During UFC 311 on Saturday night, the UFC broadcast team announced an exciting twist for the 33rd season of one of the sport’s most cherished programs, The Ultimate Fighter. Typically, the season concludes with the coaches facing off in a UFC card; however, this time, the scenario is different as both coaches are not active fighters.
Shortly after the first fight of the pay-per-view segment of UFC 311, former UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen joined the broadcast booth, where UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik revealed that The Ultimate Fighter Season 33 would be helmed by Sonnen and UFC analyst Daniel Cormier. This led to some light-hearted trash talk between the two in anticipation of the upcoming season. “It’s about time they bring the real MVP back to lay the smackdown on you,” Cormier asserted. “You are going down. It’s team good guys versus team bad guys. And the bad guys are going down, Chael.” Sonnen quickly retorted, “Daniel will find out like 51 other men before him why you should never piss off a gangster.”
The Good Guy vs The Bad Guy 👊@DC_MMA and @ChaelSonnen will coach Season 33 of #TUF! pic.twitter.com/x2Lo53ycx9
— UFC (@ufc) January 19, 2025
As Cormier’s good guy, bad guy analogy suggests, these two legends of the UFC are well-acquainted through their ESPN Radio podcast, Good Guy/Bad Guy, which was rebranded in April from the DC & RC Show featuring Cormier and Ryan Clark. While the shift to non-active fighters may signify a change in coaching dynamics, it also opens the door for heightened interest in the Good Guy/Bad Guy podcast. Notably, both Sonnen and Cormier have previous coaching experience on The Ultimate Fighter; Sonnen coached Season 17 against Jon Jones in 2013, and Cormier faced off against Stipe Miocic in Season 27.
Clearly, ESPN and the UFC aim to spotlight these dynamic personalities, promising an entertaining experience when Season 33 premieres on ESPN2 on May 27th.
