Spike TV Taps UFC Stars For Latest ‘Ultimate Fighter’ Iteration

Interim, Former UFC Heavyweight Champs Sign Up To Coach During Season Eight

By Larry Barrett -- Multichannel News, 5/13/2008 12:45:00 PM

Spike TV Tuesday announced that interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former heavyweight champion Frank Mir will star in the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter when it debuts this fall.

The new season, which debuts September 17, will feature light heavyweight (205 pounds) and lightweight (155 pounds) fighters as they slug it out in a series of mixed martial art (MMA) the hopes of become “The Ultimate Fighter” and earning a six-figure, multi-fight contract with the UFC.

Nogueira and Mir will also square off in the Octagon for a to-be-announced UFC pay-per-view event, company officials said. UFC Dana White (pictured) will serve as the show’s host.

The eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter goes into production in late May. The entire cast will be announced in early September.

Craig Piligian of Pilgrim Films and Television, Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White of Zuffa, LLC, and Kevin Kay of Spike TV are the show's executive producers. Brian J. Diamond, senior vice president, sports & specials, Spike TV is co-executive producer and Christopher Martello is executive in charge of production for Spike TV.

Spike TV, a division of MTV Networks, is available in 96.1 million homes.