(Image: SpikeTV)

SpikeTV’sMMA reality hit, The Ultimate Fighter returns to action on Wednesday, Sept. 16th for an 8th season.  This season features former champ Frank Mir and current interim Heavyweight Champ Antonio Nogueira as the coaches for their respective teams and the two will face off after the season ends as per the usual model for the show.

That fight will be a semil final of sorts, as the winner will face the winner of the pending Randy Couture Vs. Brock Lesnar match in a unification fight. 

This season will focus on 16 fighters - 8 Heavyweight and 8 Light Heavyweight’s  that will be living together in the TUF house, but like last season, the cast will start with 32 men as each have to earn a spot in the house in a trial by fire fight.  The initial sudden death fight to make it into the house was a nice touch last season and it adds to the MMA value of the show.

Check out a sneak preview of the TUF 8 premier scheduled to air tomorrow night, courtesy of SpikeTV.com

As if that wasn’t good enough…. 

TUF 8 will be preceded by a”free” UFC Fight Night event that will air at 8pm EDT.  That Ultimate Fight Night 15 card is pretty good as well…

• Nate Diaz headlines the card, looking for a 5th straight UFC win over a very game and ultra experienced Josh Neer. 
• Clay Guida meets Mac Danzig in another very interesting Lightweight match-up that could be fight of the night.
• Houston Alexander looks to recover his UFC mystique in what could be a loser leaves match against Eric Schafer.
• Alan Belcher faces Ed Herman as he looks to recover from a lopsided loss to Jason Day at UFC 83. 
• Alessio Sakara, Wilson Gouveia, Drew McFedries and Joe Lauzon round out the card as well.    

(Image: Spike TV.com)

Spike TV  lives at the forefront of Mixed Martial Arts in terms of bringing the sport into living-rooms in North America.  Their 2005 partnership with Zuffa in bringing the pseudo “Contender’ reality show “The Ultimate Fighter” proved to be a success not just for the network, but a real springboard for the sport of MMA.   Dana White has been the first to admit the importance of the Finale of that first season, where Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar let it all hang out in an effort to secure the elusive 6 figure contract with the UFC.  Both fighters earned contracts that night and the popularity of the sport has been growing exponentially ever since.

Now we head into Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter and with this we move back to the old school formula of having 2 weight classes of fighters competing on the show.  This season will feature Lightweight and Light Heavyweight competitors, with each group of men looking to break into the MMA big leagues by getting the title of “The Ultimate Fighter” and the UFC backing that comes with it.  With the old comes the new, and the show will stick with last season;s successful formula of bringing in 16 fighters in each weight class and have the first few episodes focus on them as they pair off and fight just to make the final cut and earn a spot in the TUF 8  house.  

The coaches for this season of the show are not in either weight class, but are pure Heavyweights as current UFC Heavyweight Champion, Antonio Nogueira pits his team against that of former UFC Champ Frank Mir.

Let’s keep in mind that this is hardly an amateur competition, but a competition with opportunity for less well known fighters to step up to the big stage and show they can compete at an elite level.  With a keep it in the family approach, TUF 2 Champion, Rashad Evans’ brother Lance will be on the show, as will Jason Guida, brother of Lightweight fan favourite Clay Guida.

It looks like a really diverse cast and some familiar names for those who spend a lot of time watching all levels of MMA competition.  I think it will shape up to be a great season, although free MMA is always a great recipe for success on my TV.  The first episode will premier on September 17th @ 10pm EST on Spike TV

Check out teasers for the upcoming season   (Teaser 1 - Teaser 2)

The official list of TUF 8 Cast members is included below:

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Polls are a great way to get a view into popular opinion and among MMA fans, opinion is rarely in short supply.  With the most recent poll we asked which current Champion you felt would lose their belt first?

The response was good in terms of numbers of votes and it also provided a clear view of how the fans view the current UFC champions.

Here are the results of the poll:

It’s hard to disagree with the results for the most part.   Antonio Nogueira is a new champ and his performances have been somewhat inconsistent outside of the UFC.  The biggest surprise to me was that 28% of those who voted thought Rampage would be next in line to lose his belt.  The charming champion is due to meet Forrest Griffin on July 5th following their TUF 7 coaching assignments.  Not sure if the vote means that Griffin will take that belt or someone else? 

The next 3 fighters are tough choices as they are all considered among the top pound for pound competitors in the game.
BJ Penn has the least consistency in his career, regardless of where he is today, but I’m not sure who people think is going to take his belt?  GSP is always a favorite, although he showed some vulnerability against Serra the first time round.
Anderson Silva has shown very little weakness and has purely dominated his competition in the UFC… for that reason, you voted him least likely to lose his belt in the near future.

Solid picks from everyone… now on to the next poll!

 (Image:UFC.com)

The UFC has announced the coaches for the next installment of their hugely popular series, The Ultimate Fighter, which is produced by and airs on SpikeTV.  Season involves a return to the classic format with two divisions , in this case Light Heavyweight and Lightweight competitors. The coaches were announced as current Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria and former champion, Frank Mir.

The next season is scheduled to air on September 17th at 10pm  on SpikeTV.  With the two fighters scheduled to meet in a title match following the airing of the show, it leaves contenders like Fabrico Werdum and Brandon Vera in a bit if a lurch regardng their activity for the next few months following  a scheduled meeting at UFC 85 on June 7th.

The two aren’t exactly comedians like current TUF 7 coaches Rampage Jackson  and Forrest Griffin , but the show will likely hold the attention of existing fans regardless.  I certainly can appreciate the return to the dual weight-class concept for the future. 

Open tryouts for the show were held in Boston on April 10th,.  As per a UFC.com release, the 8th season of  TUF will begin production in May with the full cast announced by mid - late Sepember.  I for one am still hooked, so keep the seasons coming…