UFC recently issued the following:
Los Angeles, CA – July 26, 2014 – For the first time ever, the storied reality series The Ultimate Fighter® premieres in Spanish and is made up of fighters from across Latin America. The inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter® Latin America debuts exclusively in Spanish in the United States on FOX Deportes, the leading Spanish-language sports cable network, on Monday, August 25 (10:00PM ET). The first season of The Ultimate Fighter® Latin America features UFC® heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and number-one contender Fabricio Werdum as coaches, leading a cast of 16 fighters from Mexico and Latin America in the bantamweight (135 lbs.) and featherweight (145 lbs.) divisions.
“We are excited to be the exclusive Spanish-language broadcast partner for The Ultimate Fighter Latin America in the United States,” said Carlos Sanchez, EVP and GM of FOX Deportes. “We know how important the Latino community is to UFC and are pleased to be able to offer a platform to engage this fast-growing demographic.”
The series was filmed in Las Vegas in the spring. Mexican-American Velasquez coached a team of eight Mexican contenders, four in each division. Brazilian Werdum, who also speaks fluent Spanish and is the lead analyst for UFC fights on FOX Deportes, led a team comprised of fighters from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Panama.
TEAM VELASQUEZ
Bantamweight
Marco Beltran (5-2), 27, Morelia, Mexico
Henry Briones (13-4), 33, Tijuana, Mexico
Alejandro Dominguez (22-6), Tlatenango, Mexico
Jose Quinonez (10-1), 23, Tlatenango, Mexico
Featherweight
Gabriel Benitez (16-4), 25, Tijuana, Mexico
Masio Fullen (6-4), 27, Guadalajara, Mexico
Yair Rodriguez (2-1), 22, Parral, Mexico
Rodolfo Rubio (12-6), 27, DF, Mexico
TEAM WERDUM
Bantamweight
Guido Cannetti (5-1), 34, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Fredy Serrano (1-0), 34, Bogota, Colombia
Bentley Syler (5-0), 31, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Marlon Vera (5-1), 22, Guayaquil, Ecuador
Featherweight
Humberto Brown (4-4), 29, Panama City, Panama
Leonardo Morales (4-0), 21, Managua, Nicaragua
Diego Rivas (5-0), 22, Temuco, Chile
Alex Torres (1-1), 25, Bogota, Colombia
The reality show follows the 16 contenders as they live, train and compete against one another for the opportunity of a lifetime. At the conclusion of the 12-episode series, the winner receives a six-figure contract with the UFC®. Coaches Velasquez and Werdum are slated to headline UFC® 180 on Saturday, November 15 in Mexico City for the heavyweight title, an event that will also crown the inaugural The Ultimate Fighter® Latin America winners.
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