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It’s official – after an absence of over two years, the UFC’s famed reality show, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), will be making a return in March 2021.
Season 29 of TUF is all set to be broadcast for the first time on the ESPN+ streaming service, and naturally, the UFC will be hoping to capture some new fans at the same time.
There can be no doubt then that the UFC will want to go all out in order to make this a mega season of TUF. With that in mind, who will the promotion choose to be the two coaches on the show?
Traditionally, the coaches build to a fight between themselves at the end of the season. And with pairings like Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz and Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva to live up to, there will definitely be pressure on the UFC to select the right pairing this time around.
Here, then, are five potential pairings to coach the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter.
#1 Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal
Historically, TUF's best seasons were always the ones with coaches who had a really bitter rivalry. Fans still fondly recall the TUF coaching feuds between pairings like Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock, Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans, and BJ Penn and Jens Pulver years after their seasons aired.
On the flip-side, seasons that had a non-existent coaching rivalry – think TUF 26 with Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje – weren’t met with much enthusiasm at all.
That means that the UFC will probably want two TUF coaches who genuinely dislike each other for maximum impact. That’s why perhaps the best pairing would be Welterweight rivals Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal.
The two men have been sniping at one another in the MMA media for some time now, despite formerly being training partners and friends. Covington recently claimed that Masvidal was “scared of the style match” and was attempting to hold the UFC up for more money to take the fight.
However, a coaching spot on what should be a major season of TUF could be the carrot that the UFC needs to dangle towards Masvidal to get him to sign on the dotted line. One can only imagine the type of chaos – no pun intended – that could go down if these two agreed to coach on TUF 29.
Covington’s pro-wrestling style persona seems made for a spot like this – just as Ortiz and Conor McGregor were before him. On the other hand, Masvidal’s street brawler persona would act as the perfect foil to him. It’d definitely be must-see TV, which is exactly what the UFC will be looking for.
#2 Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson
December’s UFC 256 was supposed to see UFC Featherweight champion Amanda Nunes defend her title against top contender Megan Anderson. But earlier this week, it was announced that The Lioness has been forced to withdraw due to injury.
The fight now seems set for early 2021, so could the UFC look to build it up further by choosing the two Featherweights as the coaches for TUF 29? There are definitely a number of reasons why it’d make sense.
Firstly, while there’s no rivalry as such between the two, TUF coaching spots have also historically been used to build up UFC title fights, meaning these two would qualify in that sense.
And equally, coaching on a season of TUF has always been one of the UFC’s traditional methods to increase the popularity of a fighter who might not have caught on with the fans all that well.
That definitely applies to both Nunes and Anderson. Nunes is almost certainly the greatest female fighter in MMA history now. But her popularity with the UFC fans has never reached the heights of Ronda Rousey, or even Miesha Tate or Rose Namajunas.
Anderson, meanwhile, appears to have an extremely likable personality as well as a marketable look. But with only four UFC fights to her name, she’s largely unknown in the eyes of casual fans. Essentially, the Australian is just the kind of fighter who would benefit from the exposure that coaching on TUF would give her.
Would the interactions between these two be as wild as, say, Covington and Masvidal? Almost certainly not. But there’s an argument that Covington and Masvidal don’t need this kind of spotlight, while a pairing like Nunes and Anderson could definitely benefit from it. Therefore, they’d definitely be a logical choice.
#3 Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker
While it was initially suggested that UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya could face UFC Light Heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz in a ‘superfight’ next, it’d probably be a much better idea to keep the two weight classes apart. That feeling only intensified when Glover Teixeira defeated Thiago Santos last weekend to stake his own claim for a shot at Blachowicz.
If the UFC does go down that route, then it’d be a cool idea to have Adesanya coach against the man he dethroned to take the UFC Middleweight crown – Robert Whittaker – on TUF 29.
Whittaker has already denied UFC President Dana White’s claim that he’s not interested in a fight with Adesanya – instead stating that he simply wants the fight in March or April 2021 instead of January.
Therefore, pairing the two as coaches on TUF 29 to build to a fight at the end of the season – probably around May – would be perfect.
More to the point, both men have highly marketable personalities, particularly Adesanya. A TUF coaching opportunity would be the perfect vehicle for The Last Stylebender to push his brand and become an even bigger star, even if he’s actually stated that he’d rather not take the gig.
Meanwhile, Whittaker was actually discovered during a season of TUF – 2012’s UK vs. Australia-themed The Smashes. And so it’d be a lot of fun to see The Reaper return to his old stomping ground as a coach.
With both men also having a somewhat combustible nature, the likelihood is that we’d see at least one heated clash between the two – building their title fight up to must-see proportions. Essentially, this pairing would make for awesome TV.
#4 Jon Jones and Alistair Overeem
This one sounds a little out of left field, but bear with me. Jon Jones has been discussing a move up to Heavyweight for some time in order to chase after a UFC title in a second weight class. He’s even vacated the UFC Light Heavyweight title now, suggesting that he finally means business with the move.
However, with Francis Ngannou being the clear-cut top contender at Heavyweight, Jones will probably need at least one fight in his new weight class before going after the UFC title. So why not make that fight against former UFC title challenger Alistair Overeem – and have the two coach on TUF 29 in the process?
Overeem has recently stated that he wants “one final run” at the UFC Heavyweight title now he’s turned 40. And if he could overcome Jones, then it’d be hard to deny him his shot. The fight makes sense, but what about the coaching gig?
Well, Jones has coached on TUF before – on the 17th season against bitter rival Chael Sonnen. And the then-UFC Light Heavyweight champ did an excellent job overall, with his appearance helping to rehabilitate his image following the debacle of UFC 151’s cancelation.
Meanwhile, Overeem has never quite reached the heights that he was expected to in terms of stardom, but he’s still one of the UFC’s most popular Heavyweights. More to the point, he’s got an interesting persona, and his sheer experience – he’s been fighting since 1999 – would make him a tremendous coach for up-and-coming stars.
Add in the fact that this pairing wouldn’t logjam a UFC title picture – and would give Jones plenty of time to prepare for his Heavyweight debut – and it’d be a brilliant idea from the UFC to go ahead with it.
#5 Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou
The next UFC Heavyweight title fight is almost certain to pit reigning champion Stipe Miocic against top contender Francis Ngannou. And recent reports suggest that UFC President Dana White is looking to book the fight in March 2021.
However, despite Ngannou more than earning his title shot by destroying four straight opponents by KO, the interest levels for the fight may be lower than the UFC might hope. That’s because the two have already fought before.
And that fight – at UFC 220 in January 2018 – saw Miocic absolutely dominate Ngannou en route to a unanimous decision win.
Ngannou has been destroying all in his path since, but it might still be a hard sell to suggest that he could dethrone Miocic. So why not let the two build the fight by having them coach on TUF 29, which could add another dimension to their rivalry?
It wouldn’t be the first time coaching TUF for Miocic, who coached against former rival Daniel Cormier on the 25th season of the reality show in 2018. However, for Ngannou, it’d be a golden opportunity for him to sell his personality to UFC fans a little more.
Right now, The Predator is simply seen as a stoic wrecking machine. But while that’s effective in selling him as a beast to be slain, he might need a little more if he wants to become a bonafide UFC superstar. And coaching on TUF could allow him to really show his true persona, allowing his brand to grow in the process.
Sure, the two men may not enter into a blood feud during the TUF coaching process. But it’d still be fascinating to see them pit their wits during TUF against each other before facing off in the Octagon.
