Urijah Faber, Dominick Cruz next 'Ultimate Fighter' coaches
Dominick Cruz, left, celebrates his victory over Urijah Faber shortly their bantamweight title match at UFC 132 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Cruz won by unanimous decision. (July 2, 2011) Credit: AP
Among the interesting new facets when "The Ultimate Fighter" moves to a live format on FX beginning on Friday, March 9, will be seeing the coaches training in real time for their upcoming fight.
No more shooting the show then have four months or more before the actual live fights happen.
And with Urijah Faber and UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz being named the coaches for this upcoming season, that's going to make for a fascinating dynamic and TV confessionals. Faber and Cruz liking each other is like saying Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos fans can peacefully co-exist in the same room on a football Sunday. Not so much.
"I’m not too thrilled about being in each other’s space for an extended period of time, as I am sure we are going to get on each other’s nerves," Faber said in a statement. "But I can’t wait to mentally beat him up as a coach, and then literally beat him up in the cage and swipe that UFC strap.”
"TUF" will air over 13 weeks and feature lightweights and welterweights in live fights on Friday nights, culminating in an Ultimate Finale and a Cruz-Faber title fight. There's no indication yet if the Cruz-Faber fight will headline the Finale, which is typically aired on free television, or if it will be part of a pay-per-view card.
Last Saturday's Season 14 Ultimate Finale was the first time in the past nine seasons where the show's coaches actually fought on the Finale card. Michael Bisping won by TKO over Jason Miller.
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