Fans already knew “The Ultimate Fighter” had transitioned from Fridays to Tuesdays and that the 17th season would be making its debut January 22nd on FX. Also, opposing coaches Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen were confirmed several months ago.
However, it wasn’t until this morning we discovered the 28 athletes who will be competing in this season’s middleweight tournament for a six-figure UFC contract.
Here are the TUF 17 hopefuls:
Dylan Andrews (16-4-1), 32, Gold Coast, Australia
Kito Andrews (9-2), 34, Sacramento, Calif.
Luke Barnatt (5-0), 24, Cambridge, England
Leo Bercier (7-2), 31, Great Falls, Mont.
Ryan Bigler (9-3), 28, Yona, Guam
Kevin Casey (5-2), Hawthorne, Calif.
Adam Cella (4-0), 27, Fenton, Mo.
Zach Cummings (15-3), 28, Kansas City, Mo.
Andy Enz (6-1), 21, Anchorage, Alaska
Nik Fekete (5-1), 32, Las Vegas
Kelvin Gastelum (5-0), 20, Yuma, Ariz.
Uriah Hall (7-2), 28, New York City
Collin Hart (4-1-1), 23, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Clint Hester (7-3), 25, Atlanta
Jake Heun (3-2), 25, Salt Lake City
Mike Jasper (6-0), 29, Camarillo, Calif.
Nicholas Kohring (3-0), 22, Valley Springs, Calif.
Robert “Bubba” McDaniel (20-6), 29, Albuquerque, N.M.
Fraser Opie (10-5), 29, Milton Keynes, England
Mike Persons (3-0), 28, Manteca, Calif.
Jimmy Quinlan (3-0), 26, Metheun, Mass.
Scott Rosa (4-1), 26, Sparks, Nev.
Joshua Samman (9-2), 24, Tallahassee, Fla.
Gilbert Smith Jr. (5-1), Colorado Springs, Colo.
Eldon Sproat (3-1), 27, Molokai, Hawaii
Tor Troeng (15-4-1), 29, Umea, Sweden
Eric Wahlin (5-1), 29, Taylorsville, Utah
Timothy Williams (7-1), 26, Millville, N.J.