NOGUEIRA & MIR ARE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 8 COACHES

Spike TV on Monday announced that Ultimate Fighting
Championship interim heavyweight titleholder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
and former champion Frank Mir will be the coaches for the eight season
of The Ultimate Fighter.

The season, which premiers on Spike TV
on Sept. 17, will return to the two-weight class format. It features
light heavyweight (205-pound) and lightweight (155-pound) fighters.
Production on season eight begins in late May, with the entire cast to
be announced in September.

Nogueira and Mir, after serving as coaches, will meet in an as-of-yet unannounced pay-per-view event for the title.

Nogueira
earned the interim championship designation by defeating former UFC
heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia at UFC 81 in February. He finished the
fight with a strong comeback effort, choking Sylvia out early in the
third round.

At that same event, Mir continued his return to the
sport with a first round knee bar submission of former WWE superstar
Brock Lesnar. Mir has held the UFC championship in the past, breaking
Sylvia’s arm with a submission hold en route to the title. This will be
his first title shot since returning from a devastating motorcycle
accident that nearly endangered his life, and nearly ended his career.