Michael Bisping Likely Candidate to Coach on Ninth Season of the Ultimate Fighter

The ninth season of "The Ultimate Fighter", which is set to debut in mid-2009, will feature a team of U.S. fighters taking on a team of fighters from the United Kingdom according to MMA Junkie.

The show will feature both middleweight and welterweights, as the UFC continues to return to their original format of featuring two different weight classes on the show, instead of just one.

The search for talent will begin soon, and there will be open tryouts in both the United Kingdom and the US in October of this year.

The coaches for the ninth season of the show haven't been announced as of yet. It would only make sense to have a British coach for the UK side, and an American coach for the US side. I would imagine that if Michael Bisping wins at UFC 89, then he will almost definitely be named as one of the coaches. Bisping is rapidly rising up the Middleweight ladder, and an appearance as a coach on the "Ultimate Fighter" would only serve to boost his profile, as well as setting up a big middleweight match against the coach of the US side.

On the American side, I think that either Dan Henderson or Nate Marquardt make sense as possible coaches.

You could then give the winner of the Bisping vs Henderson/Marquardt match-up a shot at Anderson Silva's middleweight title.

Either way, this is a very smart move by the UFC. This continues their overseas expansion, and the inclusion of the UK fighters in the show will only help to increase brand awareness for the UFC in the United Kingdom. The British love their reality TV shows, so I really think that this will end up being a smash in the UK.

We'll post more details about this show as we hear them.

Source: MMA Junkie - "The Ultimate Fighter 9: US vs UK" to feature 185- and 170-pounders

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