Alexander
Volkanovski and Brian
Ortega will serve as opposing coaches for “The Ultimate Fighter
29.”
UFC president Dana White confirmed the news to
ESPN. The long-running reality show, which hasn’t aired since
2018, is expected to begin filming later this month. The latest
iteration will feature competitors at middleweight and bantamweight
and will stream on ESPN+.
Volkanovski and Ortega were scheduled to square off in a
featheweight championship bout in the co-main event of UFC 260 on
March 27, but Volkanovski was forced to withdraw after testing
positive for COVID-19. Volkanovski will be rebooked at some point
after “TUF 29.”
The reality show was initially supposed to premiere in March but
was postponed when tryouts were delayed due to the pandemic. The
most recent edition of the series, “TUF 28,” premiered in August
2018 and featured Robert
Whittaker and Kelvin
Gastelum as opposing coaches. The show included men’s
heavyweights and women’s featherweights, with Juan Espino
and Macy
Chiasson emerging victorious at the “TUF 28” finale.
Volkanovski claimed featherweight gold with a five-round verdict
against Max
Holloway at UFC 245 and successfully defended the crown with a
contentious split verdict over the Hawaiian in their rematch at UFC
251 this past July. The 32-year-old City Kickboxing representative
has won 19 consecutive fights — including nine in the UFC.
Ortega, meanwhile, will get a second shot at the 145-pound belt
after taking a beating from Holloway in a fourth-round TKO defeat
at UFC 231 in December 2018. After nearly two years on the
sideline, “T-City” returned with a unanimous decision triumph over
Chan
Sung Jung at UFC Fight Night 180 on Oct. 17.