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[kickass32]

Dana White Names Possibilities for Ultimate Fighter Coaching Jobs -- MMA Fighting

Dana White Names Possibilities for Ultimate Fighter Coaching Jobs
12/13/2010 9:22 AM ET By Mike Chiappetta

Mike Chiappetta
MMA Writer
Upon returning to his Las Vegas office on Monday morning after a hugely successful UFC 124 event, company president Dana White has several items that will require fairly immediate attention. Among the most pressing is selecting coaches for the upcoming season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter.

The series is scheduled to begin taping in just a few weeks, and White admits he's late in picking the men who will lead two teams in competition and later battle it out themselves.

Though he says the decision is far from made, he shared with MMA Fighting some possibilities for the job.

Among the pairs he named as possibilities were a duo rumored to be up for the job, MMA legend Wanderlei Silva and recently suspended middleweight Chael Sonnen.

On Dec. 2, Sonnen's suspension for using testosterone was reduced from one year to six months, making him eligible to fight in March. The show is scheduled to begin taping in January and the season-ending pay-per-view featuring the coaches is usually sometime in June, giving Sonnen a clear window to participate.

However, coming off the suspension, the UFC might not opt to immediately give him such a high-profile role.

Anther possibility? UFC bantamweights Miguel Torres and Urijah Faber.

Torres has a fight scheduled in February, a bout that would seem to preclude him from the taping schedule, but he could be pulled if the UFC sees more upside in having him on TUF alongside Faber in a fight MMA fans have been interested in for years. Admittedly, White has been so busy in recent weeks he might have forgoten about Torres' scheduled fight.

A surprising duo White mentioned was UFC heavyweights Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar. The pair has already fought twice, splitting the series 1-1. There was talk of a rubber match recently before White backed off the bout. However, with the added push of TUF highlighting the intense rivalry between the pair, the fight would likely do a monster number on pay-per-view, a serious consideration in deliberations.

During fight week, White mentioned that he would be speaking with Lesnar's management on Monday regarding his future, though it seems possible the camera-averse former champion might have little interest in a job that requires six weeks in front of a camera. Mir, on the other hand, has already coached TUF, leading a team during season eight of the show.

After rattling off the possibilities, White admitted he was no closer to finalizing a pairing than he ever has been, saying it was one of his highest priorities on Monday.

"I really don't know what we're going to end up doing," he told MMA Fighting. "I've got a board with a list of things that need doing, and this is one of the big ones, but it depends on a lot of things. Here's the one thing I know: I have to make a decision really soon."

[TBEAR]

UFC bantamweights Miguel Torres and Urijah Faber.

^^^^^^this

I CANT LISTEN TO CHAEL FOR THAT MANY WEEKS IN A ROW

[v3xi]

I got an advance copy of Brock's MMA coaching manual.

1) Making mean faces
2) How to beat Hulk Hogan in a cage match (with or without chairs)
3) Becoming hyped enough to get spoonfed easier opponents
4) How not to take a punch
5) Break dancing in the cage

He has a lot to teach these young inexperienced guys that probably have more years in MMA than Brock does to begin with. Brock vs Mir III still trying to be pushed down our throats? What the fuck?

[Daellusx]

LOL. As big of a fan as I am of Brock Lesnar I dont see him ever being a coach on TUF. I mean, in all honesty, Brock doesnt have much to teach people; unless he can some how teach them how to become genetic monsters of course. I guess he could teach them how to go hunting but not sure how relevant that would be to MMA. Maybe he could teach them how to do a shooting star press off the top rope... oh wait...

I thik Sonnen/Wand makes the most sense since both cant fight for another couple of months anyways. Wand is a legend in the sport and seems to truly enjoy coaching. Sonnen already teaches wrestling to young kids so he would probably be comfortable teaching the TUF guys some wrestling. I do fear for Sonnen though. I dont think Wand would be able to control himself if he feels Sonnen is disrespecting him and you know damn well that Sonnen is going to be in character for the cameras. If Sonnen isnt careful and goes to far we may not have to wait for the finale to see a Wand/Sonnen fight.
My money is on Chael having to visit a "dentista" if they go at it in a street fight.

[Mac]

It should definitely be Torres/Faber but alas, it won't. They would be the weakest pair of the three as far as pulling in viewers even though they would be the best choices. It just shows that in this day that morons with big mouths will rule the day. Not putting Wandy in that statement.

I also wouldn't mind seeing B.J./Fitch as the coaches.

[kickass32]

I guess the problem lies with, whoever they pick as coaches are just basically faces...no matter who they are we'll probably always see Greg Jackson in the background.

[joeodd2]

It must be nice to be able to put off doing your job until you feel like getting around to it, ah the life of Dana White....lol.

I honestly would love to see Chael as a coach on TUF, it makes the most sense ratings wise. I honestly can't think of too many guys who's free right now, maybe Leban/Wandy? I don't know..they may go down to feather and bantomweights just to promote those new divisions too...they just had a middleweight TUF not too long ago. I'd like to see another LHW season, who knows, maybe Dana drops a huge BOMB and announces the creation of the UFC womens division with newly stolen Kris Cyborg and Gina Carano as coaches....hey a guy can dream can't he?

[end it with a left]

Have they announced the weight class for the next season?

[dgil]

Originally Posted by joeodd2

It must be nice to be able to put off doing your job until you feel like getting around to it, ah the life of Dana White....lol.

I honestly would love to see Chael as a coach on TUF, it makes the most sense ratings wise. I honestly can't think of too many guys who's free right now, maybe Leban/Wandy?

I would much rather watch Chael and Wanderlei instead of Leben and Wanderlei. Plus, I don't think Chael and Wanderlei are too fond of eachother, it would make for a more exciting season.

[Lesnar_FTW]

Wand and Chael as opposing coaches would be awesome. I think Mir/Lesnar as opposing coaches would be hilarious. I'd love to see Lesnar training people. Plus the trash talk between either of these duos would be awesome.