First International TUF Show Will Be in the Philippines, Dana White Confirms

The Ultimate Fighter is going global. And the Philippines will host the first edition.

UFC President Dana White made the announcement during the press conference for UFC 127: B.J. Penn vs Jon Fitch.

The show has had 12 seasons since it began in 2005 and it helped brought the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to the mainstream. 

Says White,

"The Ultimate Fighter is gonna start airing in every country. We’re gonna start doing ‘The Ultimate Fighter UK’, ‘The Ultimate Fighter Canada', ‘The Ultimate Fighter Philippines’. We’re doing it everywhere. This year. I’m pretty sure the first one’s probably gonna be the Philippines.

MMA has a strong following in the Philippines partly due to the popularity of UFC. The Philippines even has a local version of UFC, the Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC). 

Several MMA fighters are also Filipino - Brandon Vera, Mark Munoz and Robbie Lawler  among others. Octagon ring girl Arianny Celeste also has Filipino blood.

No official date has been announced yet for the 2011 debut of TUF Philippines