‘TUF’ No. 9 will have an international twist

By Andy Samuelson

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 | 3 p.m.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s hit reality television series will look a little different this spring as the ninth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” features the first-ever battle between two countries when the United States competes against the United Kingdom.

The 32 fighters — 16 on each the U.S. and U.K. squads, comprised of eight welterweights and eight lightweights — will not only be gunning for bragging rights for their respective parts of the globe, a six figure contract with the UFC, but also the bright hopes of following in the footsteps of UFC superstars like light heavyweight champ Rashad Evans and former 205-pound titleholder Forrest Griffin, who cut their teeth on the show.

“In all the past seasons of the show, we had these little cliques form and everyone developed a strong team identity,” UFC president Dana White told Yahoo! Sports.

“But this season, it’s crazy. With country versus country, the whole team thing goes crazy. It’s wild.”

The show premieres on Wednesday, April 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV (Cox Cable Ch. 29) and will culminate at “TUF” 9 finale on June 20 at the Palms.

Coaching the American squad will be two-time Olympic wrestler, Dan Henderson, who is the only mixed martial arts fighter to ever hold two major titles in two different weight classes at the same time when he was PRIDE’s welterweight and middleweight champion in February of 2007.

“It’s definitely a new challenge and definitely a good fit with my background,” said Henderson in an interview at the first taping of the show. “I got to represent my country when I competed and now I get to do that as a coach, so I’m pretty excited.

“I think the fans will get behind it and be excited if their country wins, too.”

Michael Bisping, the light heavyweight winner from season three of “TUF” will coach the UK squad.

Henderson and Bisping will then square off at the much-hyped UFC 100 show set for July 11 at Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Here’s a closer look at the 32 fighters for this season of “TUF”:

Representing the United States

Welterweights:

Ryan Biglar: A member of team Cobra Kai in Las Vegas, Biglar is a 24-year-old jiu-jitsu artist originally from Guam.

Ray Elbe: Born and raised in Arizona, the 25-year-old Elbe (20-11) has spent parts of the last three years perfecting his muay thai skills in Phuket, Thailand.

Christian Fulgium: Fighting out of the Gladiator camp in Lafayette, Louisiana, Fulgium is a wrestler with a combined 6-2-1 mixed martial arts record.

DaMarques Johnson: Johnson, a member of Elite Performance in Salt Lake City, Utah, began training in mixed martial arts in 2001 while serving in the military. He has since amassed a 13-6 mixed martial arts record.

Kevin Knabjian: Born and raised in Chicago, Knabjian (10-3-1) wrestled at Division 1 Eastern Illinois University and graduated with a degree in Business Management. Knabjian trains out of Gilbert Grappling in Chicago.

Mark Miller: A 5'10” welterweight muay thai artist, Miller (10-4) trains out of Dino Costeas MMA and Toro Muay Thai in Chicago.

Jason Pierce: A former soccer standout at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Pierce (9-0) trains with Bettendorf's Miletich Fighting Systems camp.

Kiel Reid: Born and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa, Reid (8-1) returned to the area in 2005 to take up mixed martial arts full-time with the Miletich Fighting Systems camp.

Lightweights:

Paul Bird: A stand-up fighter, Bird (4-1) trains in West Des Moines, Iowa out of the Des Moines MMA camp.

Santino DeFranco: The 26-year-old DeFranco trains out of Southwest MMA in Tempe, AZ. A 5'10” jiu-jitsu specialist, DeFranco holds a 13-4 mixed martial arts record.

Jason Dent: The submission specialist owns and operates Griffon Brawl gym in Mentor, Ohio. He holds a combined 19-9 mixed martial arts record with bouts against Roger Huerta at UFC 63 and Gleison Tibau at UFC 68 under his belt.

Cameron Dollar: A member of Fight Factory in Colorado Springs, Colo., Dollar (4-1) has trained with TUF alums Cory Hill and Noah Thomas.

Tom Hayden: Hayden, 4-0, is a ground specialist who trains out of TUF 2 alum's Jorge Gurgel camp in West Chester, OH.

Waylon Lowe: Fighting out of Jorge Gurgel's camp in Ohio, the 28-year-old Lowe owns a 5-2 mixed martial arts record.

Josh Souder: A well-rounded fighter out of Team Prodigy in Ohio, the 5'7” Souder owns a 7-2 overall mixed martial arts record.

Richie Whitson: Born and raised in Alaska, the heavy-handed Whitson holds a perfect 4-0 mixed martial arts record. He currently trains out of Temecula, CA with Team Quest.

Representing the United Kingdom:

Welterweights:

Dean Amarasinghe: Rough House Gym’s Amarasinghe (4-1) is a 5’10” grappler from Nottingham, England.

James Bateman: A 5’10” striker, Bateman (2-1) trains with Grimsby NHB in Grimsby, England.

David Faulkner: A 5’9” ground specialist Faulkner trains with Wolfslair in Widnes, England. The 28-year-old born in Kirkby holds a 2-1 mixed martial arts record.

Tommy Maguire: The 20-year-old Maguire trains in Wisbech, England with Tsunami Gym. The 5’7” stand-up fighter holds a 5-2 mixed martial arts record, with three wins coming via TKO.

Che Mills: Born in Gloucester, England, the 6’2” welterweight Mills (7-2) trains with Mark Weir’s Range Fighting in the UK.

Nicholas Osipczak: Sporting a perfect 3-0 record, Osipczak trains in London, England with Pancrase UK.

Alex Reid: Reid trains in London, England with the London Shoot Fighters. The 33-year-old stand up artist is 10-9-1 in his twenty mixed martial arts bouts.

James Wilks: Born and raised in England, the 30-year-old Wilks has trained with Eric Paulson in Orange County, California since 2000. The 6’1” striker is 5-2 in his mixed martial arts career.

Lightweights:

James Bryan: The (3-1) Bryan is a 25-year-old stand up fighter from Somerset, England.

Dan James: James, 3-0, is a stand up artist fighting out of Swansea, Wales. The 5’10” fighter has won two of his fights by TKO.

Gary Kelly: Wolfslair's Kelly (2-1) is a 25-year-old striker from Liverpool, England.

Jeff Lawson: The 5’6 lightweight Jess Lawson (13-2) trains with Team Bulldog out of Dorset, England.

Ross Pearson: The 24-year-old striker is a member of Sunderland Jiu-Jitsu & MMA Club in Sunderland, England.

Martin Stapleton: Born in Manchester, England, the 25-year-old Thai boxer (5-1) trains with Quannum Combat Arts.

AJ Wenn: Cambs, England’s Wenn is a well-rounded fighter training out of Tsunami Gym. The 24-year-old has a 7-2 mixed martial arts record.

Andre Winner: Winner (9-2-1) trains out of Rough House in London, England.