UFC reveals cast for The Ultimate Fighter 26

Last night, during the broadcast of the UFC’s latest trip to Mexico City, Mexico, the UFC announced the cast for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter (season 26). Like the Ultimate Fighter season 20, which saw contenders battle to become the first-ever women’s strawweight champ, this season will see competitors vie for the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight title.

The list of competitors for this latest season of the Ultimate Fighter includes several names that many fans will be familiar with, such as Barb Honchak, Roxanne Modafferi, and Lauren Murphy.

Honchak is the current Invicta flyweight champion, an honor she earned with a decision defeat of Vanessa Porto, and defended with defeats of Leslie Smith and Takayo Hashi. Modafferi, meanwhile, also competed on the Ultimate Fighter 20. Since then, she’s gone 6-2, and once battled for the Invicta flyweight championship. Murphy, finally, is a four-time veteran of the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division. She’s gone, 1-3 in the Octagon, losing to Sara McMann, Liz Carmouche, and Kaitlyn Chookagian, and defeating Kelly Faszholz.

Here’s the full cast for the upcoming season. One of these women will be the first female flyweight champ in UFC history.

Ariel Beck (4-4)
DeAnna Bennett (8-3)
Shana Dobson (2-1)
Sijara Eubanks (2-2)
Melinda Fabian (4-3-1)
Karine Gevorgyan (3-2)
Barb Honchak (10-2)
Christina Marks (8-8)
Roxanne Modafferi (21-13)
Nicco Montano (3-2)
Lauren Murphy (9-3)
Rachael Ostovich (3-3)
Gillian Robertson (3-2)
Maia Stevenson (6-4)
Montana Stewart (7-4)
Emily Whitmire (2-1)

The Ultimate Fighter 26 will be coached by former Bellator and UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, and former World Series of Fighting lightweight king Justin Gaethje. Alvarez was last seen in the cage in May, when he battled Dustin Poirier to a controversial no contest. Prior to that, he surrendered the UFC lightweight title to Conor McGregor, succumbing to second-round strikes. Gaethje, meanwhile, recently debuted in the UFC with a TKO win in a veritable Fight of the Year contender with Michael Johnson.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 8/6/2017.