Four members of Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight titleholder Alexander Volkanovski’s team have entered the cage on Season 29 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and all four exited on the wrong side of the win-loss equation. Perhaps Bryan Battle can stop the hemorrhaging.
Battle, 26, owns a 5-1 record and joined the cast of the reality series on the strength of a four-fight winning streak. He was Volkanovski’s No. 8 pick behind Mitch Raposo, Ryder Newman, Dustin Lampros, Gilbert Urbina, Ricky Turcios, Aaron Phillips and Brady Hiestand. Raposo, Newman, Lampros and Phillips have all been eliminated. The 30-year-old Lachinov, meanwhile, sports a 10-3 mark and trains out of Team Link in Ludlow, Massachusetts. He was Ortega’s No. 8 pick behind Dan Argueta, Andre Petroski, Liudvik Sholinian, Tresean Gore, Josh Rettinghouse, Miles Hunsinger and Vince Murdock. Petroski, Sholinian, Gore and Murdock have already advanced to their respective quarterfinals.
Season 29 of “The Ultimate Fighter” features hopefuls from the bantamweight and middleweight divisions.