Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White confirmed the coaches for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) this evening on the set of FOX Sports 1's, "UFC Tonight:"
It's none other than former champions, and familiar foes, Frankie Edgar and B.J. Penn.
TUF 19, which airs on FOX Sports 1, will debut in Jan. 2014, featuring a mix of Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight mixed martial arts (MMA) hopefuls, who will compete in an elimination-style format for a pair of "six-figure" contracts. Edgar and Penn, who have already competed twice before inside the Octagon in the Lightweight division, will then do battle for a third time three months later in April.
And it will be contested at Featherweight, marking the 145-pound debut for Penn, a former Welterweight (170 pounds) and 155-pound champion.
The original plan was to pit Edgar against Urijah Faber; however, the pair could not come to terms on a weight -- Edgar didn't want to go down, Faber didn't want to go up and White didn't like a "catchweight."
Enter "The Prodigy," who not too long ago White wanted to retire from the sport. Penn was sniffing around for a fight against recently dethroned champion Ben Henderson, telling White that he wanted to beat "Bendo" and earn another crack at "The Answer."
His timing, apparently, could not have been more ideal. He was awarded with TUF 19 coaching gig, a match against Edgar and a new contract, which indicates that the Hawaiian, 34, does not appear to be one and done, even though he has just one victory in his past six appearances.
More on this breaking news shortly.
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