We’re now only a number of weeks away from the brand new season of The Ultimate Fighter, which might be helmed by UFC veterans Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen because the two opposing coaches.
Whilst Sonnen has opted to draft in a controversial UFC contender, the previous double champion has as a substitute taken his team of coaches in a distinct direction.
Along with several well-known MMA trainers, Daniel Cormier has now added a WWE superstar to his roster; one who has good enough experience to assist DC achieve victory over his ESPN show co-host.
Daniel Cormier adds WWE star to his corner ahead of TUF season 33
Season 33 represents the third time that Chael Sonnen has featured as a TUF coach; having gone up against Jon Jones on season 17 (2013) and Wanderlei Silva on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 (2014).
Daniel Cormier has also featured as a coach on the hit reality TV show once before; facing Stipe Miocic on season 27 back in 2018.
That season was steeped in rivalry, although there’s an argument that Cormier might be even keener on getting one over on his Good Guy/Bad Guy co-host.
In an try to boost his possibilities, Cormier has now drafted in Jacob Kasper, higher known by his stage name on the WWE roster as Julius Creed, who’s one-half of the tag-team ‘American Made’.
Whilst Kasper currently plies his trade on the WWE circuit, he has good enough experience in actual combat sports to assist Cormier claim victory on TUF 33.
Not only was he a collegiate and amateur wrestler at Duke University but a reasonably achieved one at that, achieving NCAA All-American status not once, but twice.
Kasper was also involved in Cormier’s training camp for his fight against Jon Jones.
Also joining Cormier is kickboxing veteran Tiago Beowulf, boxing trainer Rosendo Sanchez, American Kickboxing Academy coach Bob Cook, Syndicate MMA coach John Wood, in addition to popular UFC welterweight Michael Chiesa.
Who’s on Chael Sonnen’s team for The Ultimate Fighter 33?
As of February, 4 members of Sonnen’s own team have been confirmed: Clayton Hires, Stephen Smith, Vinny Magalhaes, and Colby Covington.
Speaking with MMA Junkie, Sonnen explained the choice to bring ‘Chaos’ into the combination.
“Colby is such a beautiful mentor to people, that is what people don’t find out about him, but he does all of this on the side.
“He has mentored and coached many individuals; he doesn’t want people to know that he’s a pleasant guy so I’m not going to destroy his gimmick, but he’s going to do a incredible job.”
The Ultimate Fighter season 33 is scheduled to premiere its first episode on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
The brand new season will include 12 episodes in total, each of which might be broadcast on Tuesday at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT via ESPN+, ESPN 2, UFC Fight Pass, and ESPN Deportes.
