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Fabricio Werdum got his wish - he will be a coach on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil.
Opposing him will be former Pride FC and UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. They will head two teams and then meet in the Octagon for the traditional coaches’ fight in mid-2013.
News of the pairing first came via the mainstream Brazilian sport website GloboEsporte, citing “reliable sources”. An official announcement is apparently coming soon.
The pairing means that a rumoured Lyoto Machida/Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua season won’t be happening. They had been frontrunners for the slot but Werdum has been campaigning heavily for a coaching spot ever since he watched the first season, which featured Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort.
Now in its 16th season in the US, TUF is seeing declining ratings. But in Brazil it is brand new and coupled with the boom that the UFC is enjoying there, appearing on TUF does a lot to boost the domestic profile of those taking part.
Werdum and Nogueira are both characters with good senses of humour so their time on the season should be good. And they also have a history together because they fought under the Pride FC banner in 2006; Werdum lost a decision.
It will be Nogueira’s second turn as a TUF coach, the first being when he paired off with Frank Mir for TUF 8. It is also Werdum’s second time in the TUF house but his first as a principal. Werdum was the BJJ coach for Wanderlei Silva’s team during TUF Brasil 1.
Opposing him will be former Pride FC and UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. They will head two teams and then meet in the Octagon for the traditional coaches’ fight in mid-2013.
News of the pairing first came via the mainstream Brazilian sport website GloboEsporte, citing “reliable sources”. An official announcement is apparently coming soon.
The pairing means that a rumoured Lyoto Machida/Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua season won’t be happening. They had been frontrunners for the slot but Werdum has been campaigning heavily for a coaching spot ever since he watched the first season, which featured Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort.
Now in its 16th season in the US, TUF is seeing declining ratings. But in Brazil it is brand new and coupled with the boom that the UFC is enjoying there, appearing on TUF does a lot to boost the domestic profile of those taking part.
Werdum and Nogueira are both characters with good senses of humour so their time on the season should be good. And they also have a history together because they fought under the Pride FC banner in 2006; Werdum lost a decision.
It will be Nogueira’s second turn as a TUF coach, the first being when he paired off with Frank Mir for TUF 8. It is also Werdum’s second time in the TUF house but his first as a principal. Werdum was the BJJ coach for Wanderlei Silva’s team during TUF Brasil 1.
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