The Ultimate Fighter, the UFC’s long-running reality television show competition, returns for its 33rd season.

Officials announced via a press release Friday that casting for TUF 33 is scheduled to run from Nov. 4 to Dec. 18, with producers and scouts on the lookout for fighters in the welterweight and flyweight divisions. Coaches for the upcoming season are yet to be determined, as is the date for the season premiere.

According to the release, “casting for TUF 33 will be remote with no physical tryouts” and decisions are expected to be made no later than January.

The most recent season of TUF saw flyweight stars Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko coaching teams comprised of middleweights and featherweights. American Ryan Loder won the middleweight tournament, while Brazil’s Mairon Santos was the champion at 145 pounds.

Grasso and Shevchenko later met in a trilogy bout with Grasso’s flyweight title on the line at UFC 306 this past September. Shevchenko won by unanimous decision to become a two-time UFC champion.

Premiering in 2005, TUF has often been credited by UFC CEO Dana White as having helped to bolster interest in the promotion, particularly the thrilling TUF 1 finale bout between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar, which is widely regarded as one of the most important fights in UFC history.

Other standouts to emerge from seasons of TUF include Nate Diaz, Michael Bisping, Tony Ferguson, T.J. Dillashaw, Robert Whittaker, Carla Esparza, Rose Namajunas, Julianna Peña, and many others, though the program has been supplanted somewhat by Dana White’s Contender Series, which serves a similar purpose as a prospect showcase.

If Dricus Du Plessis can add Khamzat Chimaev’s name to his resume, he’s expecting big things.

Middleweight champion Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) was angling to run things back with Sean Strickland for his next title defense, but after Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) ran through Robert Whittaker for a first-round submission this past Saturday at UFC 308, he’s now interested in undefeated “Borz.”

With his past three wins coming over Whittaker, Strickland and Israel Adesanya, Du Plessis thinks handing Chimaev his first career loss should set him up for a shot at the light heavyweight title – preferably in his home country of South Africa.

“If I beat Khamzat Chimaev – I beat Robert Whittaker, then I beat Sean Strickland, then I beat Israel Adesanya, then I beat Khamzat Chimaev, that warrants a double title fight,” Du Plessis told ESPN. “And I think that might just be it. I have a vision, and I can’t picture something more perfect than that.

“But to be completely honest, I do not care who it is. South Africa would go crazy no matter who I fight. … At the end of the day, there’s a goal that needs to be reached, and that is fighting in my home country and getting that second belt. To do those on the same night, that would be pretty sweet.”

Du Plessis clarifies he’ll fight whoever the UFC offers, but after Chimaev’s impressive finish of Whittaker, the champion says that’s who the fans are clamouring for him to fight.

“The conversations were more about me fighting Strickland,” Du Plessis said. “But there was a very big reason no contracts have been signed, and I’m saying this as an opinion: I agreed – I said I’ll fight Strickland, perfect, and that’s the fight the fans want.

“But if you go on what the fans want right now, it’s definitely not the Strickland fight. If you ask what I want, I want to fight the best guy. I want to fight the guy the fans want me to fight, and that 100 percent is Khamzat. If they give me the Strickland fight, great, I’ll fight Strickland in February, March or whenever, and then fight Khamzat.”

Cody Stamann sees UFC Fight Night 247 as a potential do-or-die situation.

Stamann (21-7-1 MMA, 7-6-1 UFC) will look to snap a two-fight losing skid when he takes on Da’Mon Blackshear (14-7-1 MMA, 2-3-1 UFC) Nov. 9 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Heading into the final fight of his UFC contract, 34-year-old Stamann aims to make a big impression against Blackshear.

“Every fight is the most important fight of your life,” Stamann told MMA Junkie Radio. “I approach every fight the same way, but this one has a lot of extra, I guess, pressure connected to it. (It’s the) last fight on my UFC contract. I’m in a situation where I need to win – I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I have to go out and win. My career depends on it, and I know that. I think that motivates me and scares the living crap out of me because I know if I don’t perform on that night, who knows?

“I may need to look for a job, and I like my job, and I want to keep it. So I’m 100 percent mentally and physically preparing myself to get into a war, and just having that willingness, ability and gas tank to no matter where this fight ends up, just get the job done. I don’t care about my body, I don’t care about my health, I’m going in there with no plans of anything in the future. It’s come back with your shield or on it type of situation for me.”

This isn’t the first time Stamann has had his back against the wall. He was on a three-fight losing skid a few years ago, but says his willingness to fight anyone at anytime is what has contributed to his longevity in the UFC.

“I’ve been in this situation before,” Stamann said. “And I think my saving grace in this situation is the fact that the UFC knows very well – I mean, look at the guys I’ve fought. It’s like killer after killer after killer. They know for a fact that when they ring my line, it doesn’t matter if it’s six weeks, two weeks, one week, four days – it doesn’t matter. The answer is yes, and I just want to know how much I have to weigh.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 247.

Fresh on the heels of UFC 308, UFC Edmonton takes place this Saturday with a double-header of 125-pound action. In the co-main event, Erin Blanchfield takes on Rose Namajunas in a five-round women’s flyweight contest, while in the main event former men’s flyweight champion Brandon Moreno returns to action against Amir Albazi.

On top of those matchups, there are 12 more fights on Saturday night, so let’s dive right into the breakdowns.

All odds are courtesy of our friends at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Single Plays

Brandon Moreno (-172)

Money has been coming in on Moreno all week and frankly, I see why. Though Moreno is currently on a two-fight losing streak, both were split decisions that many people believe he got a bad deal on. In a different universe, Moreno could easily still be the flyweight champion.

On the other side of things, Albazi has been out of action for nearly 18 months and Moreno is by far the best opponent he’s ever faced. Moreno is going to keep a high work rate, scramble out of takedowns, and put Albazi to a test he’s never seen. Ultimately, I think Albazi is a good but not great fighter, and so I like a bet on Moreno.

Erin Blanchfield (-140)

It’s no secret that I’ve been extremely high on Blanchfield since she joined the UFC, and even after suffering her first UFC defeat earlier this year, I’m still high on her.

Simply put, Blanchfield is very young and very raw, but she’s climbed as high as she has do to sheer physicality. Against a hoss like Manon Fiorot, Blanchfield finally found the limits of that physicality, but Namajunas is another kettle of fish. The former strawweight champion is obviously extremely skilled, but she’s undersized in this weight class and has never been a strong wrestler. I expect Blanchfield to have an easy time of things.

Pedro Munhoz (-102)

There are bets I like and then there are bets I like. This is the latter.

Munhoz takes on Aiemann Zahabi on the prelims this weekend and I think this is a y’all must’ve forgot moment. Sure Munhoz has only won two of his past nine fights, but look at the level of competition? Almost everyone Munhoz lost to is an elite fighter who either held a belt or fought for one. And while Munhoz lost, he was very competitive in those losses.

Now Munhoz gets Zahabi who is a big step back in competition, and who, frankly, I’ve never been sold on. Munhoz is going to outwork Zahabi in every phase on Saturday and so I love this action.

Jack Shore (+215)

Speaking of y’all must’ve forgot, where did the Jack Shore love go? Shore faces Youssef Zalal on the prelims and he’s one of the bigger underdogs on the card?

Sure, Shore lost two of his previous three fights, but the most recent one was not his fault; a cavernous gash opened up on his leg and the doctor called the fight. And Shore was competitive with Joanderson Brito before that happened.

Meanwhile, Zalal has already been cut from the UFC once and while he’s been lights out since returning, I’m still not sold on a big ceiling for the kid. His defensive wrestling is too poor and Shore can take advantage.

Prop Bets

Derrick Lewis by KO/TKO (+210)

Come on, y’all! We’re out here to have fun.

Lewis takes on former Glory kickboxer Jhonata Diniz on the main card Saturday and who really knows what to expect from this one. If it stays standing, Diniz certainly has the advantage but the UFC’s all-time leader in knockouts isn’t a pushover on the feet by any means. Moreover, Lewis also has a clear edge if he can get Diniz to the ground, where “The Black Beast” has nasty ground and pound. If this loses I won’t be surprised, but feels worth a stab given the price.

Mike Malott by KO/TKO or Submission (-140)

The last time we saw Malott he was well on his way to a UFC ranking until suffering one of the most stunning collapses I’ve ever witness. After putting the boots to Neil Magny for nearly 14 minutes, Malott simply imploded in the final minute of the bout and Magny pulled off a miracle comeback. Will Malott learn from that disaster? We’re about to find out.

Trevin Giles is a good-but-not-great fighter who is game enough to test Malott but defensively liable enough to get got. In fact, all six of his career losses have been by finish, which lines up nicely against Malott, who has only ever won via finish.

Wrap Up

We broke even at UFC 308 as our belief in the uncrackable chin of Max Holloway proved to be misguided. Hopefully we can do a little better this week as I feel really good about these bets and the lines are pretty tight. I guess we’ll see.

Until next week, enjoy the fights, good luck, and gamble responsibly!

All information in this article is provided to readers of MMA Fighting for entertainment, news, and amusement purposes only. It is the responsibility of the reader to learn and abide by online gambling laws in their region before placing any online sports betting wagers.

A showdown of top-10 welterweights will close out 2024 in the UFC when Ian Machado Garry takes on Joaquin Buckley.

The fight is set to headline the promotion’s final event of the year, UFC on ESPN 63, on Dec. 14 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., the UFC announced Friday on social media.

Machado Garry (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), No. 7 in the official UFC rankings at 170 pounds, will look for his third win of 2024 as he tries to maintain his perfect record. In 2024, Machado Garry has beaten Geoff Neal by split decision at UFC 298 and Michael Page by unanimous decision at UFC 303.

Buckley (20-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC), who’s ranked No. 9, will try for his fourth victory of 2024 as he looks to continue climbing the ranks of the division since he moved back down from welterweight in May 2023. Buckley’s wins in 2024 include two longtime staples of the division, Vicente Luque by TKO and most recently a knockout of Stephen Thompson.

With the addition, here’s the current UFC on ESPN 63 lineup:

• Ian Machado Garry vs. Joaquin Buckley
• Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas
• Dustin Jacoby vs. Vitor Petrino
• Tracy Cortez vs. Miranda Maverick
• Josefine Knutsson vs. Piera Rodriguez
• Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos
• Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras
• Manel Kape vs. Bruno Silva
• Ottman Azaitar vs. Michael Johnson
• Daniel Marcos vs. Adrian Yanez

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.