UFC
Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz announced as coaches for first live season of The Ultimate Fighter on FX
Dec 6, 2011 - 8:35:08 PM Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz announced as coaches for first live season of The Ultimate Fighter on FX

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The Ultimate Fighter is no more on Spike TV, but the new iteration of the show will kick off this spring on FX, and the new season's coaches are now official. The UFC announced on Tuesday night that Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz will coach the 15th season of the reality show, and will square off for the UFC Bantamweight Championship in mid-2012 following the season.

"We’re producing ground-breaking television with The Ultimate Fighter LIVE and we can’t wait to kick this season off with FX in March,” UFC President Dana White said today in a press release. “It’s going to be can’t-miss TV. Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber are two incredible personalities who also happen to be two of the best fighters in the world. They genuinely dislike each other and I expect this to make for the best season yet.”

“We believe that Dana and Lorenzo [Fertitta], along with Executive Producer Craig Piligian, have come up with exciting new changes to the format of The Ultimate Fighter that will expand and grow the series," said Chuck Saftler, Executive Vice President, FX Networks. "The fact that the fights at the end of each episode will now be televised live is certain to create a sense of urgency for UFC fans. Furthermore, the move of TUF to Friday nights will provide a great ratings boost to the network.”

This will be the third time Cruz and Faber have met, and the second summer in a row that they'll square off for the title. Faber defeated Cruz in 2007 as the then-WEC Featherweight Champion, submitting him in the first round and giving him the only loss of his career. In the rematch last year, Cruz took a close unanimous decision victory.

For both fighters, getting the exposure of The Ultimate Fighter for 12 weeks is a huge opportunity, and being a part of this historic first season, which will feature live fights every week throughout the run, makes it an even bigger deal.

"Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a gym rat and love learning and teaching mixed martial arts," Cruz said. "This is a dream come true. To get a chance to coach TUF and beat Faber again is all the motivation I need. This is going to be an insane season of The Ultimate Fighter."

"I can’t wait to be the next coach on The Ultimate Fighter," Faber commented. "I am looking forward to mentoring a bunch of hungry and talented fighters. The new cast needs to be ready to work hard and learn! Having Dominick coach on the opposite side couldn’t be more perfect. I’m not too thrilled about being in each other’s space for an extended period of time, as I am sure we are going to get on each other’s nerves. But I can’t wait to mentally beat him up as a coach, and then literally beat him up in the cage and swipe that UFC strap."

Penick's Analysis: This wasn't much of a secret, as it was heavily implied after Faber's UFC 139 win that the two of them would coach this season, but it's still a great call. It will lead to this third fight between the two of them being a much bigger fight than their UFC 132 headliner in July. It will also be really interesting to see how they handle coaching and training for their own fight for this 12-week season, as they will have their camp right alongside the fighters they're preparing throughout the season. This is going to be a groundbreaking move for The Ultimate Fighter, and it will be exciting to see two fantastic fighters with a real grudge against each other help to sell it.

[Urijah Faber art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]