“What we are doing this season with ‘The Ultimate Fighter Live‘ – it’s never been done with television, with sports, with anything,” Dana White stated when discussing the show’s most innovative season yet. “Basically, the reality portions of the show that you’re going to see will have been shot in the last two days, so everything is real time. The most incredible part of all this is that these fights are live, every Friday night. This is revolutionary television.”
Aside from coaches Dominick Cruz (UFC 135 champ) and Urijah Faber who fight at season’s end, the show includes 32 lightweight and welterweight fighters set to vie for the title of The Ultimate Fighter.
As part of this cast, we’re happy to report that 2 Texans have made it on to compete for a shot at UFC stardom.
The 2011 TXMMA Rookie of the Year winner, 25 year old James Vick has only been fighting professionally for a year yet has already earned himself a reputation as one of the more exciting fighters North Texas has had to offer as of late. Beginning in June of last year, the former boxer-turned MMA fighter rang off 3 1st round victories in a row and finished the year off with a 4-0 record heading into this show. Coached by Durwyn Lamb and crew at Phalanx MMA along with Albert Hughes and Tony Tipton at Genesis, James will now be looking to take his career on the fast track with an impressive performance on the UFC’s staple reality show.
Also making the show out of the Lone Star State is longtime West Texas MMA veteran Cody Pfister. Training out of Elite MMA & Fitness in Amarillo, the 22 year old Cody has won his last two fights in a row and 6 out of 9 overall while fighting primarily in the West Texas-based Shark Fights Organization. Like his fellow Texan, Vick, Cody will also be looking to use The Ultimate Fighter as the staging point for the next step in his own MMA career.
Below is the entire cast for season 15 of The Ultimate Fighter. Make sure to tune in to FX for The Ultimate Fighter: LIVE this Friday, May 9th, starting at 9PM EST / 8PM Texas time.
The Ultimate Fighter: LIVE – Season 15 Cast
| Akbarh Arreloa, Chula Vista, Calif. | Al Iaquinta, Wantagh, N.Y. |
| Ali Maclean, Belfast, North Ireland | Andy Ogle, Tynemouth, England |
| Austin Lyons, Cordova, Tenn. | Brendan Weafer, New York, N.Y. |
| Chris Tickle, Bloomington, Ill. | Cody Pfister, Amarillo, Texas |
| Cristiano Marcello, Curitiba, Brazil | Chase Hackett, Littleton, Colo. |
| Chris Saunders, Long Beach, Calif. | Dakota Cochrane, Omaha, Neb. |
| Daron Cruickshank, Wayne, Mich. | Drew Dober, Omaha, Neb. |
| Erin Beach, San Diego, Calif. | James Krause, Blue Springs, Mich. |
| James Vick, Fort Worth, Texas | Jared Carlsten, Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Jeff Smith, Mechanicsburg, Penn. | Jeremy Larsen, Phoenix, Ariz. |
| Joe Proctor, Pembroke, Mass. | John Cofer, Hull, Ga. |
| Johnavan Vistante, Pearl City, Hawaii | Jon Tuck, Hagtna, Guam |
| Jordan Rinaldi, Matthews, N.C. | Justin Lawrence, Villa Ridge, Mo. |
| Mark Glover, Liverpool, England | Michael Chiesa, Spokane Valley, Wash. |
| Myles Jury, San Diego, Calif. | Mike Rio, Miami, Fla. |
| Sam Sicilia, Spokane Valley, Wash. | Vinc Pichel, Sherman Oaks, Calif. |