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TUF 17 Cast

5K views 36 replies 21 participants last post by  Killz 
#1 ·

More than two dozen fighters have been selected for the upcoming 17th season of "The Ultimate Fighter," and one of them is apparently capable of reducing his opponents to nervous breakdowns.

Ultimate Fighting Championship officials revealed to USA TODAY Sports the 28 fighters who will compete on the latest edition of the promotion's long-running reality series, which debuts Jan. 22 (FX, 8 p.m. ET).

Now fight fans will inevitably try to determine which fighter UFC President Dana White recently said struck fear in the hearts of his opponents during filming of the tournament-based competition.

"The whole house is terrified of this guy. Everybody," White said. "I picked this fight, and this guy is lined up with the guy I'm telling you about, and the guy has a nervous breakdown in the house over the weekend.

"This guy scared the living s--- out of everyone. It's awesome."

The cast boasts talent from 16 different U.S. states and territories, as well as international prospects from England, Jamaica, New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden. Seven fighters bring undefeated professional records to the show, and the cast has combined for 200 pro victories. One of them will prove victorious in the tournament and earn a six-figure UFC contract, though the UFC traditionally signs at least a few cast members to deals.

In December welterweight Colton Smith claimed the "TUF 16" title in a season that White openly admits was the worst in the eight-year history of the show. The season also turned out to be the least-watched in show history, but UFC officials are hoping for a turnaround in the new season, which sees the series shift away from Friday nights to a new Tuesday timeslot.

Widely credited for the launch of the UFC's current popularity boom, "TUF" debuted in 2005 and has produced more than 100 UFC fighters and three eventual champions. It's also spawned international versions in Brazil and Australia, with additional countries expected to debut this year.

The two-hour season debut episode sees the 28 fighters compete in an elimination round of fights, and the 14 winners become official cast members. For the first time in the show's history, each contestant was allowed to bring friends and family to the first round of fights.

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and outspoken MMA superstar Chael Sonnen serve as opposing head coaches on the series and will face off at an April pay-per-view event.

The full lineup of UFC hopefuls includes:
Dylan Andrews (16-4-1), 32, Gold Coast, Australia (by way of New Zealand)
Kito Andrews (9-2), 34, Sacramento, Calif.
Luke Barnatt (5-0), 24, Cambridge, England
Leo Bercier (7-2), 31, Great Falls, Mont.
Ryan Bigler (9-3), 28, Yona, Guam
Kevin Casey (5-2), Hawthorne, Calif.
Adam Cella (4-0), 27, Fenton, Mo.
Zach Cummings (15-3), 28, Kansas City, Mo.
Andy Enz (6-1), 21, Anchorage, Alaska
Nik Fekete (5-1), 32, Las Vegas
Kelvin Gastelum (5-0), 20, Yuma, Ariz.
Uriah Hall (7-2), 28, New York City (by way of Jamaica)
Collin Hart (4-1-1), 23, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Clint Hester (7-3), 25, Atlanta
Jake Heun (3-2), 25, Salt Lake City
Mike Jasper (6-0), 29, Camarillo, Calif.
Nicholas Kohring (3-0), 22, Valley Springs, Calif.
Robert "Bubba" McDaniel (20-6), 29, Albuquerque, N.M.
Fraser Opie (10-5), 29, Milton Keynes, England (by way of South Africa)
Mike Persons (3-0), 28, Manteca, Calif.
Jimmy Quinlan (3-0), 26, Metheun, Mass.
Scott Rosa (4-1), 26, Sparks, Nev.
Joshua Samman (9-2), 24, Tallahassee, Fla.
Gilbert Smith Jr. (5-1), Colorado Springs, Colo.
Eldon Sproat (3-1), 27, Molokai, Hawaii
Tor Troeng (15-4-1), 29, Umea, Sweden
Eric Wahlin (5-1), 29, Taylorsville, Utah
Timothy Williams (7-1), 26, Millville, N.J.
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#5 ·
The other two possibles are Jake Huen, and Timothy Williams. The "South Jersey Strangler" is coming from the main event scene on the indies and he has mostly finishes. Huen has a terrible record, but that was at Heavyweight.

14 contestants in the house, 7 bouts...

not a traditional bracket..its early on the west coast...doesn't that leave 7 winners? are they doing a bye week? or maybe do to the last season being so uneventful, they will drop the weakest fight?

I thought they have had 16 contestants
Wild Card fight
 
#3 ·
14 contestants in the house, 7 bouts...


not a traditional bracket..its early on the west coast...doesn't that leave 7 winners? are they doing a bye week? or maybe do to the last season being so uneventful, they will drop the weakest fight?

I thought they have had 16 contestants
 
#4 ·
Yeah Dana kind of spoiled it when he was talking about the guy who sends everyone to the hospital.
 
#6 ·
Done a quick breakdown of the TUF 17 cast, and ranked them (my personal opinion after quickly researching them).




As for the beast of the show, like others my guess is Tor Troeng. Part time rapper Kevin Casey is also a nasty dude (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc2N2TiKI3o), Nik Fekete is a Division 1 All-American wrestler, Jimmy Quinlan is a BJJ world champion, Adam Cella a star kickboxing golden gloves champion with over 60 fights, Uriah Hall is a beastly athletic muay thai fighter.

My guess was that it has to be one of them 6. Gotta be Troeng, if not my next best guess would be Cella or Hall.
 
#8 ·
No one on the show is really that scary, but honestly this is a decent cast.

I think they are doing away with the oft-repeated format of throwing a bunch of complete unknown guys they found at Bar Fight Combat Championships and are know going for some established prospects.

Fekete is my pick to win if he can handle the weight.
 
#13 ·
I hope beyond reason that the fighters this season realize after last season that if they try to grind out boring wins, they do not get into the UFC. I am so glad Dana sent a message last season by giving them all no fight on the final card and nobody fights in the UFC
 
#25 ·
he said the most well conditioned, chael should have saved him though and picked clint, and also dylan as well but with his last pick he could have got him
 
#24 ·
Yea...but he got Uriah Hall with his second pick :laugh: That guys looks really decent, he didnt want to be on Chaels Team but training with a wrestler of that level will help him, he does not need much for striking.

Look who he has lost to also....hardly bums :laugh: Mostly i really liked the way he consoled the beaten fighter afterwards.
 
#28 · (Edited)
I was surprised Dylan got picked last considering he took on Lurch. I hate all the sob stories. "Oh I'm doing this for my kids. If I didn't have MMA I'd be in prison blah blah blah"

I think either Clint Hester or Uriah Hill will win although I was concerned that Hill didn't finish his fight. I expected a guy with that kind of explosive power to finsh the fight.


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#31 ·
I was surprised Dylan got picked last considering he took on Lurch. I hate all the sob stories. "Oh I'm doing this for my kids. If I didn't have MMA I'd be in prison blah blah blah"

I think either Clint Hester or Uriah Hill will win although I was concerned that Hill didn't finish his fight. I expected a guy with that kind of explosive power to finsh the fight.
I'm guessing he was the last pick because they think he broke his nose/hand and will be removed from the competition.
 
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