(PRESS RELEASE) -- Las Vegas – Competitors from 11 different countries have been cast for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter® led by UFC® interim featherweight champion and proud Irishman Conor McGregor, opposite former WEC® featherweight champion Urijah “The California Kid” Faber. The premiere episode, debuting on September 9 at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, will showcase 32 fighters competing for one of 16 spots featuring eight Europeans and eight Americans and the opportunity to be coached by two of the sport’s best athletes.
McGregor took the MMA world by storm when he burst onto the UFC scene in 2013, quickly amassing a 6-0 record inside the Octagon® en route to becoming the interim featherweight champion. Currently riding a 14-fight winning streak, “The Notorious” is set to unify his title with pound-for-pound king Jose Aldo at UFC 194 on December 12 in Las Vegas.
This will be Faber’s second stint as coach, having served as head coach for season 15 against rival Dominick Cruz in 2012. Widely considered a pioneer amongst fighters in the lighter weight classes, Faber is one of the most recognized and respected competitors in mixed martial arts history.
Below is a full list of competitors by team and in alphabetical order (name, professional record, age, hometown):
United States
Andreas Quintana, 8-1, 24, Albuquerque, N.M.
Austin Springer, 8-0, 27, Portland, Ore.
Billy Quarantillo, 6-1, 26, Tampa, Fla.
Brandon Ricetti, 7-1, 28, Chico, Calif.
Brennan Sevin, 7-1, 29, Chauvin, La.
Chris Gruetzemacher, 12-1, 29, Peoria, Ariz.
Jason Soares, 8-0, 25, Miami, Fla.
Johnny Nunez, 5-1, 29, Las Vegas, Nev.
James Jenkins, 8-1, 29, Long Island, N.Y.
Jason Gonzalez, 9-2, 25, Colton, Calif.
Julian Erosa, 14-2, 25, Yakima, Wash.
Mike Flach, 7-1, 27, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Ryan Hall, 4-1, 30, Falls Church, Va.
Thanh Le, 4-1, 29, New Orleans, La.
Tim Welch, 12-5, 25, Glendale, Ariz.
Tom Gallicchio, 19-8, 28, Perth Amboy, N.J.
Europe
Artem Lobov, 11-10-1-1, 28, Dublin, Ireland
Abner Lloveras, 19-7-1, 32, Barcelona, Spain
David Teymur, 3-1, 25, Stockholm, Sweden
Djamil Chan, 19-2, 24, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Frantz Frank Slioa, 4-0, 24, Stockholm, Sweden
Marcin Wrzosek, 10-2, 27, Bydgoszcz, Poland
Martin Delaney, 10-1, 36, Bathgate, Scotland
Martin Svensson, 14-5, 30, Malmo, Sweden
Mehdi Baghdad, 11-3, 29, Toulon, France
Mohamed Grabinski, 10-1, 23, Dusseldorf, Germany
Paulo Boer, 10-1-1, 29, Holland
Sascha Sharma, 8-2, 27, Stuttgart, Germany
Saul Rogers, 10-1, 25, Bolton, England
Sean Carter, 10-1, 30, Essex, England
Thibault Gouti, 10-0, 28, Avignon, France
Vladimir Sikic, 10-0, 25, Frankfurt, Germany
The show will feature 12 episodes airing Wednesdays on FOX Sports 1. Each episode’s winner will advance in the single-elimination tournament, leading to the season finale card on December 11 in Las Vegas. The finale will be headlined by former lightweight champion and current second-ranked featherweight Frankie Edgar taking on Faber teammate, No. 3 Chad Mendes.
For more show information, bios, videos and photos, visit ultimatefighter.com and follow us on Twitter @UltimateFighter and Facebook.
About UFC®
UFC® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 158 countries and territories to over 1 billion TV households worldwide in 21 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service that is available throughout the world with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.
About FOX Sports
FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing 21st Century FOX’s wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, FOX Sports includes ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing partnerships. FOX Sports includes the sports television arm of the FOX Broadcasting Company; FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2; FOX Sports Regional Networks, their affiliated regional web sites and national programming; FOX Soccer Plus; FOX Deportes and FOX College Sports. In addition, FOX Sports also encompasses FOX Sports Digital, which includes FOXSports.com, FOX Sports GO, Whatifsports.com and Yardbarker.com. Also included in the Group are FOX’s interests in joint-venture businesses Big Ten Network and BTN 2Go, as well as a licensing agreement that establish the FOX Sports Radio Network.