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The Ultimate Fighter, the UFC’s long-running reality television show competition, returns for its 33rd season.

Officials announced via a press release Friday that casting for TUF 33 is scheduled to run from Nov. 4 to Dec. 18, with producers and scouts on the lookout for fighters in the welterweight and flyweight divisions. Coaches for the upcoming season are yet to be determined, as is the date for the season premiere.

According to the release, “casting for TUF 33 will be remote with no physical tryouts” and decisions are expected to be made no later than January.

The most recent season of TUF saw flyweight stars Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko coaching teams comprised of middleweights and featherweights. American Ryan Loder won the middleweight tournament, while Brazil’s Mairon Santos was the champion at 145 pounds.

Grasso and Shevchenko later met in a trilogy bout with Grasso’s flyweight title on the line at UFC 306 this past September. Shevchenko won by unanimous decision to become a two-time UFC champion.

Premiering in 2005, TUF has often been credited by UFC CEO Dana White as having helped to bolster interest in the promotion, particularly the thrilling TUF 1 finale bout between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar, which is widely regarded as one of the most important fights in UFC history.

Other standouts to emerge from seasons of TUF include Nate Diaz, Michael Bisping, Tony Ferguson, T.J. Dillashaw, Robert Whittaker, Carla Esparza, Rose Namajunas, Julianna Peña, and many others, though the program has been supplanted somewhat by Dana White’s Contender Series, which serves a similar purpose as a prospect showcase.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Ian Machado Garry and Joaquin Buckley will battle it out in the final fight of 2024 for the UFC.

The promotion announced on Saturday that Garry and Buckley headline UFC Tampa, which takes place Dec. 14 at Amalie Arena.

Both Garry and Buckley expressed interest in stepping in to face Shavkat Rakhmonov in the main event of UFC 310 for the interim welterweight title following Belal Muhammad withdrawing due to a toe infection, but instead the UFC matchmakers have decided to pair up the surging 170-pound contenders.

The undefeated Garry competes for the third time in 2024. “The Future” earned a split decision win over Geoff Neal at UFC 298 in February, and then handed Michael Page his first promotional defeat at UFC 303 in June. Garry is currently ranked No. 7 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.

Buckley, No. 10, is unbeaten since moving down to welterweight, winning all five of his 170-pound octagon appearances. “New Mansa” looks to make it 4-0 in 2024 after stoppage wins over Stephen Thompson and Vicente Luque, and a unanimous decision win against Nursulton Ruziboev. The former middleweight makes his 15th UFC appearance.

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Costly Mistake
| BJPenn.com

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is back, for some reason.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today announced Season 33 of the long-running combat sports reality show, expected to air at some point in early-to-mid 2025 on ESPN. Aspiring fighters competing in the flyweight (125 lbs.) and welterweight (170 lbs.) divisions are invited to apply during the open casting call that runs from Nov. 4 through Dec. 18.

Applications will available at the UFC website (beginning Nov. 4) right HERE.

The process will be handled remotely, unlike the old days of physical tryouts, with finalists being selected in January. Applicants must be between the ages of 21 and 34 and hold a winning record with a minimum of three professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fights. Unfortunately, female fighters are not expected to be a part of TUF 33.

Opposing coaches have yet to be determined.

After the pointless season featuring Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler, who never ended up fighting, TUF 32 returned with Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso at the helm. They eventually fought with Grasso surrendering her flyweight title to “Bullet” at UFC 306 as part of the “Noche” card inside Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Belal Muhammad and Conor McGregor are beefing like they have a fight coming up.

The latest round of verbal volleys between the two occurred after news broke that Muhammad is pulling out of a welterweight title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov that was scheduled to headline UFC 310 on Dec. 7. Muhammad is dealing with a toe infection that has him sidelined for the foreseeable future.

McGregor, who has been out of action for over three years, had little sympathy for Muhammad, responding with laughing emojis in a tweet reply that has since been deleted. The two fighters have rarely had a kind word for each other, but McGregor was particularly motivated to mock Muhammad after Muhammad seemingly did the same to McGregor when he withdrew from UFC 303 this past June due to a toe injury:

Muhammad responded to McGregor’s emojis by accusing McGregor of being a drug addict.

“I have this for antibiotics,” Muhammad said in a comment accompanied by a picture of his arm receiving an injection. “You use needles because you are a junkie. We are not the same.”

In another tweet that has since been deleted, McGregor responded with an invective-filled rant, calling for Muhammad to be “stripped” of the UFC welterweight title (h/t MMA On Point).

“Scutter talk just like your fighting,” McGregor wrote. “You lambasted UFC world champions multiple times on having to reschedule their bouts through injury and now it has come down on you like a bomb from the sky.

“It is glorious to see. No fight. No money. But staph infection. Bum. Stripped. Instantly. Zero knockdowns/any excitement or traffic or views or ticket sales in bout, and now also non-reliable to show? Strip. Cut. Infected fighter. You have infections.”

McGregor’s “bomb” line is particularly heinous given Muhammad’s Palestinian heritage and the genocide currently taking place in Gaza, Palestine’s largest city, at the hands of Israel.

Muhammad is yet to respond to McGregor’s latest comment.

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UFC Fight Night: Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi takes place on Saturday, and MMA News is here to bring you the final faceoffs from the ceremonial weigh-ins!

After staging its latest numbered event at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi last weekend, MMA’s leading promotion has remained on the road for a card inside the Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

In the main event, former two-time UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno returns close to nine months on from a defeat to Brandon Royval in Mexico City. Having now lost two straight by way of split decision, “The Assassin Baby” will look to get back to winning ways at the expense of the charging Amir Albazi.

Setting the stage for them in another 125-pound contest will be Erin Blanchfield and Rose Namajunas. After winning two straight in the division this year, the ex-strawweight queen will look to notch her biggest flyweight success to date and stake her claim for a title shot by adding to the woes of “Cold Blooded,” who was beaten by Manon Fiorot last time out.

Elsewhere, heavyweight knockout artist Derrick Lewis makes the walk for his latest assignment, Mike Malott has the chance to rebound on home soil, and bantamweight veteran Pedro Munhoz adds to his Octagon experience.

Ahead of the event, all 28 fighters successfully made weight. With that, every fight is intact, and all that remains on Friday is for the athletes to face off one final time at the UFC Fight Night Edmonton ceremonial weigh-ins.

Check out a live stream via the official UFC YouTube channel below, commencing at 7 PM ET.

UFC Fight Night Ceremonial Weigh-In Live Stream

Continue Reading UFC Fight Night: Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi Ceremonial Weigh-In Live Stream at MMA News.

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Alex Pereira won’t save another UFC pay-per-view on short notice.

“Poatan” had the MMA world wondering if he would step up and headline UFC 310 on Dec. 7 after welterweight champion Belal Muhammad withdrew from a main event matchup with Shavkat Rakhmonov. The light heavyweight champion appeared to tease another quick turnaround after posting a phone emoji on social media in reaction to the Muhammad news, but MMA Fighting has learned that the fight is not being discussed for the card.

“Poatan” fought three times in 2024, defending his title with knockouts over Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree Jr.— two of those on short notice—and competing on just over a month’s notice yet again has been ruled out.

The Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura clash for the UFC flyweight championship, and originally the co-main event for UFC 310, remains the top bout on the line-up at the moment.

It’s still early to pinpoint when Pereira will defend his title next. However, with UFC’s first pay-per-view card of 2025 scheduled for Jan. 18, it’s unlikely that Poatan could be part of that numbered show. UFC 312, the following pay-per-view on Feb. 8, could be an option. That event takes place in Sydney, Australia.

Ankalaev has solidified himself as the next man up for the 205-pound championship, and volunteered to face Pereira as soon as Dec. 7. The Russian fighter is currently riding a 13-fight unbeaten streak with a trio of victories against Brazilian fighters. Ankalaev won twice in 2024, stopping Johnny Walker before earning a decision over Aleksandar Rakic.

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