Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje Officially Announced as ‘Ultimate Fighter’ Season 26 Coaches

Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje are now officially “Ultimate Fighter” coaches.

Monday, the Ultimate Fighting Championship formally announced the 155-pound dynamos as the opposing coaches for the 26th season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” UFC President Dana White had previously confirmed the rumor to Sirius XM’s Luke Thomas during the Brooklyn stop of the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor promotional tour last Thursday.

White said that TUF 26, which will crown the inaugural UFC women's flyweight champion, has already began filming, and will premiere on Aug. 30, airing on Fox Sports 1. The TUF 26 finale is likely to take place in December, but it hasn't been revealed whether or not the Alvarez-Gaethje bout will headline the card.

Alvarez, 33, lost the UFC lightweight champion in lopsided fashion, suffering a second-round knockout at the hands of the aforementioned McGregor at UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Philadelphia native returned to action at UFC 211 in May, but wound up settling for a No Contest against Dustin Poirier after he landed a series of illegal knees on “The Diamond,” miring the bout in controversy.

Prior to his UFC tenure, the 28-year-old Gaethje racked up a 17-0 record and dominated the World Series of Fighting lightweight division from 2013 to 2016. The former WSOF lightweight champ made a brilliant Octagon debut in at “The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption” Finale on July 7, knocking out Michael Johnson in a wild and raucous “Fight of the Year” contender.