For the first time in its history, UFC reality show The Ultimate Fighter will feature two UFC Hall of Famers as former light heavyweight champs Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin will serve as coaches on season three of TUF: Latin America. The show will begin filming in late spring with its premiere date set for August. The season’s finale is slated for November 5th in Mexico City, Mexico at Arena Ciudad de Mexico.
The series is also expected to feature special guest appearances by various UFC athletes.
“We have come a long way from the first season of The Ultimate Fighter,” said Liddell. “I feel honored to be a part of the Latin American series. We have great fighters competing in the region and I’m excited to get a chance to train them and teach them a few things I learned during my career. Expect a great finale in Mexico City November 5th.”
“I’m very excited to be participating in The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3,” added Griffin. “I know how much of a competitor Chuck is so I will be bringing my A-game. UFC is still very new in Latin America and for that reason I am thrilled to be a part of this opportunity in helping grow the sport in the region.”
TUF: Latin America was launched in 2004 reaching an average of seven million viewers per episode in Mexico and millions more viewers around Latin America.
Both Liddell and Griffin have previous experience serving as TUF coaches, while Griffin also knows what it takes to compete and win on the show, having won the first ever season of TUF back in 2005. Liddell coached opposite Randy Couture on season one, and against Tito Ortiz on season 11. Griffin, meanwhile, coached against Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson on TUF 7.
The series is set to air August 2016 on UFC Network, Televisa’s Chanel 5 in Mexico, UFC Fight Pass and additional free-to-air networks in Latin America. UFC Network subscribers will also get the chance to catch replays and watch exclusive content on the channel as well as on ufcnetwork.com.
In 2014, Mexican featherweight Yair Rodriguez and bantamweight Alejando Perez were crowned season one winners of the Spanish-speaking series of TUF. The winners of the second season were Peruvian lightweight Enrique Barzola and Mexican welterweight Erick Montano.
