MMA Junkie has a new scoop on the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter, set to premiere on March 31st following UFC Fight Night 21:
Straying from the normal format and surely likely to cause more than a few head scratches, Ultimate Fighting Championship and Spike TV officials today confirmed that the upcoming 11th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” will feature 28 middleweight fighters.
The show traditionally features 16 or 32 competitors because of its single-elimination tournament format, though officials promise a “new format” that will be revealed during the show’s March 31 debut.
The show started filming today and the reveal of a new “format” is surprising. Starting the show with 28 fighters instead of the usual 16 or 32 certainly seems odd, as it’s essentially impossible to get down to two finalists with an equal number of elimination fights. But it appears that Spike and Zuffa will be very tight-lipped about this new twist in the show until it premieres at the end of the March.