As the announcement said on UFC.com, the cast members of this season come from over all over the place from Gothenburg, Sweden and Glasgow, Scotland to Yonkers, N.Y. and Texas itself.
Many tried out for the show from the Lonestar State, including Jason Sampson, Daniel Pineda, Quaint Kempf, and a host of others but the person carrying the flag this season will be none other than Johnny Bedford of Fitness Fight Factory. His inclusion been rumored for months since tryouts but he finally let the cat out of the bag with his own personal statement after the UFC/Spike release:
“Ok, I can finally announce what’s going on,” said Bedford on his Facebook page. “I was in Vegas for Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter. The first episode will air on Sept. 21 and will be a two- hour season debut. They will show all 16 fights, where the winners enter the house, and the losers go home. I know a lot of you have speculated this, but this is the first I have been able to announce me being part of the show. Thank you all for the support!”
Speculation continues on exactly how far Johnny made or will make it on the show but all of Texas will sure be cheering for him all season long.
Also joining Bedford on the show and also with Texas ties is Diego “Ceara” Brandao. The last time we spoke to the BJJ Black belt and longtime associate of fellow Manaus native Rodrigo Pinheiro, he was all set to take on Nick “The Ghost” Gonzalez at KOK: Mass Destruction in Ausin this past April before mysteriously pulling away right around the time the TUF selection process was going on. Now he joins Bedford on the show representing Jackson’s MMA.
Here’s the extended season preview prior to the September 21st premiere.
Here’s the full list of TUF 14 participants courtesy of UFC.com.
BANTAMWEIGHTS
JOHN ALBERT
Fighting out of: Puyallup, Wash. / Victory Athletics
Record: 6-1-0
Age: 24
JOHNNY BEDFORD
Fighting out of: Watuga, Texas/ F3 Alliance
Record: 17-9-1
Age: 28
CARSON BEEBE
Fighting out of: Western Springs, Ill. / Gilbert Grappling
Record: 6-1-0
Age: 22
ROLAND DELORME
Fighting out of: Winnipeg, Manitoba / Winnipeg Academy of MMA
Record: 6-1-0
Age: 27
TJ DILLASHAW
Fighting out of: Sacramento, Calif. / Team Alpha Male
Record: 4-0-0
Age: 25
JOHN DODSON
Fighting out of: Albuquerque, N.M. / Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts
Record: 11-5-0
Age: 26
CASEY DYER
Fighting out of: New Castle, Ind. / No Affiliation
Record: 6-1-0
Age: 21
BJ FERGUSON
Fighting out of: Louisville, Ky. / All-American MMA
Record: 6-2-0
Age: 29
JOSH FERGUSON
Fighting out of: Louisville, Ky. / All-American MMA
Record: 7-3-0
Age: 22
LOUIS GAUDINOT
Fighting out of: Yonkers, N.Y. / Team Tiger Schulmann
Record: 5-1-0
Age: 26
MATT JAGGERS
Fighting out of: Connersville, Ind. / Team Wolfpack
Record: 20-7-0
Age: 25
TATEKI MATSUDA
Fighting out of: Boston, Mass. / Team Sityodtong
Record: 6-2-0
Age: 25
PAUL MCVEIGH
Fighting out of: Glasgow, Scotland / Dinky Ninjas
Record: 18-6-0
Age: 29
BRANDON MERKT
Fighting out of: New Richmond, Wisc. / The Academy
Record: 11-0-0
Age: 27
DUSTIN PAGUE
Fighting out of: Centreville, Va. / MASE MMA
Record: 9-4-0
Age: 23
ORVILLE SMITH
Fighting out of: Indianapolis, Ind. / Integrated Fighting
Record: 11-3-0
Age: 30
FEATHERWEIGHTS
STEPHEN BASS
Fighting out of: Savannah, Ga. / Lloyd Irvin MMA
Record: 10-0-0
Age: 28
DENNIS BERMUDEZ
Fighting out of: Massapequa, N.Y./ Long Island MMA
Record: 7-2-0
Age: 24
DIEGO BRANDAO
Fighting out of: Albuquerque, N.M. / Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts
Record: 13-7-0
Age: 23
MARCUS BRIMAGE
Fighting out of: Coconut Creek, Fla. / American Top Team
Record: 3-1-0
Age: 31
BRYAN CARAWAY
Fighting out of: Sacramento, Calif. / Team Alpha Male
Record: 15-5-0
Age: 26
JOSH CLOPTON
Fighting out of: San Francisco, Calif. / Skrap Pack
Record: 4-0-1
Age: 29
AKIRA CORASSANI
Fighting out of: Gothenburg, Sweden / Team Kaobon
Record: 9-3-0
Age: 28
KARSTEN LENJOINT
Fighting out of: Nottingham, United Kingdom / Wolfslair Academy
Record: 7-1-0
Age: 30
ERIC MARRIOTT
Fighting out of: Independence, Mo. / Grindhouse MMA
Record: 20-5-0
Age: 25
MICAH MILLER
Fighting out of: Coconut Creek, Fla. / American Top Team
Record: 17-4-0
Age: 24
DUSTIN NEACE
Fighting out of: Granite City, Ill. / Hit Squad
Record: 22-17-1
Age: 24
JESSE NEWELL
Fighting out of: Ventura, Calif. / Knuckleheadz Boxing
Record: 6-1-0
Age: 24
BRIAN PEARMAN
Fighting out of: Springfield, Mo. / Springfield Fight Club
Record: 7-1-0
Age: 26
JIMMIE RIVERA
Fighting out of: Elmwood Park, N.J. / Team Tiger Schulmann
Record: 8-1-0
Age: 21
STEVEN SILER
Fighting out of: Ogden, Utah / Riven Academy
Record: 18-9-0
Age: 24
BRYSON WAILEHUA-HANSEN
Fighting out of: Honolulu, Hawaii / MMA Development
Record: 5-1-0
Age: 24
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