’t happen."
Liddell, a UFC Hall of Famer, said most of his animosity towards Ortiz had worked its way out of his system and that he had been looking at him as a tuneup fight rather than a chance to settle a score.
"But within a week he motivated me to want to try to hurt him. And he just continued to do that throughout the show.
"He kind of avoided me once he found out I was pissed at him. (Now) I am going to hurt him."
"He did the worst thing he could have done. He motivated me to train, to train harder than I probably would have for the fight," he added.
Among other things, Liddell was irked at Ortiz’s comments that he had needed an intervention to stop drinking.
"It’s bad enough to talk about someone’s personal life but then to make something up like that about my personal life?" said Liddell, who told reporters he quit drinking in November to get ready for this fight. "He’s just a scumbag."
Liddell also said he had asked White not to make Ortiz a coach.
The format has been rejigged slightly, although it still involves putting fighters under one roof and denying them access to the outside world other than to train and fight. The last man standing earns a six-figure contract to fight in the UFC, although that prize is spread over several years and other fighters in the cast also make it to the UFC — albeit without the title of "Ultimate Fighter" winner.
This season, the field of 28 185-pounders is reduced to 14 in one round of fights to determine who moves into a Las Vegas house to take part in the full run of the show.
In the house, there are seven fights to cut the field to seven. Two are then picked from the seven losers to fight for the eighth and final quarter-final spot.
Ring, 30, is a former kickboxer who had his first pro MMA bout back in 2002 and sports a 10-0 record. An instructor at BDB Martial Arts in Calgary, he was headed to the Pride circuit in Japan after winning its trials several years ago only to be sidelined by a knee injury.
Asked about Ring, Liddell declined comment so as not to give the game away. But he said the Canadian was a "tough bastard."
Filming for the show started in January and lasted six weeks. Ring, who survived a round of open tryouts in Los Angeles in October, was close-lipped about what happened but says it was a worthwhile experience.
"I’m glad I did it. I’m also glad it’s over," he said. "It was fun, it was exciting. And it definitely took me out of my regular routine."
Liddell also coached Season 1 of the show back in 2005 and said his manager at the time quit because he wouldn’t take his advice and hold out for more money.
The Liddell-Ortiz bout has been rumoured for Vancouver in June — a show in jeopardy because of insurance issues.
