On Tues., Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, the 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality show is scheduled to debut on FX with a two-hour episode. After back-to-back seasons on Friday night, TUF returns to weekdays for what may be the show's most anticipated season of the last few years.
At the helm for the upcoming season will be Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his rival, divisional No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen.
After a round of elimination fights that will narrow the cast down from 32 to 16, each coach will select a team of eight middleweight fighters who they will look to mold from unknown mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters into future mainstays on the UFC roster.
Over the course of 13 weeks on television Jones, Sonnen and the fighters in the Ultimate Fighter house will do battle and look to emerge from the competition on top.
At the conclusion of the season on April 27, 2013, the coaches will clash as Jones will attempt to defend his 205-pound title against Sonnen at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, on pay-per-view (PPV)
Before the antics begin on Jan. 22, wet your pallet for TUF 17 by watching a 30-second preview of the show above.
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