UFC FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPION ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI AND NO. 2 CONTENDER BRIAN ORTEGA TO COACH MEN'S BANTAMWEIGHTS AND MIDDLEWEIGHTS IN THE RETURN OF ...

UFC FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPION
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI AND NO.
2 CONTENDER BRIAN ORTEGA TO
COACH MEN’S BANTAMWEIGHTS AND
MIDDLEWEIGHTS IN THE RETURN
OF THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER®
Las Vegas – The highly anticipated The Return of The Ultimate
        ®
Fighter :   Team   Volkanovski   vs.   Team   Ortegawill   see
   ®
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and No. 2
contender Brian Ortega coach men’s bantamweights and
middleweights competing to make the UFC roster. Following the
series, which exclusively debuts Tuesday, June 1 on ESPN+, the
two coaches will prepare to square off for the featherweight
title at a date that will be determined in the near future.

The Return of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF 29) will feature a
dynamic cast of 16 ascending athletes in the men’s
bantamweight (135 lbs.) and middleweight (185 lbs.) divisions,
who have put everything else in their lives aside for the
chance to pursue their UFC dreams.

The entire twelve episode season of TUF 29 will be available
exclusively on ESPN+, with one episode dropping each Tuesday
beginning June 1. In addition, UFC fans can re-watch all 28
previous seasons of TUF on ESPN+, the industry-leading sports
streaming service, with entire seasons premiering on the
service each week through the end of May for bingeable
viewing.

The Ultimate Fighter is the iconic reality television series
that has introduced millions of new and die-hard fans to

future UFC champions and top contenders. Those whose careers
have been shaped by their participation in The Ultimate
Fighter include: Kamaru Usman, Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans,
Rose Namajunas, Michael Bisping, Robert Whittaker, Nate Diaz,
Tony Ferguson, T.J. Dillashaw, Matt Serra, Michael Chiesa, Al
Iaquinta, Kelvin Gastelum, Uriah Hall and many others.

Undisputed UFC featherweight champion Volkanovski (22-1,
fighting out of Windang, New South Wales, Australia) is
unbeaten in almost eight years, including nine straight wins
in the UFC. Volkanovski proved himself as one of UFC’s top
pound-for-pound fighters with two title fight victories over
Max Holloway, along with dominant performances against Jose
Aldo, Chad Mendes and Darren Elkins. Volkanovski now hopes to
experience the same type of success in his first opportunity
as a head coach.

Ortega (15-1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif.) is
determined to make 2021 the year his UFC title dreams become a
reality. Two years removed from his first title challenge,
Ortega hopes to apply the same skills that helped him defeat
the likes of Chan Sung Jung, Frankie Edgar, Cub Swanson and
Renato Moicano, to foster the careers of future UFC stars.

Below is a full list of competitors scheduled to compete
in The Return of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Volkanovski vs.
Team Ortega (name, age, professional record and fighting out
of):

MEN’S BANTAMWEIGHTS

Daniel Argueta | 27 | 5-0 | Chicago, IL

Brady Hiestand | 21 | 4-1 | Spokane, WA

Dustin Lampros | 26 | 5-0 | Deerfield Beach, FL

Vince Murdock | 30 | 11-6 | Sacramento, CA

Mitch Raposo | 22 | 5-0 | Fall River, MA

Joshua Rettinghouse | 31 | 16-5 | Spokane, WA

Liudvik Sholinian | 30 | 9-1 | Kiev, Ukraine

Ricky Turcios | 27 | 10-2 | Houston, TX

MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Aaron Phillips | 29 | 5-1 | Kotzbue, AK

Andre Petroski | 29 | 5-1 | Philadelphia, PA

Bryan Battle | 26 | 4-1 | Charlotte, NC

Ryder Newman | 25 | 3-1 | Las Vegas, NV

Tresean Gore | 26 | 3-0 | Decatur, GA

Miles Hunsinger | 30 | 7-0 | Las Vegas, NV

Kemran Lachinov | 30 | 10-3 | West Springfield, MA

Gilbert Urbina | 25 | 6-1 | Rio Grande Valley, TX

*All athletes are subject to change

Visit the UFC.com for additional information and content to
support your UFC coverage.

About UFC®

UFC ® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization
(MMA), with more than 625 million fans and 142 million social
media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live
events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around
the world, while broadcasting to approximately 900M TV
households across more than 175 territories. UFC’s athlete
roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing
more than 70 countries. The organization’s digital offerings

include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming
services for combat sports. UFC was acquired in 2016 by global

entertainment, sports and content company Endeavor, along with
strategic investors Silver Lake Partners and KKR. UFC is
headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information,
visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter,
Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.

About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that
offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events,
original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or
digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens
of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+
has grown to more than 12.1 million subscribers.

Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $5.99 a month (or $59.99 per
year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and
connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney
Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and
Hulu for $13.99/month (Hulu w/ads) or $19.99/month (Hulu w/o
ads).

About ESPN

ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment brand, features
nine U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN
Radio, ESPN.com, endeavors on every continent around the
world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an
indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent
by Hearst.

About Pilgrim Media Group

Pilgrim Media Group, headed by Emmy®-winning producer Craig
Piligian, produces a diverse slate of unscripted and
documentary projects. The company is behind hit series such
as: “Ghost Hunters,” “American Chopper,” “Fast N’ Loud,” “My
Big Fat Fabulous Life,” “Dirty Jobs,” “Dodgeball:
Thunderdome,” the “Street Outlaws” and “Wicked Tuna”
franchises, and the World MMA Award-winner “The Ultimate

Fighter.” Upcoming projects include “The Ultimate Surfer” for
ABC and the Sundance Festival Favorite Award-winning
documentary “Giving Voice” for Netflix.