The first episode of The Ultimate Fighter 31 (TUF 31) aired on ESPN on Tuesday and the show started with a bang. Former UFC lightweight Roosevelt Roberts secured an 8-second knockout win over Nate Jennerman in the opening round of the tournament. Both men came out hot and Roberts landed a big 1,2 early on that dropped and put out Jennerman. The knockout ties the record for the fastest win in TUF history alongside Sam Sicilia and Uriah Hall. With this win, Roberts advances to the Semi-finals of the tournament and becomes one step closer to getting back in the UFC.
Changing Things Up
This season of The Ultimate Fighter features a diverse group of contestants, unlike the show’s past. The two weight classes featured are 135 and 155 pounds. The fighters were broken up into sections at each weight class: prospects and veterans. From there, coaches Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler chose between the groups of prospects and veterans by weight class. The picking process culminated in Chandler having all veterans and Conor having all prospects. This will lead to many interesting matchups between fighters at complete opposite ends of their careers, and give us something we have yet to see on the show.
TUF 31 Opening Round Matchups
Another thing we have yet to see on TUF that we saw already this season was pre-announced matchups. In seasons past, the show has built up suspense by not revealing who was fighting next until the end of the latest episode. This season, all opening-round matchups were announced early in the first episode, giving fans a bit of hype as to what matchups they can expect to see later in the season. Not all like this move, as some viewers are displeased with this move as they felt building up that suspense was a key element to each episode. We’ll see how this move pays off for the UFC, however the opening round matchups are as follows:
Lightweight
Team McGregor(Left) vs Team Chandler(Right)
Nate Jennerman vs Roosevelt Roberts
Landon Quinones vs Jason Knight
Lee Hammond vs Kurt Holobaugh
Aaron McKenzie vs Austin Hubbard
Bantamweight
Mando Gutierrez vs Cody Gibson
Trevor Wells vs Timur Valiev
Carlos Vera vs Brad Katona
Rico Disciullo vs Hunter Azure
With fights like Gutierrez-Gibson, McKenzie-Hubbard, and Quinones-Knight still left in just the opening round, the rest of this season is sure to deliver some major fireworks.
