The Ultimate Fighter: Constructing New International Versions of the Show

The Ultimate Fighter is a long-running reality show in the United States, but its venture into foreign lands is still a new concept. So far, only two foreign versions have taken place—TUF: Brazil and TUF: The Smashes (UK vs. Australia).

The reality show has allowed MMA to become immensely more popular among common people. It allows the sport to be spread to people who don't watch MMA, but can be persuaded through mainstream exposure.

With the announcing of the TUF: The Smashes cast, I got to thinking about the next seasons of international versions of the show. Here are a few cast assemblies that the show could potentially use. 

Note: Only eight fighters per weight class will be considered, as elimination rounds would require speculation as to who would face/defeat who.

TUF: Brazil 2

Proposed Coaches: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum 

Proposed Weight Classes: Heavyweights and bantamweights

The first season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil was a huge success. Not only were there amazing fights, but a majority of the fighters were top talents from the country.

In that season, featherweights and middleweights were featured. In addition to that, welterweights and lightweights were over-featured on the show, so I think a cast of bantamweights and heavyweights would be perfect for the next Brazilian version.

A pair of coaches that would be great to have, and fight at the end of the season, would be Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum. They have fought in the past, but it was a good fight that I would like to see again.

Many of the top Brazilians outside of the company at bantamweight are in Bellator, but their is an abundance of talent. Some names that come to mind that could participate are Leandro Issa, Fabio Mello, Rodolfo Marques and Pedro Nobre. 

Guys like Issa would need to fulfill their contracts, like the one he has with One FC, but that is easily doable seeing as this season couldn't be done until at least early 2013.

As for the heavyweights, the possibilities are endless. The UFC heavyweight division is the smallest non-flyweight division in the company and their are plenty of Brazilians that could make an appearance on the show.

Several fighters that could be on the show are Elivelton Jose Ramos, Edson Franca, Joaquim Ferreira and Mario Neto.

Here is a rundown of the possible cast by weight class.

Bantamweights: Leandro Issa, Fabio Mello, Rodolfo Marques, Iliarde Santos, Marlon Moraes, Zeilton Rodrigues, Rafael Silva and Pedro Nobre

Heavyweights: Elivelton Jose Ramos, Edson Franca, Joaquim Ferreira, Mario Neto, Jair Goncalves, Leandro Gordo, Luis Fernando Miranda and Guilherme Siva dos Anjos

TUF: UK

Proposed Coaches: Michael Bisping and Tom Watson 

Proposed Weight Classes: Featherweights and middleweights 

Lightweights and welterweights are the weight classes of the upcoming TUF: The Smashes, meaning that they are immediately out of the question. That series will see the UK send their fighters in against the Australians, much like the ninth American season where the UK fought the US team.

The coaches I am proposing may seem like they are not on the same level, but their popularity and their skill level in the UK are pretty close together (yes, I know, some of you will call me crazy for putting Watson anywhere near Bisping's level).

It is an intriguing end-of-season fight that would provide fireworks and force UK fans to pick a side. Both are technical strikers that would put on a show.

As for the actual season, I think a cast of featherweights and middleweights would be a suitable cast for the show. There is a lot of underrated talent at 145 and 185 which could be exploited in this season.

For the featherweights, there are a lot of possibilities. A couple of names that could make their appearance on the show could be Owen Roddy, Paul Reed, Robbie Olivier and Nathan Beer.

These men are all scrappers that could potentially make this among the most exciting seasons of all time. Add the fact they are featherweights and they could attract a whole new fanbase.

The middleweights are a little less experienced and less deep, but have potential anyways. Some of the names that could grace the show are John Phillips, James Zikic, Eugene Fadiora and Jack Marshman.

Here is a rundown of the possible cast by weight class.

Featherweights: Owen Roddy, Paul Reed, Nathan Beer, Robbie Olivier, Ashleigh Grimshaw, Robert Whiteford, Graham Turner and Andrew Fisher

Middleweights: John Phillips, James Zikic, Eugene Fadiora, Jack Marshman, Denniston Sutherland, Andrew Punshon, Matt Howard and Chris Scott

TUF: Canada

Proposed Coaches: Mark Bocek and TJ Grant

Proposed Weight Classes: Lightweights and bantamweights 

Many people are going to complain that Georges St. Pierre should be involved as a coach, but his only challenge is fellow teammate Rory MacDonald, who he will not fight.

Therefore, the next best matchup between Canadians here are fellow lightweights Mark Bocek and TJ Grant. Both men are in similar positions in the division and could use the fight to gain a top-15 fight.

Moving on to the participants, Canada's greatest talent pool comes in the lightweight division. In addition, a cast of bantamweights would continue to help build the the division and expose the audience to up-and-coming talent.

In terms of the lightweights, there are a number of fighters that could grace the show. Personally, I think Mukai Maromo, Jesse Ronson, Kajan Johnson and Kurt Southern would be great additions to the cast. They are all talented and could use this show to improve.

As for the bantamweights, there are a lot of unknown talents that could be ready for the show. In addition to Josh Hill, who could be considered a top-30 talent, the show could boast such names as John Fraser, Stephane Pelletier and Adrian Wooley.

Here is a rundown of the possible cast by weight class.

Bantamweights: Josh Hill, John Fraser, Stephane Pelletier, Adrian Wooley, Tyler Davis, Syd Barnier, Randy Turner and Diego Wilson

Lightweights: Mukai Maromo, Jesse Ronson, Kajan Johnson, Kurt Southern, Curtis Demarce, Brad Cardinal, Stephen Beaumont and Alex Ricci

TUF: Europe

Potential Coaches: Stefan Struve and Cheick Kongo

Potential Weight Classes: Middleweights and lightweights

This may be a tough season to do, as it generalizes a whole continent, but there are a lot of countries in Europe that are not on the same level as countries like the USA, Brazil and Canada. Therefore, this may just be wishful thinking.

The coaches could be Cheick Kongo (France) and Stefan Struve (Netherlands), who are in about the same position in the heavyweight division. A potential fight could be a great scrap, seeing as both men have good standup.

The first weight class could be middleweight. Europe has a number of middleweight talents that are intriguing. Among these names are Mamed Khalidov (Poland), Michal Materla (Poland), Tor Troeng (Sweden) and Mats Nilsson (Sweden).

These names may not be familiar to the casual fan, but hardcore fans would agree that these guys have serious potential.

The second weight class to consider is the lightweights. Some of the guys that could be on the show are Daniel Weichel (Germany), Mairbek Taisumov (Austria), Ivan Buchinger (Slovakia) and Tim Radcliffe (UK).

The UK, although I have constructed their own season, could be included in this show as well. 

Here is a rundown of the possible cast by weight class.

Middleweights: Mamed Khalidov (Poland), Michal Materla (Poland), Tor Troeng (Sweden), Mats Nilsson (Sweden), Chris Fields (Ireland), Antoni Chmielewski (Poland), Jonas Billstein (Germany) and Andrei Semenov (Russia)

Lightweights: Daniel Weichel (Germany), Mairbek Taisumov (Austria), Ivan Buchinger (Slovakia), Tim Radcliffe (UK), Diego Gonzalez (Sweden), Abner Llovares (Spain), Rob Sinclair (UK) and Deividas Taurosevicius (Lithuania)

Bonus: Flyweights

Potential Coaches: Frank Edgar and Chad Mendes 

An American version of the show with the incorporation of flyweights needs to happen to continue the building of the division. 

The division has a lot of talent still outside the company. With just over a dozen fighters in the division, the UFC needs to continue signing guys and developing them.

Just to name a few, Sean Santella, Jonathan Mackles and Josh Robinson could all grace the show. There are a lot of Japanese fighters that would bolster the division, but they probably don't speak English, or speak it very poorly.

Here is a rundown of the possible cast by weight class. This will include 16 fighters, as it is only one weight class instead of two.

Flyweights: Sean Santella, Jonathan Mackles, Josh Robinson, Rambaa Somdet (if he speaks English), Giorgio Andrews, Kris Edwards, Darrell Montague, Aaron Ely, Dustin Ortiz, Josh Rave, Danny Martinez, Chad Robichaux, Josh Alvarez, Spencer Hewitt, Kevin Dunsmoor and Alexis Vila

Notable Omissions and Notes

Here are several notable omissions:

Australia: With their participation on TUF: The Smashes, I had trouble thinking of a consistent, talented enough squad to have two weight class competitions for another season.

Japan: With the announcement of a series of small Japanese events aimed at Japanese fighters, a TUF series does not seem necessary at this time.

Russia: M-1's presence in Russia, in addition to concrete contracts with the company, made it tough to assemble teams or a show in Russia.

I also realize that there are several versions of the show that have been rumored, such as the Philippines and India, but I had trouble assembling teams for those countries. Therefore, they were excluded.

If there is anybody you think should have been considered or you think a different weight class should be made, leave comments below on what you would do different.