UFC Hall of Famers Liddell, Griffin to coach TUF Latin America 3
The UFC has announced that Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin have been named head coaches for third season of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America.
The UFC has announced that Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin have been named head coaches for third season of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America. Filming will begin in late spring in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The series will air in August on UFC Network, Televisa’s Channel 5 in Mexico, UFC FIGHT PASS and additional free TV networks in Latin America. The finale will take place on November 5, at Arena Ciudad de Mexico, in Mexico City, Mexico.
The first Spanish speaking series of the reality show, The Ultimate Fighter Latin America, was launched in 2004 reaching an average of seven million viewers per episode in Mexico and millions more viewers around Latin America. The second season followed the footsteps of the first with viewership in UFC Network, Chanel 5 and 14 free-to-air networks.
For 2016, UFC has recruited talent from all over the region and divided them into two teams: Team Liddell and Team Griffin. Both teams will represent a combination of Latin American countries. The series will also include special guest appearances by additional UFC athletes brought in by both coaches to enrich their team’s training experience.
Widely considered as one of the greatest UFC athletes of all time, Chuck Liddell is one of the biggest superstars the organization has ever produced. With his stone Iceman persona, striking Mohawk haircut and terrifying knockout power, Liddell helped UFC’s popularity explode during his reign as UFC light heavyweight champion. Liddell boasts an impressive and legendary 12-year career that is followed by his retirement in 2010 and immediate induction into the UFC Hall of Fame. Liddell was a coach on the original series of The Ultimate Fighter® in 2005, dominating the competition with his team winning both the light heavyweight and middleweight tournaments.
Coaching opposite Liddell is another UFC icon, Forrest Griffin. No mixed martial artist in the world is as closely associated with The Ultimate Fighter than Griffin, who won the very first season’s light heavyweight tournament under the tutelage of Liddell. More importantly, Griffin’s breathtaking finale victory over Stephan Bonnar in April 2005 is the fight that secured UFC’s status as a rising cultural phenomenon. Griffin won the UFC light heavyweight title in 2008, retired in 2012 and like Chuck, was then inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Both Liddell and Griffin have had a storied history with The Ultimate Fighter. The Iceman continued his journey in the reality series, keeping his perfect coaching record intact as his athlete won the season 11 tournament. Like Liddell, Griffin holds a perfect record as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter; returning to the series in 2008 to not only coach the eventual winner, but also three of the four semi-finalists.