The complete participant list for the new season of The Ultimate Fighter has been revealed, featuring two divisions. The men's bantamweight division includes ten fighters: Rodrigo Vera (21-1-1) from Peru, Abdul Hussein (15-2) from Finland, Artem Belakh (11-2) from Kazakhstan/Russia, Xavier Franklin (6-1) from USA, Sean Mora (7-1) from Cuba, Christian Strong (9-1) from USA, Marlon Jones (6-0) from Great Britain, Mikaias Ureña (13-3) from Dominican Republic, Illimbek Akylbek uulu (10-3) from Kyrgyzstan, and Mekhemmedeli Osmanly (12-1) from Azerbaijan. The women's strawweight division features ten fighters including Natalia Alves (8-0), Melissa Amaya (8-0), Valeska Machado (15-4), GiGi Canutu (7-1), Anna Melisano (6-1), Mackenzie Stiller (6-1), Anita Karim (6-2), Delphine Benouaich (7-2), Halai Wushamo (10-2), and Camila Reynoso (9-1).
The complete roster for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter has been unveiled, with ten men competing at bantamweight and ten women competing at strawweight.
The one fighter confirmed in the AgentMMA database is Xavier Franklin, an American bantamweight who competes out of George's MMA and Boxing Gym. Franklin, 29, enters the house as a southpaw standing five-foot-six with a 66-inch reach. His verified record stands at 5-1-0. He lands 3.07 significant strikes per minute and operates primarily as a striker, registering no takedown or submission activity in the tracked data.
The rest of the men's bantamweight field, as reported, includes Rodrigo Vera (21-1-1) of Peru, Abdul Hussein (15-2) of Finland, Artem Belakh (11-2) representing Kazakhstan and Russia, Sean Mora (7-1) of Cuba, Christian Strong (9-1) of the United States, Marlon Jones (6-0) of Great Britain, Mikaias Ureña (13-3) of the Dominican Republic, Illimbek Akylbek uulu (10-3) of Kyrgyzstan, and Mekhemmedeli Osmanly (12-1) of Azerbaijan.
The women's strawweight cast features two undefeated prospects at 8-0 in Natalia Alves and Melissa Amaya, alongside Valeska Machado (15-4), GiGi Canutu (7-1), Anna Melisano (6-1), Mackenzie Stiller (6-1), Anita Karim (6-2), Delphine Benouaich (7-2), Halai Wushamo (10-2), and Camila Reynoso (9-1).
Why it matters
- The bantamweight field carries significant international depth, with fighters from ten different countries across four continents.
- Two undefeated strawweights at 8-0 set up a potential collision course with meaningful divisional prospect implications.
- Veterans such as Vera (21-1-1) and Machado (15-4) bring considerable professional experience against several fighters still building single-digit records.
