TUF 17 Tryouts Set for Sept. 17 in Vegas

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 September 17, 2012, in Las Vegas. Season 17 will feature middleweight (185lbs) and light heavyweight (205lbs) fighters.

All TUF™ 17 candidates must be at least 21 years old, have a minimum of three professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights – and hold a winning record (with verifiable records). Applications, which should be completed and brought to the tryouts, can be found online at http://www.ufc.com/tuf17. Tryout details are provided below:

Where:
Palace Station Hotel, 2411 West Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada 89102
Tryouts will be held in the Grand Ballroom

When:
Monday, September 17, 2012*
Registration begins at 8:00 AM PT

Fighters will be required to grapple & hit pads. Please bring appropriate gear.

*Applicants will be notified at the end of the tryouts if they have been selected to continue on in the casting process. If selected, applicants must be prepared to stay in Las Vegas until September 22.

Middleweights were most recently featured on TUF 11, where Court McGee emerged as season winner; while light heavyweights were last featured on TUF 8, the title captured by Ryan Bader.

TUF, 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.

With the UFC's landmark seven-year deal with FOX, FX became the new home of TUF in 2012. The two-hour season premiere of TUF 16 is set to air Friday, September 14 at 9 PM ET/PT.

TUF 17 is expected to debut on FX in early 2013. Coaches have not yet been announced.