AMERICAN TOP TEAM VS. BLACKZILIANS ON ALL NEW SEASON OF THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER – PREMIERES APRIL 22
Mar 4, 2015 Comments
(PRESS RELEASE) -- Las Vegas, Nev. – Coming off a historic season
that saw the crowning of the UFC’s first-ever women’s strawweight
champion, the next installment of The Ultimate Fighter® looks to
raise the stakes once again. For the first time in the show’s
10-year history, a gym versus gym format will be introduced pitting
fighters from the famed American Top Team against those from
Blackzilians, all while living together under one roof in South
Florida.
It will be a monumental season, as $500,000, the first-ever The Ultimate Fighter Team Trophy and most importantly, ultimate bragging rights, are all up for grabs. The decisions and strategy determined by each team have never impacted the show as much as they will this season.
This season of The Ultimate Fighter®: American Top Team vs.
Blackzilians premieres with a two-hour episode Wednesday, April 22,
at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 and will continue with 11 more
one-hour shows Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET. This is the fifth season
of The Ultimate Fighter to air on FOX Sports 1. The series is the
network’s highest rated and most watched original program since the
network’s inception in August 2013.
There’s no shortage of bad blood between these two camps. In 2001, the famed American Top Team gym was founded in Coconut Creek, Fla. by Dan Lambert. The gym has since been home to numerous champions and top contenders including current UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler, former title challengers Thiago Alves and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, former WEC® featherweight champ Mike Brown, Hector Lombard, Tyron Woodley and Dustin Poirier. However, in 2011 several members defected to start their own camp, the Blackzilians. Partnering with successful businessman Glenn Robinson, the fighters started their own training facility only 20 minutes away in Boca Raton, Fla., beginning one of the deepest rivalries in all of MMA. The Blackzilians camp is now home to former UFC light heavyweight champions Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort, as well as top contenders Anthony Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, Michael Johnson and Matt Mitrione.
This season’s cast includes:
AMERICAN TOP TEAM
Marcelo Alfaya (16-7, 1NC) Porto Alegre, Brazil
Steve Carl (21-4), Belle Plain, Iowa
Nathan Coy (14-5), Vallejo, Calif.
Michael Graves (4-0), Toledo, Ohio
Hayder Hassan (6-1), Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Sabah Homasi (8-4), New Brunswick, N.J.
Uros Jurisic (5-0), Ljubljana, Slovenia
Steve Montgomery (8-2), Florence, S.C.
BLACKZILIANS
Valdir Araujo (14-5), Gama, Federal District, Brazil
Carrington Banks (3-0), Peoria, Ill.
Luiz Buscape (16-5), Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil
Jason Jackson (4-2), Kingston, Jamaica
Vicente Luque (7-4-1), Westwood, N.J.
Andrews Nakahara (4-2-2), Mogi das Cruzes, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Felipe Portela (8-2), Brasilia, Brazil
Kamarudeen Usman (5-1) Auchi, Nigeria
Many of today’s most recognizable names in the UFC have emerged from The Ultimate Fighter® series, which also produced champions such as Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, TJ Dillashaw, Carla Esparza and Matt Serra, as well as season winners Michael Bisping, Ryan Bader and John Dodson.
For more show information, bios, videos and photos, visit ultimatefighter.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @UltimateFighter or on Facebook.com/TUF.
About UFC®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, UFC® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.
About FOX Sports 1
FOX Sports 1 is America’s new national multi-sport channel that launched on August 17, 2013 in approximately 90 million homes and boasts nearly 5,000 hours of live event, news and original programming annually. The channel has several pillar sports: UFC, college basketball and football, MLB, NASCAR, NFL (ancillary programs), international soccer, and Golden Boy boxing, and adds USGA events, including the U.S. Open, and FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015, as well as the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022. FOX SPORTS LIVE is FOX Sports 1’s flagship 24/7 news, opinion and highlights program, providing around the clock coverage through regularly scheduled programs, hourly updates and an information rich ticker. Original programs include: THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER; NASCAR RACE HUB; AMERICA’S PREGAME; MLB WHIPAROUND; and the groundbreaking BEING: documentary franchise. FOX Sports GO, a new authenticated mobile sports experience for iPhone, iPad, Android devices and the web, serves as the channel’s digital extension. The app offers more than 1,100 live games and events from cross FOX Sports, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Sports’ 22 regional sports networks, as well as scores, highlights, news, stats and analysis. For more information visit www.FOXSports.com/FOXSports1.
It will be a monumental season, as $500,000, the first-ever The Ultimate Fighter Team Trophy and most importantly, ultimate bragging rights, are all up for grabs. The decisions and strategy determined by each team have never impacted the show as much as they will this season.
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There’s no shortage of bad blood between these two camps. In 2001, the famed American Top Team gym was founded in Coconut Creek, Fla. by Dan Lambert. The gym has since been home to numerous champions and top contenders including current UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler, former title challengers Thiago Alves and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, former WEC® featherweight champ Mike Brown, Hector Lombard, Tyron Woodley and Dustin Poirier. However, in 2011 several members defected to start their own camp, the Blackzilians. Partnering with successful businessman Glenn Robinson, the fighters started their own training facility only 20 minutes away in Boca Raton, Fla., beginning one of the deepest rivalries in all of MMA. The Blackzilians camp is now home to former UFC light heavyweight champions Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort, as well as top contenders Anthony Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, Michael Johnson and Matt Mitrione.
This season features eight rising welterweights from each team who
will be selected by their respective gym owner to live in a South
Florida house alongside their competition. The fighters will
continue to train at their home gym with their own coaches and
sparring partners. However, fights will no longer be held at a
neutral site and now move to the teams’ respective gyms, always
leaving one fighter to compete in enemy territory. Adding to the
anticipation ahead of each bout, opponents won’t be known until the
weigh-in. The culmination of the season will see two fighters meet
at The Ultimate Fighter Finale in summer 2015, where the winning
gym will be crowned.
This season’s cast includes:
AMERICAN TOP TEAM
Marcelo Alfaya (16-7, 1NC) Porto Alegre, Brazil
Steve Carl (21-4), Belle Plain, Iowa
Nathan Coy (14-5), Vallejo, Calif.
Michael Graves (4-0), Toledo, Ohio
Hayder Hassan (6-1), Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Sabah Homasi (8-4), New Brunswick, N.J.
Uros Jurisic (5-0), Ljubljana, Slovenia
Steve Montgomery (8-2), Florence, S.C.
BLACKZILIANS
Valdir Araujo (14-5), Gama, Federal District, Brazil
Carrington Banks (3-0), Peoria, Ill.
Luiz Buscape (16-5), Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil
Jason Jackson (4-2), Kingston, Jamaica
Vicente Luque (7-4-1), Westwood, N.J.
Andrews Nakahara (4-2-2), Mogi das Cruzes, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Felipe Portela (8-2), Brasilia, Brazil
Kamarudeen Usman (5-1) Auchi, Nigeria
Many of today’s most recognizable names in the UFC have emerged from The Ultimate Fighter® series, which also produced champions such as Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, TJ Dillashaw, Carla Esparza and Matt Serra, as well as season winners Michael Bisping, Ryan Bader and John Dodson.
For more show information, bios, videos and photos, visit ultimatefighter.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @UltimateFighter or on Facebook.com/TUF.
About UFC®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, UFC® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.
About FOX Sports 1
FOX Sports 1 is America’s new national multi-sport channel that launched on August 17, 2013 in approximately 90 million homes and boasts nearly 5,000 hours of live event, news and original programming annually. The channel has several pillar sports: UFC, college basketball and football, MLB, NASCAR, NFL (ancillary programs), international soccer, and Golden Boy boxing, and adds USGA events, including the U.S. Open, and FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015, as well as the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022. FOX SPORTS LIVE is FOX Sports 1’s flagship 24/7 news, opinion and highlights program, providing around the clock coverage through regularly scheduled programs, hourly updates and an information rich ticker. Original programs include: THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER; NASCAR RACE HUB; AMERICA’S PREGAME; MLB WHIPAROUND; and the groundbreaking BEING: documentary franchise. FOX Sports GO, a new authenticated mobile sports experience for iPhone, iPad, Android devices and the web, serves as the channel’s digital extension. The app offers more than 1,100 live games and events from cross FOX Sports, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Sports’ 22 regional sports networks, as well as scores, highlights, news, stats and analysis. For more information visit www.FOXSports.com/FOXSports1.