Following yesterday’s announcement that The Ultimate Fighter is coming to Australia with an MMA twist on “The Ashes,” thoughts immediately turned to who could coach the opposing sides.
Twitter exploded with suggestions — and playful trash talk from the UFC Australia team directed towards their counterparts from the United Kingdom — and prompted me to comb the UFC roster to see what kind of combinations I could come up with.
It was a more difficult chore that I imagined.
Traditionally, coaches have squared off at the end of the season, and there back-and-forth on camera has always been one of the driving elements of the show.
While there are certainly solid candidates to choose from on both sides, we could be looking at the first season where coaches don’t end up fighting each other since Rich Franklin and Matt Hughes commanded opposing factors on Season 2.
Here’s a look at some of the top candidates from each nation, and one really cool idea about a pairing that would work in so many ways.
Team Australia
Kyle Noke
The veteran middleweight made his way into the UFC through Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter, so he’s ultra-qualified for preparing a team for the challenge before them in that regard.
He’s keen to be involved (I swear, the interview will be up this weekend!), and can tap into both his team in America (Team Jackson) and Australia (Integrated Martial Arts) to help fill out his coaching squad.
Anthony Perosh
“Hippo” is a veteran of the sport, and a tremendously skilled jiu-jitsu player who strikes me as a great option. He’s a testament to perseverance, having notched his first UFC win at age 39, and shows that you don’t have to be the most athletic or physical specimen to be successful in this sport.
Brian Ebersole
“The White Anderson Silva” would be a riot to watch on television week in and week out, and he’s also one of the most accomplished fighters in UFC history to come out of Australia, even if he’s not technically Australian.
Ebersole also has a great deal of experience (60+ fights) and took the road less travelled to the UFC, and the lessons he’s learned over those years would be invaluable to a crop of hopefuls.
George Sotiropoulos
Just like Kyle Noke, the Geelong native knows all about working his way into the UFC through The Ultimate Fighter.
Sotiropoulos is arguably the most successful cast member from Season 6, including winner Mac Danzig, and was on the verge of title contention before suffering back-to-back losses last year. You don’t work your way up the ladder without having plenty to pass on to the next generation.
Team UK
Brad Pickett
The bantamweight talent has voiced his interest in the position in the past, admitting a transition to coaching is the likely path he’ll take once his fighting career is over. Pickett has trained out of American Top Team for years, and could assemble quite an impressive collection of coaching and training partners for his team if selected; he also has the right personality to do well on a show of this nature.
Dan Hardy
He’s got personality for days, and has been at both ends of the spectrum in the UFC, leaving no doubt in my mind that Hardy would make an solid coach for the upcoming season. Could you imagine how entertaining pitting Hardy and Ebersole against one another would be? Hilarity, every episode.
Ross Pearson
Like a couple of the Australian options, Pearson earned his way into the UFC through The Ultimate Fighter as well, winning Season 9’s lightweight competition. His post-TUF career has been marked by decisions focused on making the most of his talents (dropping to featherweight, moving to the US), and that is the kind of guidance the incoming crop needs as they chase their UFC dreams.
Paul Sass
The Scouser is a submission special who carries an unblemished record (12-0) into a meeting with Jacob Volkmann at UFC 146 later this month. Coaching on TUF would be a great way to introduce the up-and-comer to a wider audience, win or lose, and his proficiency on the canvas gives him an area of expertise that is often lacking in British fighters. Sass vs. Sotiropoulous as coaches? I’d watch that.
Perfect World Coaches: Michael Bisping vs. Hector Lombard
It would take them coming away from their respective upcoming fights with similar outcomes, but tell me this wouldn’t be a great way to (1) showcase this program, (2) further showcase UFC newcomer Lombard, and, if both win their upcoming fights, (3) determine the #1 contender in the middleweight division.
Bisping recently voiced his displeasure with UFC President Dana White saying Lombard could potentially earn a title shot with a win over Brian Stann in August.
As “The Count” sees it, he’s been “knocking out the best fighters in the world and fighting the best consistently for six years, and (Lombard is) going to come in from knocking out John the baker from around the corner and you know, he gets a title shot?”
Save for the fact that Bisping hasn’t actually knocked out anyone in his entire UFC career – he has 8 TKO victories – he makes a good argument. I say we let them bicker about it on television for 13 weeks, and then settle things in the cage.
Sound good to you? I thought so.
E. Spencer Kyte is the author of Keyboard Kimura, the MMA blog of Vancouver’s leading newspaper, The Province. Follow him on Twitter (@spencerkyte), or Facebook.
brent
Guest
Brian Ebersole for Australia hes been in australia for along time traveled from state to state he will know alot of the fighters entering the compitition he will know who to pick
Jon
Guest
I think it'll be G-Sots vs Pearson. Sotiropolous was considered a title chance not long ago, so he's a decent fighter. Obviously his career has gone downhill recently with two big losses, but the show would be a chance for him to get back on track. He is capable of beating Pearson and vice versa. Pearson will have to go up a weight division, but he was a lightweight for yers, so it'd be nothing new for him. It'd be good for his career too. Besides them, Perosh and Noke could both do the job, although there's no obvious opponent for Perosh and Noke is coming off a knee injury and two losses as well. If it was Noke vs Bisping, Bisping would more than likely beat Noke convinvingly. Other than that there's Te Huna and Hunt, kiwis who have lived in Aus for decade and are on winning streaks, but there's no obvious opponents for either. Then there's Ebersole and Lombard, who are both Australian residents. Lombard's actually a citizen, married to an Aussie, but he is trying to get a title shot, not coach TUF. Ebersole would be cool, but I think they'll go with an Aussie, not an american who lives here.
Jon
Guest
I think for Australia TUF will be of benefit. There are some decent young fighters in Australia capable of fighting at UFC level, but without TUF Australia giving them exposure to the UFC, they would never get signed. It will give them opportunity they wouldn't have had otherwise. And it will increase the sports exposure in Australia. Hopefully it's not buried on some rarely watched digital channel like One HD. If it gets a time slot on Channel Ten, millions will end up watching it. That can only be good for MMA in Australia.
AIS
Guest
The coaches of TUF need to be involved in high profile fights that have large implications. Noke would never be a coach on the show. The only relevant fighter truly from Britain/Australia is Bisping. He's done the show too many times and even if he did it again, there isn't an Australian for him to fight. C'mon, let's face it. Hector Lombard is a Cuban fighting out of American Top Team. The term "The Ashes" is something he wouldn't relate to. I think that at least one(or both) of the coaches will not be from either of the countries.
E. Spencer Kyte
Roar Guru
You have to write a full article based on this line alone: "You know what has produced more champions: not coming though TUF." Sounds like something I would say, and has me interested to hear your full thoughts on the matter. As for me, I'm torn on TUF at this point. I will always believe in the potential of the show from a prospect standpoint, but want to see them get back to truly focusing on bringing good talent, not average fighters who might make for good TV. I think the International editions will do that more than the North American show, just because the markets are a little more untapped. That said, you're 100% correct that far more stars have emerged without going through TUF than have come through the program, especially over the last ten seasons or so.
Sam Brown
Roar Guru
I'm going to air a bit of a minority opinion here, that probably should be a column on its own (and may well become one) but I don't actually like reality sports shows at all. I think they degrade sports and are most often filled with all the dirty laundry sports should be trying to avoid not publicise on prime time tv (see fighters drinking, fighting and generally miss-behaving in the house). I appreciate the history TUF has for the UFC and it has produced some pretty decent fighters, however, you know what has produced more champions: not coming though TUF. While it is arguable TUF 1 saved the UFC, (althougth I would say it was one fight that happened to come at the end, not the actual show itself) I think the concept has become tired beyond belief and is no longer actually needed for the sports exposure. If I had to vote on coaches then I'd go for Noke v Hardy as it will most likely provide the entertinament factor but I think regardless of who they choose, it will provide a minimal boost to the sports popularity in Australia, even if it gets free to air exposure (probably burried late at night on One-HD).