The Ultimate Fighter - S23 Wrap-up and Finale Preview

This week is a big week for the sport and Women's MMA, in particular. The 23rd season of The Ultimate Fighter has wrapped up and the finale event (tonight at 10PM EST) will showcase a Women's Strawweight Championship bout and four finalists fighting for a UFC contract, a boatload of cash, and the accolade of the Ultimate Fighter.

Season 23 Wrap-up

On S23E10 "Friends Hurting Friends," Eric has what looks like an anxiety attack during training, when faced with the prospect of fighting his friend Andrew. Andrew, who also finds the situation regrettable, does not let that hold him back, and finishes Eric by KO very early in the first round. Additionally, Cory Hendricks has to drop out of the competition due to his back pain, and he's replaced by Khalil Rountree.

On S23E11 "A Bump in the Road," we saw Amanda Cooper almost forfeit her match from not making weight. It's a topic of debate among fans today whether weight classes are even meaningful or good for the sport, and if the risks to the athletes (dehydration, increased risk for brain injury) are simply too much to continue. Even in the safest conditions, when the risks are mitigated, the physical toll on the athletes is enough to diminish their ability to perform; we're simply not seeing the best fights we could be. Amanda, however, was able to make weight (1 1/2 lbs. lost in only one hour!) and go on to win, in a dominant performance against my season favorite, Lanchana Green, submitting her in the first round.

On S23E12 "Fight of the Season," we saw friends Khalil and Josh temporarily abandon their friendship to deliver a heart-filled slugfest, dropping bombs and staggering each other, until Khalil Rountree landed with a big left hand, and ended the fight by TKO in the first round. It's been a long road for Khalil, struggling with weight issues and personal tragedy, but he's made it to the finale.

Season 23 Finale Preview

Andrew Sanchez has shown he has a broad skill set that Khalil Rountree might be unable to compensate for. I like Khalil; he's got heavy hands and a great personality but alas, personalities don't win fights.

My Pick: Andrew Sanchez wins by unanimous decision

Tatiana is very strong and a superior wrestler, but Amanda was the best striker in the house and showcased solid jiu-jitsu. Amanda boasted that Tatiana's wrestler skills will only determine where Amanda will finish the fight. Big words, but it feels foolish to wager against Tatiana. Amanda used her slight size advantage to bully her opponents but that isn't going to work with Tatiana, who is just as big and strong as she is.

My Pick: Too Close to Call

Once the two Ultimate Fighters are awarded their prize, we'll see the fight everyone has been waiting for: Coach Claudia Gadelha versus her rival and nemesis, Women's Strawweight Champion, Coach Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Women's MMA simply hasn't seen a champion with the kind of striking excellence that Joanna "Champion" has displayed. And yet, her previous win over Claudia was a razor-thin judges' decision, so if any competitor can take Joanna and the Women's Strawweight division to another level, it's going to be Claudia.

Claudia Gadelha tossing around training partner and former UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barão

Claudia can't afford to be safe and let the fight go to a judges decision again; Joanna would likely have an advantage in strikes. Therefore, Claudia is going to feel the Champion out, pressure her, and take the fight to the mat, where Joanna is less-proven. Joanna is undefeated and I have to wonder if her win streak has gone to her head. Their feud certainly has gotten to her emotionally, while Claudia seems more at ease.

My Pick: Claudia Gadelha wins by submission (probably by the fourth round).

I'll finish by admitting my bias: I want Claudia to win because I would love to see a third fight between them in the future. Their feud has been so intense, I would simply hate to see it end so soon. That being said, I honestly believe she has all the necessary tools and advantages to pull it off.

UFC President Dana White struggles to keep the peace between Joanna (left) and Claudia

Adrian Martinez is a graphic designer, comic book letterer, hobbyist writer, and all-around geek living in New York City.

The Ultimate Fighter - S23E09 Recap 'Beast Inside of You'

Last week's episode ended with Team Joanna finally breaking Team Claudia's streak and claiming their first victory. However, that was only for the Men's Light Heavyweight division and Claudia still has a chance to sweep the Women's Strawweight division. The last fight of the preliminaries is Kate Jackson vs. Ashley Yoder.

Aside from the fight itself, this episode was largely uneventful. No bickering between the coaches; when Joanna saw Claudia was wearing the same shirt as her, she sarcastically complimented her. Claudia snarked that it looked better on herself, and Joanna does not argue. There could be peace in our time yet. Cory Hendricks learned from his doctor that he does not have a herniated disc and he mostly just needs rest and pain management; unless something changes in the next few days, he should have no problem competing in the semi-finals.

The rest of the episode is something like a training montage, sans inspirational music.

Kate Jackson is from Cornwall, England. In 2013, she fought and lost to Coach Joanna in the PLMMA 17 event. Kate says she's worked on the mistakes she made then and thinks she's improved. She also thinks she's observed Ashley enough to learn her patterns (she's a southpaw, tends to kick off her back leg, etc.) and plans on staying out of her range or so close as to stifle her. Claudia's coaching team are psyching her up; they insist Kate has "a beast inside her" and when she gets in the cage, she's got to unleash the beast!

We see Ashley train, but even more time is focused on the coaches, Joanna and Claudia. In case you've forgot, this season will culminate at the finale where Joanna and Claudia will fight for the second time, with Joanna's Strawweight Championship on the line. Dana White's promoting this fight as one of the best of the year. So, during this season, when the coaches aren't training their students, they are doing training of their own.

Claudia talks about her past over her training montage about how she grew up in Mossoró and later Natal, Brazil, and how being a fighter and winning the championship from Joanna is important to her, as she wants to prove that even people of her hometown and humble beginnings can make something of their lives. When she was a young teenager, she attended an MMA event, saw her first female fight, and met Jair Lourenço, the head coach of the 'Kimura Nova União' fight gym in Natal. It's been upward and onward ever since.

Joanna segment has a different tone, she's having dinner with her assistant coaches at a family gathering. Joanna says she's getting more motivated to fight Claudia, now that the date is approaching. She says Claudia's trash talk just leaves even less room for excuses once she beats her.

Joanna is convinced that she's going to beat Claudia on the ground, while Claudia is convinced that Joanna can't handle a fight on the ground. I guess we'll see who has better Brazilian Jiu-jitsu skills on July 8th!

MATCH: Kate Jackson vs. Ashley Yoder

Ashley comes to the cage draped in the American flag. Kate comes draped in the flag of Saint Piran's, the Patron Saint of Cornwall. Both rounds see Ashley unable to connect with most of her strikes against Kate, with Kate eventually taking Ashley down to the mat. Ashley goes for armbars in both rounds, but to no avail. On the aftershow TUF Talk, Ashley speculates that she might have been greedy in going for an armbar in the second round, and if she had taken Kate's back, it might have played more to her advantage. We can only speculate as after two rounds, the judges favor Kate Jackson by unanimous decision.

Team Joanna has been swept in the Women's Strawweight division and now Team Claudia's ladies will have to face off against their teammates in the semi-finals, starting next week!

Adrian Martinez is a graphic designer, comic book letterer, hobbyist writer, and all-around geek living in New York City.

The Ultimate Fighter - S23E06, 07, 08 Recap Round-up

S23E06 The Situation

What have you done, Abdel? What have you done?

Abdel is the last fighter on Claudia's team to have not fought yet, and now he's in this awkward situation where he has to pick between leaving the competition to salvage his marriage or not. UFC President Dana White comes in to talk to Abdel and get a read on the situation. Abdel calls his wife and still struggling to accept responsibility for his actions, he acts put upon and asks "What is going on? Why are you doing this to me?" to which she can only reply "'Why am I doing this?' Are you fucking kidding me?" Seriously.

In any case, it seems that we'll never know precise what Abdel did as he's decided to keep that under wraps and Dana has no problem with that; in fact, he's willing to send Abdel home for the weekend and fly him back before his fight. It's a win-win for Abdel and he takes it.

While Abdel is away, the rest of the house plays and house pranks are on again. This time Khalil and Elias get an idea to put baby powder in the girls blow dryers. J.J. and Jamie returns the joke by dropping entire bottles of baby powder on the guys as they were chilling in the hot tub. They keep messing with Khalil by having one of the girls hiding under his bed, grabbing at him when he least expects it. The whole night is like this, as they lay traps and jump scare each other for hours.

MATCH: Eric Spicely vs. Elias Urbina

It's fight day. Tennis balls are thrown at heads and motivational affirmations are delivered. Eric is wearing the flag of Rhode Island on his back, which is interesting to see. Sadly, it's also more interesting than the match itself, half of which is Eric doing some "lay and pray," where he wrestles and controls Elias, but doesn't do damage with his position, likely hoping for the judges to favor him for maintaining control. Lay and pray. Eric wins by decision but Dana White is not impressed. "The kid's terrible," he says; he's not obligated to keep boring fighters on the roster.

S23E07 No Easy Fight

Khalil is emotional, crying alone in the backyard as he realizes he overlooked his father's birthday, which is a first for him. His father, who was a manager for popular R&B groups, was murdered in his hotel during an attempted robbery. Khalil never really got to know him.

MATCH: Amanda Cooper vs. Jamie Moyle

Amanda and Jamie fight a war in the octagon and after two rounds, Jamie is cut open with a wide gash above her left eye. Both teams think they've won the match, but are equally ready and expecting that it could go to a third round tie-breaker. Nope. The judges rule in favor of Amanda Cooper and once again, Team Joanna has lost. Jamie handles the loss well, disappointed but not interested in mourning her loss. Joanna however is pissed and has a few choice words for the judges themselves, asking them how they could make such a bad call.

It isn't the first time and won't be the last time that a fighter learns the bitter lesson: never leave it in the hands of the judges.

S23E08 It's a Mental Thing

Starting over the course of the season's regular training, Cory Hendricks has been experiencing consistent pain in his left arm, neck, and shoulder. He takes time off training to heal but after two days, his pain is so bad that he can't even sit comfortably. Afraid of going to the doctor and being told that he can't continue, he starts with a house call from an acupuncturist, Angela Stueber, who performs the standard needling, cupping, and "gua sha" therapy. When that doesn't avail, he visits the doctor who believes Cory's showing signs of degenerative disc disease and will need an MRI to verify. Not looking good.

MATCH: Josh Stansbury vs. Abdel "Blade" Medjedoub

Joanna has Josh focus training on his speed, insisting that Josh not get complacent in his striking, and to push the action there and go for takedowns. Josh admits he's banking on Abdel being driven by emotion and slipping up. Abdel feels the opposite: that his recent marriage struggles are driving him positively, and that he promised his wife to win. Yet, considering his marriage struggles, I have my doubts about the efficacy of that promise. Abdel also talks about how being bullied as an immigrant in France lead him to take up boxing, which later led to him moving to Montreal to train with one of the GOATs of the sport, Georges St. Pierre. Maybe Abdel does have the advantage here.



Unfortunately for Team Claudia, when we get to the fight, Abdel does not follow the gameplan Claudia and her coaching team had laid out for him. Rather that sticking to his superior boxing, he keeps pushing Josh to the cage, 'dirty boxing' and attempting takedowns. He pays for it when Josh capitalizes on an opening and nearly finishes Abdel with a well-delivered head kick.

Abdel turtles up and manages to survive the second round, but the judges rule in favor of Josh, awarding Team Joanna their first win of the season and preventing Team Claudia from a full sweep, which has yet to be achieved in TUF history. Abdel's foot is broken and despite the loss, his team supports him and expresses pride for his otherwise gutsy performance. They call him a warrior, but Abdel doesn't feel the same. He believes he psyched himself out.

Next week is the last round before the semi finals: Ashley Yoder vs Kate Jackson!

Adrian Martinez is a graphic designer, comic book letterer, hobbyist writer, and all-around geek living in New York City.

The Ultimate Fighter - S23E05

I've been waiting to see Thai kickboxer Lanchana Green fight again since winning the elimination bout that got her into the house, and now she's taking on none other than her fellow Brit, scrappy Helen Harper. UFC President Dana White agrees with me: Lanchana's elimination fight "was an eye-opener" and he is impressed with Green's lack of quit.

The Ultimate Fighter - S23E03 & S23E04 Recaps

The two latest fights are Tatiana Suarez vs. J.J. Aldrich and Andrew Sanchez vs Myron Dennis. Both matches are expected to not only be real barn burners, but also classic "wrestler vs. striker" fights. Not everything goes as expected.

The Ultimate Fighter - S23E02 "Friends and Foes" - Recap

The fighters have moved into the co-ed TUF house, the first match is scheduled, and the drama has begun on cue as friendships are tested, space is negotiated, and rivalries deepen.

The TUF house is like most reality TV houses, filled with fun amenities like pool tables, a swimming pool. The house is packed with eight Strawweight (115 lbs) female fighters and eight light heavyweight (205 lbs) male fighters. The bedrooms are lined with bunkbeds and the women and men mostly self-segregate to gender-specific rooms, but one of the dudes Abdel Medjedoub is the odd one one out and is left to bunk with the ladies.

Jamie Moyle claims her bunk, "I choose you, Pikachu!"

At first, the ladies tease him about it, but become sympathetic when they learn Abdel is married, Muslim, and very uncomfortable with the idea of bunking in the same room as women. Andrew, who also feels sleeping in a lady room would be inappropriate, volunteers to sleep on the floor so Abdel can have a bed in a men's room.

Finally, Cory Hendricks "takes one for the team" and bunks with the ladies. The ladies insist he is now "in the most badass room in the house" and is now required to participate in late night girl-talk rituals. In a co-ed house, most reality shows try to play up romances or petty disputes. While those are sometimes unavoidable, it's refreshing to see the competitors cooperating and ensuring everyone is feeling comfortable.

Cory helps out Abdel and bunks with the ladies of Team Joanna

Cory has a larger challenge ahead of him; he's slated to fight in the first match, against his friend and training camp partner, Khalil Rountree. Fighters who train side-by-side will commonly avoid fighting each other, out of trust and loyalty to their shared camp. Faced with this situation, Cory and Khalil spend the next few days at the house talking about it, committing to stay friends, despite having to compete against each other.

Khalil's easygoing nature comes through again as he counsels Helen Harper when illness forces her to sit out of training. Khalil has known trials of his own. In his early youth, Khalil struggled with weight issues, and often felt like somewhat of a misfit, being a skateboarding punker. Watching TUF inspired him to become an MMA fighter, leading him to where he is now, happier and achieving his goals.

Khalil listens to Helen's frustrations and thoughtfully postulates that life throws small trials at you and how you come out on the other side is what's important; Helen appreciates his positivity, feeling charmed and supported. Later, Helen is hot, shaking, and feeling weak. When she loses her balance, Khalil helps her to lay down before they get her to the hospital. Dehydration. A common challenge for even experienced fighters, neophyte Helen gets back on track, feeling otherwise happy and supported not just by Khalil but by the rest of the competitors in the house.

This is where most of the niceties end, because while the competitors are making friends, the coaches are at each other's throats.

By design, both teams must share a training facility, so there's always a chance for conflict. The second Coach Joanna walks in, her and Coach Claudia are in each other's faces. While both coaches are speaking in English, neither woman is a native English speaker, so their banter is a bit stilted. It makes it hard to determine just how much is posturing, how much is acting, and how much is real beef.

When the coaches get physical, Khalil and Joanna's assistant coach break things up

Joanna is confident to the point of cockiness, projecting toward Claudia whenever they meet. Claudia thinks Joanna is a bully. The next day, Joanna reinforces this when she peacocks around the gym with her Championship Belt, teasing even Claudia's boxing coach Nenzão (who doesn't speak English and can't talk back). Claudia steps in to defend her assistant coach, and coaches are at each other again.

After expending another battery of insults, they stare each other down. Claudia caps it off with a comment, "I know I'm beautiful, but you don't have to keep looking at me all the time."

This little jab is tricky. Sexual tension can be a funny way to rib someone when both participants are willing, but Joanna doesn't appreciate the implication, and identifies herself as straight. The jab, intended to suggest Joanna harbors a same-sex attraction, is meant to embarrass her, making this problematic. Casual homophobia has no place anywhere, and in MMA, which has its share of LGBTQ+ athletes, it's especially problematic for one of the coaches to set this kind of example.

They leave the verbal sparring at that, but their animosity has only deepened.

MATCH: Cory Hendricks vs. Khalil Rountree

Training buddies Khalil (left) and Cory put their friendship to the test

Despite Khalil having an extremely dangerous boxing repertoire, Cory stands toe-to-toe with him and they bang it out, both guys landing big shots. Eventually, Cory takes Khalil to the mat, mounts his back, and secures a rear-naked choke. Khalil is forced to tap out in the first round. Khalil admits after the match that he avoided attacking Cory's injured foot, which could have given him the advantage. Despite this, they both hug and express love for each other, feeling like they've both grown as fighters, friends, and human beings.

If only Joanna and Claudia could follow the example being set by their students.

Adrian Martinez is a graphic designer, comic book letterer, hobbyist writer, and all-around geek living in New York City.

The Ultimate Fighter - S23E01 "Ladies and Gents" - Women's Fight Recaps

The latest season of The Ultimate Fighter is here! The TUF coaches for this season are the Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and her rival Claudia Gadelha. The tension is palatable as Joanna and Claudia exchange some perfunctory greetings before settling in for a long but exciting day of watching exhibition fights, the winners of which gain entry to the TUF house.

They're joined by UFC President Dana White, who looks like a kid that can't wait to open his birthday presents; he's very interested in seeing which fighters can handle the pressure and which can not.

This first recap is extra long as we have a total of eight women's elimination bouts.

Women's Strawweight Elimination Bouts

Mellony Geuejes (0-1) vs. Amanda Cooper (1-1)

The interplay of fight styles displayed in this match encapsulates mixed-martial arts competition, making this an ideal way to start the show.

The fight starts with Mellony displaying superior striking (she has been a kickboxer since thirteen), but when she throws Amanda off-balance, Mellony makes the mistake of following her to the ground. Amanda's strength is in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and she immediately locks in an armbar, forcing Mellony to tap out in the first round.

Ashley Cummins (3-3) vs. Lanchana Green (2-1)

Ashley is a cop from St. Louis and Lanchana is a gym owner from England. In their pre-fight interviews, Ashley talks about the stress of duty, and seems wide-eyed and intense. Lanchana is more relaxed, talking about her gym and her life as English-born Taiwanese woman.

Round one, Ashley unequivocally dominates Lanchana, controlling her with wrestling and ground strikes, with Lanchana narrowly escaping a choke. Dana White remarks how the fight seems over, but in round two Lanchana rallies spectacularly, defending Ashley's attempts to take her to the mat and then unleashing a fury of perfect Thai kickboxing strikes while holding Ashley in the clinch. When the referee determines that Ashley is rocked and no longer defending herself intelligently, he stops the fight to prevent unnecessary injury. Lanchana wins by TKO.

A talented and gutsy fighter, Lanchana Green is one to watch.

This was an amazing fight. Dana is on his feet, calling it one of the most impressive wins he's ever seen on The Ultimate Fighter and the biggest comeback win he's ever seen. Period.

Alyssa Krahn (3-1) vs. Jamie Moyle (3-1)

Alyssa is a financial planner by day, MMA fighter by night. She says she wants to represent Canadian Women's MMA and proving people wrong is what she does best. Jamie Moyle is tiny compared to most of the other girls, but explains that she has good fight experience and has even fought and beat several of the girls here. After a good scrap, Jamie is left the one proving the doubters wrong with superior wrestling and jiu-jitsu. Win by submission, rear-naked choke.

Ashley Yoder (4-1) vs. Jodie Esquibel (5-1)

Both Ashley and Jodie have interesting stories and powerful mentors on their side. Jodie is friends with Holly Holm (ex-UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion) and engaged to Keith Jardine, a celebrated UFC alumni. Ashley, who trains with UFC legend Dan Henderson, shares the tragic story of her brother's death in a car accident. This loss led Ashley to begin fight training, which gave her a chance to beat on things without having to explain why she was so mad at the world.

Ashley and Jodie go to war for two rounds, trading blows and scrambling through take downs. Dana is expecting it to go to a third, tie-breaking round and Keith Jardine thinks Jodie has clinched the win from two rounds. The judges however surprise everyone by not going to a third round and giving the win to Ashley. Joanna and Claudia gape in astonishment at the controversial decision.

An emotional win for Ashley and a heartbreaking, controversial loss for Jodie.

In the winning corner, Ashley is weeping in happiness so much that the doctor has to ask her a few times if she's alright. In the other corner, Jodie learns the classic MMA adage first hand: "Never leave it in the hands of the judges." You have to finish the fight, because judges can make some really bad calls. Dana tells Jodie she got robbed, her fiance Keith Jardine is bewildered and disgusted.

J.J. Aldrich (2-1) vs. Kristy Lopez (2-0)

J.J. Aldrich trains with Rose Namajunas (a ranked and quickly rising star in the UFC Women's Strawweight division) and seems to have the same fast and effective striking as her. In a quick and lop-sided affair, J.J. dominates Kristy over two rounds and J.J. wins by unanimous decision

Tatiana Suarez (3-0) vs. Chel-C Bailey (2-0)

Tatiana is a cancer survivor who equates her cancer struggle to her fights in the ring. Chel-C is a small and spirited fighter with the good fortune having her close friend UFC Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate present to advise her. In the fight, Dana is impressed with Tatiana's takedowns and Joanna likes her boxing. Chel-C is scrappy and lands some early shots, but ultimately Tatiana is too big and too strong for her. Tatiana easily dominates two rounds for the win, but remains disappointed in her performance. This lady is dead serious.

Irene Cabello Rivera (6-2) vs. Kate Jackson (7-1)

European ladies are representing again, with Irene from Spain and Kate from Great Britain. Kate looks strong and Joanna notices she likes to clinch up with her opponent to control the fight. The second round is more domination from Kate, as Irene gets out-wrestled and pounded. Kate wins by TKO.

Amy Montenegro (7-2) vs. Helen Harper (4-1)

Helen, an unknown in the fight world, is from a small, nowhere town in England. She tells us about how she began fight training after surviving an abusive relationship, in part "to avoid ever being in that place again." She comes into the fight with an optimistic outlook and impresses everyone with her excellent wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills.

She takes Amy to the ground and secures an arm lock where Amy makes a desperate bid to escape by lifting Helen up and slamming her. Helen doesn't let go and Amy soon taps out. Claudia is impressed and Dana is fan-girling over this unknown ingenue, "She looked awesome."

Dana White loves these new athletes.

Team Selection

Claudia Gadhela wins the coin toss, giving her the option to choose either the first fighter or the first fight. She opts for choosing Tatiana as her first fighter; Claudia says she felt Tatiana had a lot of personality and a solid fight game; Joanna is disappointed to not get her. Joanna picks J.J. as her first pick and one by one, they fill out their teams.

Team Claudia:

• Tatiana Suarez
• Kate Jackson
• Amanda Cooper
• Lanchana Green

Team Joanna:

• J.J. Aldrich
• Jamie Moyle
• Ashley Yoder
• Helen Harper

With the first episode in the books and some amazing competitors in the house, I'm very exciting for this new season. In the post-show TUF Talk, Team coach Claudia was interviewed by FOX Sports anchor Karyn Bryant and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier about the upcoming season. They get on Skype with Joanna and the two verbally spar. The tension between them is very real and apparently, as the season wrapped filming, the tension overflowed and they had an actual "full-blown fist fight" before it was broken up.

Simply put, these ladies are hardcore.

Adrian Martinez is a graphic designer, comic book letterer, hobbyist writer, and all-around geek living in New York City.

The Ultimate Fighter - Why Nerds Should (and do!) Watch the Latest Season

Whenever I suggest someone watch an mixed-martial arts fight (in this case, women's MMA), I start by asking nerd questions: Do you like Chun-Li? Do you like Black Canary? Black Widow? Wouldn't you like to see awesome women do that in real life?

It's that last question that can usually divide the fans from the "thanks, I'll pass" group. AWhile almost everyone loves cartoon violence, seeing real punches and real blood can understandably make people think twice. Fortunately, there are far more reasons to appreciate the women and men of the popular reality competition TV series The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia.


A martial arts reality show? Is this real? What would I be getting into here?

It's real. Full-contact martial arts competition has been around forever, but typically narrowed to specific categories: boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, judo, etc. Mixed-martial arts enables competitors to use whatever fight styles they're proficient in, resulting in a whole new approach to martial arts excellence famously pioneered by Bruce Lee.

The Ultimate Fighter is a televised competition for new and on-the-rise fight talent to train with championship-level UFC fighters and compete for the chance to earn a fight contract with the UFC. Like many reality shows, the competitors live together in a house, are drafted into two training teams, and fight in an elimination-style tournament until one of them is crowned the Ultimate Fighter.

Think America's Next Top Model but with flying knees and spinning back kicks. The house is co-ed, sometimes there are minor shenanigans (even team pranks!) but in the end, everyone is there to work.

I don't really like sports, so would I like this?

As a kid growing up, I was bored by sports. I appreciate athleticism but the rules in most games felt arbitrary and there's always that jock vs. nerds dichotomy that made me hesitate. The rules and the stakes in a fight, on the other hand, are relatively clear — and I've come to believe that many mixed martial-artists are huge nerds themselves.

Angie "Overkill" Hill, previously on TUF and fighting now in the all-women Invicta Fighting Championship (founded by two women, Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp), maintains a Twitch stream, does Street Fighter cosplay at weigh-ins, and tweets anime references.

A new challenger! MMA fighter Angela Hill enters as Street Fighter's Dhalsim https://t.co/w45xXHwEZx pic.twitter.com/iwlEIYzivr

— CNET (@CNET) March 16, 2016

Someone in the UFC graphic design department has been watching Attack On Titan #ufc197 #ufczagreb pic.twitter.com/C7bwmCoI3I

— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) April 10, 2016

Another otaku previously on TUF, Roxanne Modafferi is a fighter in Invicta FC who is also an author, Mortal Kombat cosplayer, Star Wars Rebels fan, Marvel fan, and all-around animated fandom geek.

#RoxanneModafferi Surprised by Split Decision, Wants @InvictaFights Title Shot https://t.co/YuHtrWbqyH @Roxyfighter pic.twitter.com/RxZ6wB4mha

— MMAWeekly.com (@MMAWeeklycom) March 15, 2016

I just watched Star Wars Rebels season 2 ep 20! and kind of freaking out!! #omg #starwarsrebels

— Roxanne Modafferi (@Roxyfighter) April 13, 2016

This season introduces a new group of fighters, whose personal lives, struggles, and nerditude are yet to be seen...

The Team Coaches

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia is shaping up to be an explosive show. The team coaches have a rivalry as Claudia has only one loss on her record, a razor-thin split decision loss to Joanna, the competing coach and the current Women's Strawweight Champion. Joanna is currently regarded as the best pound-for-pound female fighter in the world, a distinction Claudia believes should be attributed to herself.

When these two aren't sparring verbally, they're going to be training sixteen female fighters from throughout the world, as well as men (who will fight in their own separate weight class).

The UFC Women's Strawweight Champion, Joanna Kedrzejczyk

The new season premieres on Wednesday, April 20. Tune in for the fireworks, stay for fastest-growing and fascinating entry into the cultural zeitgeist.

Adrian Martinez is a graphic designer, comic book letterer, hobbyist writer, and all-around geek living in New York City.