Post by Mortis on Jul 12, 2009 12:36:31 GMT -5
TUF Cast has been revealed:
Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson
Age: 35
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 235 pounds
Hometown: Nassau, Bahamas
Record: 3-1
Slice, already sent forth as a show’s centerpiece, will likely provide a boost for ratings. However, he has not competed since he succumbed to strikes against Seth Petruzelli at EliteXC “Heat” in October. The 35-year-old bearded Bahamian-born brawler headlined three shows for EliteXC and made half a million dollars in disclosed pay for his 14-second loss to Petruzelli. Needless to say, his pay scale has changed.
Roy Nelson
Age: 33
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 265 pounds
Hometown: Las Vegas
MMA record: 13-4
An early favorite to win the show, Nelson will carry a two-fight losing streak into his appearance on the reality series. The pot-bellied 33-year-old rose to prominence inside the team-based IFL and last appeared in March when he dropped a disputed unanimous decision to American Top Team’s Jeff Monson. Three of Nelson’s four career defeats have come on points.
Darrill Schoonover
Age: 24
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 250 pounds
Hometown: El Paso, Texas
Record: 10-0
Schoonover, itching for a shot at primetime, has finished all 10 of his opponents -- five of them by knockout or technical knockout, five of them by submission. The 24-year-old defeated Rex Richards by fourth-round TKO to capture the Shark Fights heavyweight championship in May.
Brendan Schaub
Age: 26
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 240 pounds
Hometown: Aurora, Colo.
Record: 4-0
Schaub, a training partner of UFC heavyweight contender Shane Carwin and disciple of MMA guru Greg Jackson, cut his teeth inside the Colorado-based Ring of Fire promotion. A former backup fullback with the Buffalo Bills, he may have the best long-term outlook of any cast member. He has stopped his first four opponents in an average of 59 seconds.
Wes Sims
Age: 29
Height: 6-foot-10
Weight: 260 pounds
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Record: 22-12-1, 2 NC
Spawned by the Hammer House, Sims has not competed in the UFC since being knocked out by Mike Kyle five years ago. Perhaps best known for his disqualification loss to Frank Mir at UFC 43 in which he delivered repeated illegal stomps to the downed heavyweight, Sims has rattled off three consecutive victories. Twenty of his 22 career wins have come by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
Marcus Jones
Age: 35
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 260 pounds
Hometown: Jacksonville, N.C.
Record: 4-1
A first-round draft choice of the Buccaneers in 1996, Jones spent seven seasons in the NFL as a defensive end with Tampa Bay. His 13 sacks ranked eighth in the league in 2009. The 35-year-old Jacksonville, N.C., native took up professional mixed martial arts in 2007 and has compiled posted four wins in five fights since. None of his five bouts have advanced beyond the first round.
James McSweeney
Age: 28
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 230 pounds
Hometown: London
Record: 3-4
Based out of Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts in Albuquerque, N.M., McSweeney holds numerous European titles in kickboxing and muay Thai. A Cage Rage and FX3 veteran, the 28-year-old Englishmen submitted to a Ricardo Romero rear-naked choke at Ring of Combat 24 in April. His first appearance on American soil was a short one; the match lasted just 2:27. McSweeney has tested himself against two UFC veterans, Neil Grove and Mustapha al Turk, losing to both.
Scott Junk
Age: 30
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 265 pounds
Hometown: Fort Orde, Calif.
Record: 6-2-1
A Div. II All-American football player at Southwest Oklahoma State, Junk got a late start in martial arts but succeeded nonetheless. He lost to former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez in his professional debut four years ago and did not experience another defeat until he submitted to a Christian Wellisch heel hook at UFC 76. Away from the cage, the 30-year-old father of one works the graveyard shift as a sewage line construction worker in Hawaii.
Mike Wessel
Age: 31
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 255 pounds
Hometown: Celina, Ohio
Record: 6-1
Wessel dabbled in professional football and served as the strength and conditioning coach for the University of Arkansas football team before turning to MMA. The 31-year-old Ohioan trains at the same West Side Kickboxing gym that produced “The Ultimate Fighter 8” alum Roli Delgado. Unbeaten in his first six bouts, Wessel received a rude welcome to the Octagon when he was dismissed by Antoni Hardonk in a second-round technical knockout at UFC 92.
Justin Wren
Age: 22
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 264 pounds
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
Record: 6-1
A training partner of “The Ultimate Fighter 4” middleweight winner Travis Lutter, the 22-year-old Wren has never gone the distance as a professional and holds a technical knockout victory against Adrenaline MMA and Extreme Challenge veteran Chris Guillen. He won two national championships as a high school wrestler but turned down a scholarship after being red-shirted at Iowa State University and elected instead to pursue an MMA career. Born and raised in Texas, Wren has plans to move to Las Vegas to train with interim UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.
Zak Jensen
Age: 26
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 265 pounds
Hometown: Edina, Minn.
Record: 7-3
One of the victims of Brad Imes’ ridiculous run of gogoplatas in 2007, the 26-year-old Jensen has posted three wins in four fights. Jensen wrestled and played football at Northern Illinois University and Augsburg College and got his feet wet in combat sports by competing in Golden Gloves tournaments and Tough Man contests. At 6-foot-4, 265 pounds he presents a formidable physical threat in the cage.
Abe Wagner
Age: 29
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 265 pounds
Hometown: Elko, Wis.
Record: 6-2
The former Victory Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder, Wagner, 29, dropped anchor at Mid-America Martial Arts in Omaha, Neb. He has rattled off three consecutive victories and, in December, defeated Sherman Pendergarst by split decision in a five-round battle. Wagner, a former college football player, also holds a first-round technical knockout victory against UFC veteran Matt Anderson.
Wes Shivers
Age: 32
Height: 6-foor-7
Weight: 285 pounds
Hometown: Jackson, Miss.
Record: 0-0
Shivers earned All-Southeastern Conference honors as an offensive tackle at Mississippi State University and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL Draft. Once his professional football career ended, Shivers turned to law enforcement and gravitated toward MMA. A powerful grappler and muay Thai stylist, Shivers trains alongside UFC middleweight Alan Belcher at Team Remix in Biloxi, Miss.
Jon Madsen
Age: 29
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 240 pounds
Hometown: Orange County, Calif.
Record: 0-0
Rooted at future UFC hall of famer Matt Hughes’ H.I.T. Squad gym in Granite City, Ill., Madsen defeated reigning UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in a high school wrestling match in South Dakota. A Div. II national champion and three-time All-American at South Dakota State University, he brings a proven amateur wrestling pedigree to the table.
Matt Mitrione
Age: 30
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 275 pounds
Hometown: Springfield, Ill.
Record: 0-0
Mitrione spent six seasons in the NFL with the Giants and Vikings, though a foot injury suffered in 2003 all but ended his career. The injury, sustained in a 2003 playoff loss to San Francisco, required seven surgeries and left Mitrione on crutches for more than a year. Now 30, the former Purdue University standout trains alongside UFC veterans Chris Lytle and Jake O'Brien at the Integrated Fighting Academy in Indianapolis.
Demico Rogers
Age: 27
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 235 pounds
Hometown: Renton, Wash.
Record: 0-0
A certified master technician with Mercedes Benz, Rogers trains under Mark Messer at Ring Sports United in Bellevue, Wash. A natural athlete who starred in football and wrestling in high school, Rogers competed as an amateur at the Strikeforce “Strikeforce at the Dome” show in February 2008 and he defeated Jim Holloway by second-round technical knockout. He remains a relative unknown outside his home state
Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson
Age: 35
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 235 pounds
Hometown: Nassau, Bahamas
Record: 3-1
Slice, already sent forth as a show’s centerpiece, will likely provide a boost for ratings. However, he has not competed since he succumbed to strikes against Seth Petruzelli at EliteXC “Heat” in October. The 35-year-old bearded Bahamian-born brawler headlined three shows for EliteXC and made half a million dollars in disclosed pay for his 14-second loss to Petruzelli. Needless to say, his pay scale has changed.
Roy Nelson
Age: 33
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 265 pounds
Hometown: Las Vegas
MMA record: 13-4
An early favorite to win the show, Nelson will carry a two-fight losing streak into his appearance on the reality series. The pot-bellied 33-year-old rose to prominence inside the team-based IFL and last appeared in March when he dropped a disputed unanimous decision to American Top Team’s Jeff Monson. Three of Nelson’s four career defeats have come on points.
Darrill Schoonover
Age: 24
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 250 pounds
Hometown: El Paso, Texas
Record: 10-0
Schoonover, itching for a shot at primetime, has finished all 10 of his opponents -- five of them by knockout or technical knockout, five of them by submission. The 24-year-old defeated Rex Richards by fourth-round TKO to capture the Shark Fights heavyweight championship in May.
Brendan Schaub
Age: 26
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 240 pounds
Hometown: Aurora, Colo.
Record: 4-0
Schaub, a training partner of UFC heavyweight contender Shane Carwin and disciple of MMA guru Greg Jackson, cut his teeth inside the Colorado-based Ring of Fire promotion. A former backup fullback with the Buffalo Bills, he may have the best long-term outlook of any cast member. He has stopped his first four opponents in an average of 59 seconds.
Wes Sims
Age: 29
Height: 6-foot-10
Weight: 260 pounds
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Record: 22-12-1, 2 NC
Spawned by the Hammer House, Sims has not competed in the UFC since being knocked out by Mike Kyle five years ago. Perhaps best known for his disqualification loss to Frank Mir at UFC 43 in which he delivered repeated illegal stomps to the downed heavyweight, Sims has rattled off three consecutive victories. Twenty of his 22 career wins have come by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
Marcus Jones
Age: 35
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 260 pounds
Hometown: Jacksonville, N.C.
Record: 4-1
A first-round draft choice of the Buccaneers in 1996, Jones spent seven seasons in the NFL as a defensive end with Tampa Bay. His 13 sacks ranked eighth in the league in 2009. The 35-year-old Jacksonville, N.C., native took up professional mixed martial arts in 2007 and has compiled posted four wins in five fights since. None of his five bouts have advanced beyond the first round.
James McSweeney
Age: 28
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 230 pounds
Hometown: London
Record: 3-4
Based out of Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts in Albuquerque, N.M., McSweeney holds numerous European titles in kickboxing and muay Thai. A Cage Rage and FX3 veteran, the 28-year-old Englishmen submitted to a Ricardo Romero rear-naked choke at Ring of Combat 24 in April. His first appearance on American soil was a short one; the match lasted just 2:27. McSweeney has tested himself against two UFC veterans, Neil Grove and Mustapha al Turk, losing to both.
Scott Junk
Age: 30
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 265 pounds
Hometown: Fort Orde, Calif.
Record: 6-2-1
A Div. II All-American football player at Southwest Oklahoma State, Junk got a late start in martial arts but succeeded nonetheless. He lost to former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez in his professional debut four years ago and did not experience another defeat until he submitted to a Christian Wellisch heel hook at UFC 76. Away from the cage, the 30-year-old father of one works the graveyard shift as a sewage line construction worker in Hawaii.
Mike Wessel
Age: 31
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 255 pounds
Hometown: Celina, Ohio
Record: 6-1
Wessel dabbled in professional football and served as the strength and conditioning coach for the University of Arkansas football team before turning to MMA. The 31-year-old Ohioan trains at the same West Side Kickboxing gym that produced “The Ultimate Fighter 8” alum Roli Delgado. Unbeaten in his first six bouts, Wessel received a rude welcome to the Octagon when he was dismissed by Antoni Hardonk in a second-round technical knockout at UFC 92.
Justin Wren
Age: 22
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 264 pounds
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
Record: 6-1
A training partner of “The Ultimate Fighter 4” middleweight winner Travis Lutter, the 22-year-old Wren has never gone the distance as a professional and holds a technical knockout victory against Adrenaline MMA and Extreme Challenge veteran Chris Guillen. He won two national championships as a high school wrestler but turned down a scholarship after being red-shirted at Iowa State University and elected instead to pursue an MMA career. Born and raised in Texas, Wren has plans to move to Las Vegas to train with interim UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.
Zak Jensen
Age: 26
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 265 pounds
Hometown: Edina, Minn.
Record: 7-3
One of the victims of Brad Imes’ ridiculous run of gogoplatas in 2007, the 26-year-old Jensen has posted three wins in four fights. Jensen wrestled and played football at Northern Illinois University and Augsburg College and got his feet wet in combat sports by competing in Golden Gloves tournaments and Tough Man contests. At 6-foot-4, 265 pounds he presents a formidable physical threat in the cage.
Abe Wagner
Age: 29
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 265 pounds
Hometown: Elko, Wis.
Record: 6-2
The former Victory Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder, Wagner, 29, dropped anchor at Mid-America Martial Arts in Omaha, Neb. He has rattled off three consecutive victories and, in December, defeated Sherman Pendergarst by split decision in a five-round battle. Wagner, a former college football player, also holds a first-round technical knockout victory against UFC veteran Matt Anderson.
Wes Shivers
Age: 32
Height: 6-foor-7
Weight: 285 pounds
Hometown: Jackson, Miss.
Record: 0-0
Shivers earned All-Southeastern Conference honors as an offensive tackle at Mississippi State University and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL Draft. Once his professional football career ended, Shivers turned to law enforcement and gravitated toward MMA. A powerful grappler and muay Thai stylist, Shivers trains alongside UFC middleweight Alan Belcher at Team Remix in Biloxi, Miss.
Jon Madsen
Age: 29
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 240 pounds
Hometown: Orange County, Calif.
Record: 0-0
Rooted at future UFC hall of famer Matt Hughes’ H.I.T. Squad gym in Granite City, Ill., Madsen defeated reigning UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in a high school wrestling match in South Dakota. A Div. II national champion and three-time All-American at South Dakota State University, he brings a proven amateur wrestling pedigree to the table.
Matt Mitrione
Age: 30
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 275 pounds
Hometown: Springfield, Ill.
Record: 0-0
Mitrione spent six seasons in the NFL with the Giants and Vikings, though a foot injury suffered in 2003 all but ended his career. The injury, sustained in a 2003 playoff loss to San Francisco, required seven surgeries and left Mitrione on crutches for more than a year. Now 30, the former Purdue University standout trains alongside UFC veterans Chris Lytle and Jake O'Brien at the Integrated Fighting Academy in Indianapolis.
Demico Rogers
Age: 27
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 235 pounds
Hometown: Renton, Wash.
Record: 0-0
A certified master technician with Mercedes Benz, Rogers trains under Mark Messer at Ring Sports United in Bellevue, Wash. A natural athlete who starred in football and wrestling in high school, Rogers competed as an amateur at the Strikeforce “Strikeforce at the Dome” show in February 2008 and he defeated Jim Holloway by second-round technical knockout. He remains a relative unknown outside his home state
