UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington will be returning the favor after having Chael Sonnen in his corner late last year in Tampa.
During the UFC 311 pay-per-view broadcast last month, the promotion announced the coaching lineup for its upcoming 33rd edition of The Ultimate Fighter reality series.
While the show traditionally pitches active fighters against each other as they coach teams before doing battle themselves inside the cage, this year will see two former competitors and current podcast co-hosts lead the rosters.
Ex-title challenger Sonnen and former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier will take a break from discussing the world of MMA on ESPN’s Good Guy/Bad Guy show to go head-to-head as TUF coaches.
And in a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Sonnen became the first to divulge which prominent names he’s adding to his coaching team for the season, including Covington.
“The head coach will be Clayton Hires,” Sonnen said. “Clayton Hires is my coach, he’s my mentor. He is not my assistant ever. He will be the boss. I will have on the jersey: ‘Clayton’s Team.’ It will consist of me, it will consist of ‘Cowboy’ Steve. He’s going to do what generally Mike Dolce would do in terms of helping these guys with their weight, their nutrition, their strength and conditioning.
“I would never do an Ultimate Fighter (series) without bringing the greatest grappler, Vinny Magalhaes. The last man to beat Gordon Ryan I might add, and he beat Gordon easily. That’s just the truth,” Sonnen continued. “And Colby Covington. Colby is going to to come in.”
Sonnen was notably in Covington’s corner for his unsuccessful UFC Fight Night main event opposite Joaquin Buckley last December. “Chaos” lost by way of doctor’s stoppage after sustaining damage that “The Bad Guy” admitted left him pondering throwing in the towel.
Season 33 of TUF is set to air every Tuesday on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ from May 27, 2025.
