The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption (also known as The Ultimate Fighter 25) is an installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter.
The series was officially announced by the UFC on January 15, 2017 during the UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Penn broadcast. The then-current UFC Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt would be coaching opposite former champion T.J. Dillashaw; Both of them being former training partners. As the twenty-fifth season of the American entries of the series, the producers have opted to bring back previous participants from the previous seasons.
Per the UFC's announcement, the cast consists of welterweights that have all competed on The Ultimate Fighter on previous seasons; this includes former participants and winners of the show, as well as one current UFC fighter. The cast was announced on February 15, including former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger and The Ultimate Fighter 2 welterweight winner Joe Stevenson, The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn middleweight winner Eddie Gordon, as well as then-current UFC fighter James Krause.
This season debuted on April 19, 2017 on Fox Sports 1.
Cast Coaches
Team Garbrandt: Cody Garbrandt, Head Coach Urijah Faber Danny Castillo Justin Buchholz Fábio Prado Robert Meese Eddie Barraco
Team Dillashaw: T.J. Dillashaw, Head Coach Duane Ludwig Eliot Marshall Leister Bowling Matt Brown Robert Follis
Fighters Team Garbrandt Seth Baczynski (TUF 11), Mehdi Baghdad (TUF 22), Eddie Gordon (TUF 19), Hayder Hassan (TUF 21), Julian Lane (TUF 16), Justin Edwards (TUF 13) and Johnny Nunez* (TUF 22) Team Dillashaw James Krause (TUF 15), Jesse Taylor (TUF 7), Ramsey Nijem (TUF 13), Dhiego Lima (TUF 19), Joe Stevenson (TUF 2), Tom Gallicchio (TUF 22) and Gilbert Smith (TUF 17).
*Nunez replaced Hector Urbina (TUF 19), after Urbina failed to make weight.
Episodes Episode 1: Redemption (April 19, 2017) The episode opens with a look at the personal struggles of this season's cast members, including "TUF 2" winner Joe Stevenson, Gilbert Smith and Tom Gallicchio. A number of other fighters also get a brief spotlight. With all the competitors assembled together at the "TUF" gym, UFC President Dana White enters alongside this season's coaches. UFC Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt will take the helm for one team while former champ T.J. Dillashaw will be the opposite coach. White explains that the winner of this season will not only get another opportunity to make a career under the UFC banner, but he will also be rewarded with a $250,000 prize. Moreover, each athlete will be paid $10,000 per fight with a potential $5,000 bonus on the line for a stoppage victory. Beyond the standard single-elimination tournament format, White reveals a "wild card" fight will take place to close out the opening round. Two of the losing fighters will be selected for a matchup and the winner will be re-entered into the tournament. The fighters immediately jump into a tryout training session. The athletes work out so the coaching staffs from each team can evaluate the talent before team picks are made. Garbrandt takes the approach of interviewing each fighter for a mental evaluation rather than just a physical test. He wants to know their goals, weight and any other details that will determine their success or failure on the show. With evaluations complete, the team selections are underway. A coin toss will determine which side gets to pick the first fight or the first fighter. White also announces that teams will alternate fight picks, regardless of who wins the previous fight. Team Dillashaw wins the coin toss and opts to pick the first fighter. Fighters selection: Coach1st Pick2nd Pick3rd Pick4th Pick5th Pick6th Pick7th PickDillashawJames KrauseJesse TaylorRamsey NijemDhiego LimaJoe StevensonTom GallicchioGilbert SmithGarbrandtSeth BaczynskiMehdi BaghdadEddie GordonHector UrbinaHayder HassanJulian LaneJustin Edwards Garbrandt announces the first fight and matches his first pick Baczynski against Dillashaw's last pick Smith. Since the tournament will start with back-to-back fights, Dillashaw picks his first choice Krause to face Garbrandt's fourth pick Urbina. At the first team Garbrandt training session, there's already some concern about Urbina's weight. He came on the show nearly 200 pounds and has limited time to make it all the way down to the 171-pound welterweight limit. After two days of weight cut, Urbina is on the cusp of giving up. He does not think it is realistic for him to make weight and he tells coach Garbrandt that he's officially pulling out of the fight, as he still weighted 188.4 pounds. Garbrandt says he does not regret picking Urbina but feels a lifestyle change is needed if he wants to continue a career in high level MMA. White arrives at the gym and asks Urbina to tell the entire cast and all the coaches that he's out of the fight. Urbina apologizes to everyone involved, but White shows no leniency and tells Urbina to pack his bags and leave the competition immediately. White pulls the coaches to an office, where they begin a conversation about what happens in the fallout of Urbina's departure. White says there are alternate fighters standing by outside the house in the event of the current situation, and Johnny Nunez (TUF 22) is one of the athletes available to join the cast. Dillashaw believes he should be able to pick an entirely new fight because of how the coin toss played out, but White shuts down that idea and Garbrandt criticizes Dillashaw for "trying to play the victim, like he’s going to do all season." Dillashaw informs Krause of the situation and the fighter is noticeably unhappy. He does not believe the fight date should be pushed back and is frustrated that he had to cut weight for no reason. He tries to avoid dwelling on the situation but says the change is not ideal for his approach to the tournament as a whole. Shortly thereafter, Nunez arrives at the gym to join his new teammates for the first time. He's grateful for the opportunity and plans to make up for the disappointment of his first run. Back at the house, Smith's intensity begins to gear up ahead of his fight with Baczynski. He feels he's viewed as an easy target after being picked last by his team and pitted in the first fight and believes the other team is wrong by picking him first. Smith's talk continues at the gym and Baczynski overhears everything from the neighboring locker room. He confronts Smith and some heated words are exchanged between the two sides. It briefly fizzles, but when Smith attempts to apologize, tensions flare up once again and the two athletes come face-to-face and exchange more words. Garbrandt calls team Dillashaw "a team full of fakes" and that's when Dillashaw becomes irritated. He turns to Garbrandt and fires back with some words of his own, telling his rival to "get the (expletive) out of my face." In a stunning move, Garbrandt then grabs Dillashaw by the throat and shoves him backward. The surrounding fighters immediately jump in and separate the coaches before any serious follow-up physicality can occur. Dillashaw appears unflustered by the situation and says the move was the perfect indictment on Garbrandt’s personality. Garbrandt feels differently, as he believes his opponent is shaken and scared. Gilbert Smith defeated Seth Baczynski via unanimous decision after two rounds. The next fight is announced by Garbrandt: Eddie Gordon vs. Tom Gallicchio.
Episode 2: Eat Some Souls (April 26, 2017) While training at the TUF gym, things get fiery between Dillashaw and Garbrandt on the way to the team locker rooms when the alleged story of Dillashaw's leaving Team Alpha Male, Urijah Faber's training camp, gets out. Both coaches have their sides of the story, and things escalate quickly, causing their fighters to separate them. Even Faber, who was, as he said, "cool" with Dillashaw, joins in the fray, calling his former fighter's version a bunch of "bold-faced lies". Tom Gallicchio defeated Eddie Gordon via submission (rear-naked choke) in the first round. The next fight is announced by Dillashaw: Jesse Taylor vs. Mehdi Baghdad.
Episode 3: Iron Sharpens Iron (May 3, 2017) Jesse Taylor defeated Mehdi Baghdad via unanimous decision after two rounds. The next fight is announced by Dillashaw: James Krause vs. Johnny Nunez.
Episode 4: Piece of Us (May 10, 2017)
The fighters on Team Dillashaw create a unique birthday card made out of their body hair for coach T.J. and brings it to the gym, along with a cake. At the TUF house, Cody invites Urijah Faber, UFC Featherweight fighter Clay Guida, former UFC Bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, and his girlfriend "Lunchbox" to watch the latest UFC event. During the fights, Julian Lane, a former bartender, started mixing drinks and gets Cody, who does not drink alcohol much, drunk. Cody hangs with da bois James Krause defeated Johnny Nunez via submission (rear-naked choke) in the first round. The next fight is announced by Garbrandt: Hayder Hassan vs. Dhiego Lima.
Episode 5: A Brutal Business (May 17, 2017) In order to help his team, Garbrandt brings in Dr. Jon Petrick to perform a craniofacial release, a ballooning of the nose to open up the nasal passages, helping more oxygen get to the brain. Urijah Faber goes first and it is not a pleasant experience. Dhiego Lima defeated Hayder Hassan via unanimous decision after two rounds. The next fight is announced by Dillashaw: Ramsey Nijem vs. Julian Lane.
Episode 6: Let Me Bang! (May 24, 2017)
Things get instense between Ramsey Nijem and Juilian Lane during their stare down at the weight-in. So much so that the assistant coaches from each team, Justin Buchholz and Duane Ludwig get into an argument over their respective gyms and how Duane believes he's the one who turned T.J. into a champion. They, along with Cody and T.J. have to be separated. Ramsey Nijem defeated Julian Lane via TKO (punches) in the first round. After the fight, Cody complains that the referee stopped the fight way too early, especially when Lane was dominating the fight early in the round, making for an intense match. Team Dillashaw is now a perfect 6-0. The next fight is announced by Garbrandt: Joe Stevenson vs. Justin Edwards.
Episode 7: Dark Horse (May 31, 2017) Justin Edwards defeated Joe Stevenson via unanimous decision after two rounds. Dana White asks Cody and T.J. their thoughts on what two fighters they think deserve a second chance in the wild card fight. Based on who will be the best and go the furthest in the UFC, Dana picks Joe Stevenson and Hayder Hassan. And Cody isn't happy with Dana's decision. Feeling like T.J. picked his fighter Stevenson after being a "legend" in the UFC, Cody does not think Stevenson is ready to fight in only six days rest due to taking "too many shots" in his last fight. Cody's fighter Eddie Gordon also argues with T.J. that he should have deserved a wild card pick as well. The wild card fight is announced by Dillashaw: Joe Stevenson vs. Hayder Hassan.
Episode 8: Kryptonite (June 7, 2017) Hayder Hassan defeated Joe Stevenson via KO (punch) in the first round. The quarter final match-ups are announced as: Tom Gallicchio vs. Justin Edwards Gilbert Smith vs. Dhiego Lima Jesse Taylor vs. Hayder Hassan James Krause vs. Ramsey Nijem With a break in training, it’s time for the annual "Coaches Challenge." This season, head coaches Dillashaw and Garbrandt clash in a game of water tetherball. The winning coach receives $10,000 while each member of their team gets a $1,500 prize.