UFC announced the coaches for the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter” Tuesday, revealing a blockbuster scenario that should yield big ratings for the Spike TV reality series.
UFC’s Dana White said that former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar will coach against Junior dos Santos on the upcoming thirteenth season of the show. Dos Santos, originally slated for a title shot, became available for a high-profile fight once UFC Champion Cain Velasquez went down to injury.
Confirming Lesnar as one of the coaches is a big score for UFC, which certainly wants to show off its promotional muscle ahead of negotiations for a new TV deal with Spike. Lesnar, notoriously private and opposed to excessive camera time, was initially viewed as a long shot for a “TUF” gig, but recent reports suggested he was warming to the idea.
Those reports, however, suggested that Lesnar would coach against rival Frank Mir as they built to a rubber match that would undoubtedly due more than a million pay-per-view buys. Dos Santos does not bring the same marquee value to the table, although his striking makes him a more dangerous threat to Lesnar, and an impressive win in their post-TUF fight this summer would elevate him into a true superstar.
As of press time, it was not believed that Lesnar’s agreement to coach “TUF” was in exchange for the right to appear at this year’s WWE WrestleMania.
The next season of “TUF” premieres in late March.
