Rousey to Make History Again as TUF 18 Coach

UFC bantamweights Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano have been tweeting back and forth about putting on the Fight of the Night when they meet next month, but now the stakes are even higher: The winner will become a coach on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter to feature females at the helm.

Dana White announced during the UFC 158 prelims on FX that undefeated women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will coach the next season of TUF. The opposing team will be led by the winner of the Tate vs. Zingano, taking place at the TUF 17 Finale April 13.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization will be hosting a casting call for the next US edition of its long-running reality series, The Ultimate Fighter®, on Monday April 15, 2013, in Las Vegas. For the first time ever in the history of the series, Season 18 will feature male and female bantamweight (135lbs) fighters. Details and applications are available here.

The Ultimate Fighter, which debuted in 2005, has launched the careers of more than 100 UFC fighters and has produced past champions such as Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, Michael Bisping and Matt Serra.
 
TUF 18 is expected to debut in the fall of 2013.
 
Tickets for season 17’s The Ultimate Fighter® Finale are on sale now. To purchase tickets to the April 13th event at Mandalay Bay Events Center, or for more information, visit the Mandalay Bay Events Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com, or charge-by-phone at 800.745.3000.
 
Catch all new episodes of this season of The Ultimate Fighter at 9 p.m. ET/PT.