Sunday, August 06, 2017

TUF 26 cast announced

Last night the UFC announced the cast for The Ultimate Fighter 26. The coaches will be Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gathje. The endgame of TUF 26 is to crown a Women's Flyweight Champion. This is similar to what was done for the Strawweights in TUF 20. This is why the cast looks more like suspects than prospects. I would have 30 as an age cap for any TUF series. What are they really looking for other than drama in the house? The first name that pops out is former Invicta Flyweight champ Barb Honchak. The problem is she's 37 years old and she last fought in 2014. Invicta had to strip her of the title. That makes her too iffy for me. Another name that pops out is former Invicta Bantamweight Champion and current UFC fighter Lauren Murphy. I never liked her when she was in Invicta and she's been mediocre in the UFC. She's a striker with no power or ground game. She's a blah fighter. And the third one that pops out is Roxanne Modafferi. Remember when she was in TUF 18? She's actually improved lately because of coach John Wood of Syndicate MMA. She's in her 30s but she's very popular. I think most fans will be happy to see her. Let's look at the rest of them. Ariel Beck is from Helena, MT with a 4-4 record. She's on a two fight losing streak. That speaks for itself. DeAnna Bennett is an Invicta veteran. Her record is 8-3 and she's on a three fight losing streak. I thought she was overrated when she was winning. I don't like her. Shana Dobson is 28 years old from Fort Worth, TX. Her record is 2-1. She usually works for XKO in Texas. Sijara Eubanks is another Invicta vet. She's 32 years old from Maryland. Her record is 2-2. She lost to Aspen Ladd in her last fight. Melinda Fabian is from Hungary. Her record is 4-3-1. She doesn't seem to be a Flyweight. The last time she fought at 125 was in 2015. She has fought at 150 recently. And she has only fought in Europe. She seems like a very strange choice. Karine Gevorgyan is from Armenia. Her record is 3-2 and she's only fought once at Flyweight. Another odd choice. Christina Marks is a veteran regional fighter from San Diego. She is 31 years old and her record is 8-8. I have heard of her but I don't think I have ever seen her. Her results indicate that she beats fighters she should beat and loses to fighters who are ranked above her. Nicco Montano is 28 years old from Durango, CO. Her record is 3-2. She has fought mostly for King Of The Cage. Rachael Ostovich is 26 years old from Hawaii. Her record is 3-3. She's popular because of her looks and her Wonder Woman gear which of course she can't wear in the UFC. I've seen her in Invicta and she's not very good. Gillian Robertson is from Niagara Falls, ON but she trains at American Top Team in Florida. She's 22 years old and her record is 3-2. She has fought mostly at Strawweight but it looks like she missed weight her last two fights. Maia Stevenson is Joe Stevenson's daughter. And he trains her. Her record is 6-4. She has fought mostly for Gladiator Challenge in California. Montana Stewart is 22 years old from Arlington, TX. Her record is 7-4 mostly at Strawweight. She lost to Cynthia Calvillo and Mackenzie Dern. I've saw her fight against Mackenzie. At least she's cute. And finally Emily Whitmire is 26 years old from Oregon. She trains at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Her record is 2-1 and all her fights have been at Strawweight. Obviously I'm not crazy about the cast. But we'll see what happens when the show begins in September.

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