The coaches for season 10 are Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans, two Grade A trash talkers. Throw any combo of those two and Kimbo Slice and that equals instant ratings. I’m dying, really dying, to see how a big star (he’s got his own video game, endorsements, commercials, etc.) like Kimbo deals with getting confined for 6 weeks inside a house with 15 meatheads. Despite his looks, Kimbo seems like a genuinely nice guy in interviews and is quite articulate and soft spoken. None of the other 15 guys have been named thus far, but it doesn’t matter. Kimbo is the draw here.

Though White has poked fun at Kimbo in the past, it’s obvious Kimbo is willing to let bygones be bygones for the sake of business. Besides, it wasn’t Kimbo’s fault Elite XC made him the face of their promotion, and made him headliner before he was ready.

Season 10

…and Lyoto Machida isn’t one of them.

The two opposing coaches for TUF 10: Fat Bastards…er, Heavyweights, are Quinton Jackson…and Rashad Evans. Apparently Rampage had the option of choosing to fight for the title, or Evans, and he chose Evans. Say what?

Since when do fighters get to choose who gets on TV with them? And since when does one pass up a title shot? Methinks he is avoiding Machida.

One positive from this, is that the light heavyweight title won’t be put on hold for 7 months as the show films and runs its course, a la Matt Hughes/Matt Serra on TUF 6. Machida could surely have used the show to raise his profile though. Alas, there’s always TUF 11 and maybe his english will be better by then, as that was also likely a concern, showcasing a man who could not speak english very well.

In the meantime, Machida’s next contender is to be determined, since Jackson voluntarily vacated the slot. Mauricio Rua is a possibility, as is Forrest Griffin. Griffin however, has to get by Machida’s good friend Anderson Silva first at UFC 101. If he doesn’t, Silva won’t fight Machida (or so they say…$$$) and we’re back to Rua as the most likely, though not necessarily deserving, contender.

Uncle Quinton wants YOU!!

Sources indicate that former 205lb Champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has been chosen to return to the Ultimate Fighter series to coach the upcoming season of Middleweights, Light Heavyweights and Heavyweights.

The opposing coach would likely be the winner of the UFC 98 main event of Champion Rashad Evans against Lyoto Machida, as Jackson is essentially the number one contender. Jackson actually earned the spot with the win over Keith Jardine at UFC 96 and had a jaw-jacking session with Evans in the octagon afterwards. However, Jackson opted to take care of some nagging injuries first, and UFC 98 was too quick a turnaround for him. The UFC shifted gears and trotted out Lyoto Machida to face Evans, an equally, if not more deserving challenger than Jackson.

I’ve said it before, I don’t like the idea of using the Ultimate Fighter series to hype a title fight. It takes the title out of action for far too long, as it did when Matt Serra was to defend against Matt Hughes at UFC 79. The UFC spent 8 months promoting the fight with TUF 6, which was way too long, and a month before the fight, Serra pulled up lame with a bad back. By the time Serra finally defended his belt at UFC 83, the Welterweight Championship had gone a year without being contended for. The UFC gave the winner of St. Pierre (who stepped in for the injured Serra at UFC 79) and Hughes an, “interim” title, but it meant absolutely nothing. Jackson coaching again is just a rumor at this point, so I hope that’s not the case.