Press Release: The Utimate Fighter 16 cast unveiled by FX
Today the full list of all fighter participants for The Ultimate Fighter: Season 16 were announced by FX, courtesy of UFC.com. Featuring an initial cast of 32 fighters who will fight their way into the house of 16 spots, all will be competing at Welterweight this season. As has been hyped in recent months, the two teams will be coached by massive Heavyweights Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin, who will face off at season’s end. Roy Nelson has started up some intial controversy with some Zuffa-banned participants on his coaching staff. Dana White has made public his issues with the behavior of “Big Country” Nelson, and expects the latest season of TUF to be an entertaining one:
“Carwin and Nelson are two guys who just can’t stand each other and Roy and I haven’t exactly seen eye to eye either – he’s been a nightmare for me to work with on this show with all his stupid BS.”
The season will begin airing on FX on Friday, September 14th, at 10 PM EST. Here is a complete rundown of the fighters who made the cut for the premiere and a chance to make their way into the house:
Bristol Marunde, 30, Las Vegas, Nev.
Cameron Diffley, 27, Las Vegas, Nev.
Colton Smith, 25, Fort Hood, Texas via Ankeny, Iowa
Cortez Coleman, 30, Hugo, Okla.
David Michaud, 23, Pine Ridge, S.D.
Diego Bautista, 26, Lakewood, Calif.
Dom Waters, 23, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Eddy Ellis, 29, Olympia, Wash.,
Frank Camacho, 23, Camp Springs, Md.,
George Lockhart, 29, Atlanta, Ga.
Igor Araujo, 31, Albuquerque, N.M. via Patos De Minas, Brazil
James Chaney, 25, Klamath Falls, Ore.
Jason South, 34, West Jordan, Utah
Jerel Clark, 23, Reno, Nev.
Jesse Barrett, 26, Tempe, Ariz.
Joey Rivera, 32, Tucson, Ariz.
Jon Manley, 26, Ludlow, Mass.
Julian Lane, 25, Mansfield, Ohio
Kevin Nowaczyk, 23, Chicago, Ill.
Leo Kuntz, 28, Bismarck, N.D.
Lev Magen, 25, Las Vegas, Nev.
Matt Secor, 25, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
Max Griffin, 26, Sacramento, Calif.
Michael Hill, 25, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Mike Ricci, 26, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Neil Magny, 24, Chicago, Ill.
Nic Herron-Webb, 22, Anchorage, Alaska
Ricky Legere Jr., 26, Corona, Calif.
Saad Awad, 23, San Bernardino, Calif.
Sam Alvey, 26, Murrieta, Calif.
Tim Ruberg, 30, Harrison, Ohio
Zane Kamaka, 23, Klaianae, Hawaii