Ulysses Gomez not allowed to audition at today's 'TUF 18' tryouts

Ulysses Gomez‘s audition at “The Ultimate Fighter 18? tryouts, but the former UFC fighter isn’t ruling out a possible return to the octagon.

Hundreds of UFC hopefuls today arrived in Las Vegas to audition for “TUF 18,” which debuts Sept. 4 and marks the UFC’s move from FX to the new FOX Sports 1. The show also features the first female head coaches (Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano) and coed cast (135-pound males and females).

Gomez (9-4 MMA 0-2 UFC), a former Tachi Palace Fights champion, recently went 0-2 in the UFC’s flyweight division following losses to upcoming title challenger John Moraga and Phil Harris. So he headed to Palace Station Hotel & Casino at 5:30 a.m., completed paperwork, had his picture taken, checked his weight and settled in for the audition process. But an hour later, he (and three other fighters) were told they weren’t allowed to try out.

“I was bummed,” he told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio).

Gomez asked to speak to UFC matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby to get an explanation. Silva told him the application states that former fighters can’t try out. The application doesn’t state that, but the website to download the application does. Since Gomez’s manager forwarded him a .PDF of the application, he never saw the stipulation.

“I figured at the very least they now know I’m serious about coming back to the UFC,” he said. “My thing was I wanted in the ‘TUF’ house because it’s the hardest tournament, from what they say. If that’s what I have to do to get back in the UFC, I’d go that route. I have no ego about that.”

Other cast members had previously competed in the UFC, including Joe Lauzon, Matt Wiman and Wes Sims. But that’s no longer an option. But Shelby did give Gomez some words of encouragement.

“He said, ‘Win a couple. Stay ready. People always get hurt. … Just win and stay ready. People always get second chances,’” Gomez said. “Really, that’s all I needed to hear.”

And in the end, it may actually keep things a bit easier on the home front. Gomez’s wife initially was OK with the possibility of her husband leaving and being locked away for six weeks. But then he told her about the coed cast, which today, drew hopefuls such as Roxanne Modafferi, Shayna Baszler, Tara LaRosa, Tonya Evinger and Kim Couture, among others. (We’ll have a full report from the tryouts later today.)

“Yeah, she gave me a bit of a stink eye,” Gomez said. “But she knows I’m faithful to her and I wanted to try out to get back in the UFC, not to bang some chicks and all that.”

For now Gomez plans to stay busy with a June 1 fight in California with the Pandemonium promotion. He expects an opponent to be finalized this week.

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