(PRESS RELEASE) -- Las Vegas, Nevada – The Ultimate Fighter® returned to FX on Tuesday night with the ninth episode of the season – “The Wild Card”. For the first time since season 13, the Wild Card fight was re-introduced, providing an opportunity for fighters who have lost in the preliminary fights to get back in the competition. Bubba McDaniel, representing Team Jones, defeated Kevin Casey, representing Team Sonnen, by TKO in a shocking fashion.
A full recap is available at ufc.com.
Results after episode eight:
Team Sonnen – coached by UFC® light heavyweight Chael Sonnen – (4-4)
Luke Barnatt (1-0, TKO win over Gilbert Smith in episode 2)
Uriah Hall (1-0, KO’d Adam Cella in episode 3)
Zak Cummings (0-1, lost a UD to Dylan Andrews in episode 8)
Tor Troeng (0-1, lost to Josh Samman via TKO in episode 6)
Jimmy Quinlan (1-0, submitted Clint Hester in episode 7)
Kevin Casey (0-2, lost a UD to Collin Hart in episode 4, lost via TKO [failure to answer to bell] to Bubba McDaniel in episode 9)
Kelvin Gastelum (1-0, submitted Bubba McDaniel in episode 5)
Team Jones – coached by UFC® light heavyweight champion Jon Jones – (4-4)
Clint Hester (0-1, submitted by Jimmy Quinlan in episode 7)
Josh Samman (1-0, defeated Tor Troeng by TKO in episode 6)
Bubba McDaniel (1-1, submitted by Kelvin Gastelum in episode 5, defeated Kevin Casey by TKO [failure to answer to bell] in episode 9)
Gilbert Smith (0-1, TKO’d by Luke Barnatt in episode 2)
Collin Hart (1-0, defeated Kevin Casey by UD in episode 4)
Adam Cella (0-1, KO’d by Uriah Hall in episode 3)
Dylan Andrews (1-0, defeated Zak Cummings by UD in episode 8)
After speaking to all the quarterfinalists one-by-one, Ultimate Fighting Championship® President Dana White selected the quarterfinal match-ups:
Collin Hart (Team Jones) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (Team Sonnen)
Dylan Andrews (Team Jones) vs. Luke Barnatt (Team Sonnen)
Josh Samman (Team Jones) vs. Jimmy Quinlan (Team Sonnen)
Bubba McDaniel (Team Jones) vs. Uriah Hall (Team Sonnen)
The series resumes next Tuesday, March 26, on FX at 9 p.m. ET/PT (check local listings for Central and Mountain Time). In that episode – “The Quarterfinals Begin” – A fighter gets a surprise visit from world champion Ronda Rousey as he prepares for his quarterfinal showdown. Then, with boxing legend Mike Tyson in attendance, Hart faces-off against Gastelum and Andrews meets Barnatt, trying to secure a spot in the final four.
Tickets for The Ultimate Fighter® Finale are on-sale now. To purchase tickets to the April 13th event at Mandalay Bay Events Center, or for more information, visit the Mandalay Bay Events Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com, or charge-by-phone at 800.745.3000.
For more show information, and your chance to play the TUF Fantasy Tournament, visit ultimatefighter.com and follow us on Twitter @TUFonFX or on Facebook.com/TUF.
About the Ultimate Fighting Championship® Universally recognized for its action-packed, can’t-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. In 2012, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which airs on FX.
In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 145 countries, to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide, in 28 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and Australia via Main Event and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website, UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with nearly 2.4 million followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best-selling DVDs and video games, an internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TV offering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, a new franchise in development with EA, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel and trading cards.
FX FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from Fox. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in more than 98 million homes. The diverse schedule features a growing roster of critically acclaimed and award-winning hit dramas series Sons of Anarchy and Justified; the miniseries American Horror Story: Asylum; the upcoming drama series The Americans; the acclaimed hit comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Louie, Archer, Wilfred, BrandX with Russell Brand, and Totally Biased withW. Kamau Bell; and the upcoming comedy Legit. The network’s library of acquired box-office hit movies is unmatched by any ad-supported television network. FX's other offerings include the acquired hit series Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother, and live sports with UFC and NCAA football.