The Ultimate Fighter 23: Preview and Analysis of This Season’s Cast
The Ultimate Fighter 23 kicked off last week with the elimination rounds.
Sixteen fighters from the light heavyweight division and 16 fighters from the strawweight division faced off in front of UFC President Dana White and coaches Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha with the winner of each fight making it into the house.
Let’s get to know the prospects that advanced to the house.
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Women’s Strawweights
Tatiana Suarez (1-0): Suarez comes into the house with a lone victory in her professional MMA career and two wins in her amateur career. The 25-year-old has a base in wrestling. She claimed four high school national championships and is a two-time world medalist in freestyle wrestling. She also holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Suarez defeated Chel-c Bailey via unanimous decision and was the first pick for Team Claudia. She is also one of the favorites to make the finals.
Five Light-Heavyweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2021
Welcome to year eight of the annual “Prospects the UFC Should Sign” series, in which we’ll examine five MMA prospects per division the UFC should sign in the upcoming year.
This series started during my time as a writer for Bleacher Report, continued through my tenures at Today’s Knockout and FanSided, and now it stays alive another year here at Combat Press.
Let’s look at the light-heavyweight division. The UFC has added new talent at the weight class, but it could always use even more new blood.
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In picking these prospects, I’ll try my hardest to stay away from fighters who are currently in top organizations, such as Bellator or the Professional Fighters League, but a couple may pop up. In the past, I’ve had some great picks on the list and some that haven’t worked out. Below are the previous year’s selections, followed by the five men the UFC should offer roster spots to in the coming