TUF Season 9 Fighters Revealed
by Chris Nelson on Mar 9, 2009 1:41 PM EDT
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Complete list of all US and UK welterweights and lightweights in the full entry.
We've had partial lists and rumors, but now MMA Junkie has the news:
U.S. welterweights
1. Ryan Biglar (2-1): Biglar, 24, is a jiu-jitsu fighter originally from Guam who represents the Cobra Kai in Las Vegas.
2. Ray Elbe (20-11): A Muay Thai fighter, the 25-year-old Elbe has spent the last three years working on his game in Phuket, Thailand. The most notable man he's faced was Renato Verissimo, who knocked him out in 2003.
3. Christian Fulgium (6-2-1): A wrestler, Fulgium represents the Gladiator camp in Lafayette, La.
4. DaMarques Johnson (13-6): Johnson took up MMA training while in the military. Training out of Elite Performance in Salt Lake City, Johnson once faced former World Extreme Cagefighting welterweight champion Brock Larson, who submitted him in a 2005 bout.
5. Kevin Knabjian (10-3-1): A wrester from Eastern Illinois University, the same school that produced UFC star Matt Hughes, the one-time WEC fighter trains at Gilbert Grappling in Chicago.
6. Mark Miller (10-4): A Muay Thai fighter also based in Chicago, Miller trains at Dino Costeas MMA and Toro Muay Thai.
7. Jason Pierce (9-0): A one-time collegiate soccer player, Pierce trains with the vaunted Miletich Fighting Systems camp in Bettendorf, Iowa.
8. Kiel Reid (8-1): A native of Bettendorf, Reid also trains with Miletich, whose experience includes a 2004 fight against UFC veteran Luigi Fiorvanti.
U.S. lightweights
1. Paul Bird (4-1): A striker, Bird trains at Des Moines (Iowa) MMA. He has fought in the Midwest Cage Championships promotion.
2. Santino DeFranco (13-4): A wrestler and jiu-jitsu specialist, DeFranco has experienced fighting in the now-defunct International Fight League. He also helped coach Efrain Escudero, the TUF 8 winner.
3. Jason Dent (19-9): A submission specialist, Dent runs his own gym in Mentor, Ohio, at Griffon Brawl. He is a UFC veteran who has losses to Roger Huerta and Gleison Tibau.
4. Cameron Dollar (4-1): Dollar trains in Colorado Springs, Colo., and is a former teammate of TUF alums Cory Hill and Noah Thomas.
5. Tom Hayden (4-0): A submission fighter, Hayden is trained by popular UFC veteran Jorge Gurgel in West Chester, Ohio.
6. Waylon Lowe (5-2): Lowe, 28, also fights for Gurgel.
7. Josh Souder (7-2): A member of Team Prodigy, Souder has faced castmate Jason Dent in 2005, losing by TKO.
8. Richie Whitson (4-0): A native Alaskan who trains with Team Quest in Temecula, Calif., Whitson is a heavy-handed striker.
U.K. welterweights
1. Dean Amasinger (4-1): A grappler from Nottingham, England, Amarasinghe trains at Rough House Gym.
2. James Bateman (2-1): A striker, Bateman trains at Grimsby NHB in Grimsby, England.
3. David Faulkner (2-1): A member of the Wolfslair team that features U.K. coach Michael Bisping and UFC star Quinton Jackson, Faulkner is a submissions expert.
4. Tommy Maguire (5-2): The 20-year-old Maguire is a striker who works with the Tsunami Gym in Wisbech, England.
5. Che Mills (7-2): A tall welterweight at 6-foot-2, Mills works with ex-UFC fighter Mark Weir's Range Fighting Gym.
6. Nicholas Osipczak (3-0): Osipczak trains in London with Pancrase UK. He's finished all of his fights in the first round.
7. Alex Reid (10-9-1): Reid, 33, trains in London with the London Shoot Fighters. He's faced notable opponents such as Murilo Rua, Tony Fryklund, Dave Menne and Jorge Rivera.
8. James Wilks (5-2): Trained by veteran Eric Paulson in Orange County, Calif., the 30-year-old Wilks is a striker.
U.K. lightweights
1. James Bryan (3-1): A striker, Bryan, 25, is from Somerset, England.
2. Dan James (3-0): A striker from Swansea, Wales, he's finished two of his three pro bouts.
3. Gary Kelly (2-1): A striker, the 25-year-old Kelly trains alongside Bisping and Jackson at Wolfslair in Liverpool, England.
4. Jeff Lawson (13-2): A submission fighter with 12 finishes, Lawson trains with Team Bulldog in Dorset, England.
5. Ross Pearson (9-3): A striker, Pearson trains at Sunderland Jiu-Jitsu & MMA Club in Sunderland, England.
6. Martin Stapleton (5-1): A Muay Thai fighter, Stapleton is a product of Quannum Combat Arts.
7. A.J. Wenn (7-2): A well-rounded fighter from the Tsunami Gym, Wenn is from Cambs, England.
8. Andre Winner (9-2-1): Winner is a member of the Rough House team in London and is coming off a loss and a draw in his two fights prior to appearing on the show.
UPDATE: Thanks to Michael David Smith at MMA Fanhouse, all fighters now have links. Check out the bizarre Bebo profile for Dan James, possibly this season's British Junie Browning.
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Junie's Brother?
Maybe I overlooked something, but I don’t see Junie Browning’s brother, Robert Browning, on that list.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
yeah. Did he pull a Guida?
"Negative, negative. I gotta stay lean and lightning and ready to fight." Capt. H.M. Murdock
I'm guessing that something happens that will have Junie's brother come in or kicked off
I’m sure that Robert Browning is somehow going to make it in, or he may be like Jason Guida and not make it. Something has to happen within the first episodes.
He’s listed as confirmed on the Sherdog list.
"Negative, negative. I gotta stay lean and lightning and ready to fight." Capt. H.M. Murdock
week talent pool
there doesnt seem to be a lot of top looking prospects here. It seems more and ore that they get a mix of probalme children just getting into the sport or guys who have been fighting pro for lik7 years and have cemented themselves as journeymen. i just dont see them finding any foresst girffens in here. at least on the american side.
does anyone know anything else about these guys and casn point out who the top guys are?
Not really. This may be one of the wost TUF’s, and thats pretty hard to say seeing how bad the talent has been lately.
Bearcox, how many times have we seen people of weak talent go on TUF and then become great fighters. Granted it doesn’t happen all the time, but even the losers of TUF have proven to be some of the better fighters. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens next.
I think your definition of greatness might be a bit off
Forrest, Rashad Evans, Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck. All of them were ranked top 5 in their weight classes at one point.
i just think they could do better than this
how great would it be if they went out and instead of having tryouts where a bunch of guys who may have been around forever beat out a few guys new to the sport who could have a huge upside but dont have the skills currently to do it.
how great would it be if the ufc took 8 months and went out to mudials and adcc and recruited the best raw jui-jitsu players went to the NCAA tourney and recruited some of the best guys there went out and grabed a few up and coming boxers or kickboxers, all totaly raw guys and put them on the show so we get to see them develope from the begining.
you get a bunch of guys with all upside more opertunities for future stars.
That would be great, but would those people be willing to give up however many months of their lives to go into the TUF House?
That’s the problem with TUF now. The people that you want to be on the show think they can get a better deal from the UFC by not going on the show, and they also don’t have to go through the hell that being on the show is.
The winners of the show get decent deals and lots of help in the hype department, everyone else ends up with deals that aren’t that great.
Lot’s of quality fighters are thinking that it isn’t in their best interest to go on the show.
james irvin
not a great example of top notch dude, but i am pretty sure that james irvin turned down the first ultimate fighter in favor of something liek a one fight deal with a win option for 3 more fights and took that over the show
Ray Elbe
He’s been posting in the UG for years. After his loss to Apple I didn’t know how much he had in this sport, but good for him for making it on the show.
Every season I feel like it'll be a good season...
… then I’m mostly let down by the dumbass antics in the house. Hopefully there will be some good fights, because at this point, it’s all I could really hope for. (Or really want). Seems like a wide range of experience, particularly on the US side of things.
I’m disappointed.
0-0 fighters have ended up being some of the most talented on the show in recent years.
I made a fanpost about it a while back, but it still applies: the best talent on TUF nowadays is likely to be found in guys with little to no pro experience.
by Michaelthebox on Mar 9, 2009 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Elbe's tattoo
Better or worse than Belcher’s Johhny Cash?
When will you kids learn to stop getting these portraits? They look like garbage!
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again:
Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion
by The Kittitas Kid on Mar 9, 2009 3:11 PM EDT reply actions
Thats a terrible picture with an obvious fake smile. No surprise the same guy who decided to use that picture to memorialize somebody picked the worst (or cruelest) tattoo artist in the world.
by Michaelthebox on Mar 9, 2009 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I heard a rumor that Mushin Corrbrey was going to be on the cast, guess that was false, thats a bit of a let down.
Other rumored fighters I am disappointed that aren’t on the show are Anthony Lapsley, Jimmy Wallhead, Abdul Mohammed and Ronny Mann. I know Mann is fighting for Sengoku, I’d like to know the story on Mohammed and Wallhead though. In Dana’s Vlog it seemed like he was pretty impressed with Abdul, wonder what went wrong.
It seems like every rumored fighter I was excited about didn’t make it onto the show, bummer. I’ll be pulling for Che Mills and Andre Winner to win I suppose.
Another comback season
Count me in the camp that is ready for another “Comeback” season.
" Tell me something Steve, How does a guy from Puerto Rico loose a ball in the Sun? "
I really don’t understand their selection process. I know of a couple local fighters who tried out for the show with better resumes and records, yet didn’t make the show. I mean, are you telling me that these are the best you can find for the show? The only thing I can think is that maybe a lot of guys are deciding against going on the show.
That roster is, uh…. uh… really something. According to fight finder, Alex Reid has lost six straight and hasn’t even fought in almost 18 months. How did someone like him make it over Abdul Mohamed? And Mark Miller will likely be considered one of the better WWs… meanwhile, the guy who last beat him, Mike Pierce, just made a successful WEC debut, even though I’m pretty sure he told me he was trying out for TUF9.
Ah well. Maybe Andre Winner will pan out.
The Notorious TUF Contract
could be the reason we’re not seeing a lot of the true prospects that were rumored. It’s probably just not worth it to potentially sign a few years of your life over to Zuffa for someone who’s a couple wins away from a WEC or UFC contract regardless.
Contributor Emeritus - BloodyElbow.com
You’ve got Dean Amasinger’s name and link wrong. It’s Amasinger and not Amarasinghe. His link on sherdog is http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Dean-Amasinger-20524
I'm okay with the low recognizability of the majority of the fighters
The purpose of the show is to take guys that haven’t made it yet and see if they can. We’re all well aware that training with big name fighters and their world class trainers often turns athletically talented, yet green, TUF fighters into formidable mixed martial artists (Sadollah anyone?) with potential for future stardom. There is definitely some effect of fighters feeling that they’d rather not get tied into the TUF contract, but if they’ve got what it takes to get a prelim UFC fight outright, or a contract with another org, they’re not really applicable to the TUF formula to begin with. I see some promise, particularly in the mostly untapped UK territory, for this season.
"I hit [Evensen], and you could just see it in his head. He went, 'Oh, man. We don't have to do this anymore. I'm good. Thanks for having me. I'm going to go home now." -Pat "The Real Techno Viking" Berry
Man I’m so over TUF.
Yeah, who got the final Death Blow? 'Cause I thought that Hawaiian guy had it comin' to him. - C. K.
by monkeyfightclub! on Mar 9, 2009 7:27 PM EDT reply actions
Cameron Dollar FTW
Thats my pick for the Lightweight winner.
I heard that they had 34 fighters for the 32 that fight to get into the house, due to the Jason Guida factor…. apparently Rob Browning was one of the fighters that didn’t get to fight… sadly Donnie Liles was the other.
Good point.
Past TUF Champions Pre-TUF Records (according to Sherdog’s Fight Finder):
Forrest Griffin: 9-2-0
Diego Sanchez: 11-0-0
Joe Stevenson: 23-6-0
Rashad Evans: 5-0-0
Michael Bisping: 10-0-0
Kendall Grove: 5-3-0
Nathan Diaz: 5-2-0
Mac Danzig: 16-4-1
Amir Sadollah: 0-0-0
Ryan Bader: 7-0-0
Efrain Escudero: 10-0-0
Five of the 10 who actually had professional records were undefeated. I didn’t realize that.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Mar 9, 2009 9:30 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Average Record: 9.1 – 1.5 – 0.1
Median Record: 9 – 0 – 0
Compared to the losers in the finals…
Average Record: 5.5 – 1.5 – 0.1
Median Record: 6 – 1 – 0
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Mar 9, 2009 10:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Worst Record for a Winner: 5-3-0 (.625) by Kendall Grove (or Amir Sadollah’s non-existent record I guess)
Worst Record for a “Runner-Up”: 2-2-0 (.500) by Vinicius Magalhaes
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Mar 9, 2009 10:21 PM EDT up reply actions
They all look like douches to me. I hope this bunch proves me wrong.
"Negative, negative. I gotta stay lean and lightning and ready to fight." Capt. H.M. Murdock
How dare you speak that way about Big Pete from The Adventures of Pete & Pete?
Contributor Emeritus - BloodyElbow.com
by Chris Nelson on Mar 10, 2009 12:28 AM EDT up reply actions
I guess
I’ll have to wait until he fights to see who, in that comparison, should be more insulted.
"I hit [Evensen], and you could just see it in his head. He went, 'Oh, man. We don't have to do this anymore. I'm good. Thanks for having me. I'm going to go home now." -Pat "The Real Techno Viking" Berry
by Blackout612 on Mar 10, 2009 12:39 AM EDT up reply actions
Paul Bird has a fight on Saturday for MCC in Des Moines. I wonder if that means he’s not making it to the house?
I know that Cameron Dollar’s “Tap or Snap” Lightweight belt is now vacant because of this.
by Gunslinger20 on Mar 10, 2009 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions
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