USA TODAY: White, Kedzie say for women, 'TUF 18' is the like the first season

(This story appeared in today’s edition of USA TODAY.)

LAS VEGAS – Nearly 300 fighters attended an open tryout session for “The Ultimate Fighter 18? on Monday, and for the first time in UFC history, female fighters were part of the audition.

Fifty women took part in grappling, striking and interview sessions in hope of being selected as cast members for the latest edition of the long-running competition series.

“I didn’t think it would come any time within my career,” 11-year veteran Tara LaRosa (21-3) told USA TODAY Sports and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) prior to her tryout, which took place in a Palace Station Hotel & Casino ballroom in Las Vegas. “I thought it would happen right when I retired.”

Featuring male and female fighters competing in separate tournaments for UFC contracts, TUF 18 begins taping in May. The series moves from FX to the soon-to-launch FOX Sports 1 channel for a Sept.4 debut.

“It was absolutely a historic day to have the women here for the first The Ultimate Fighter tryout,” UFC President Dana White said. “This is basically like the first season of The Ultimate Fighter to me.”

In addition to the women, 219 male fighters went through the tryout process, a biannual tradition for the UFC. But this was the first to feature female fighters, and the historic nature of the day was not lost on those in attendance, including recent UFC signee Julie Kedzie, who attended the tryout session to assist a few of her Team Jackson-Winkeljohn teammates.

“This is their chance,” Kedzie said. “They’re always going to be remembered for this season, the girls that make it on the show, for being pioneers. I think it’s incredible. This is going to spark, I think, hundreds of thousands of girls to start training. Look what happened after the first season of The Ultimate Fighter.”

Debuting in 2005, TUF is credited for helping to launch the UFC’s current popularity boom. However, the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion had been an all-male affair until February, when UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (7-0) and Liz Carmouche (8-3) competed in the first women’s fight in the promotion’s history.

Now Rousey and Cat Zingano (8-0) will serve as opposing TUF 18 coaches.

White believes the show could prove as valuable to female fighters as the first edition was for their male counterparts.

“There are lots of girls out there that have taken taekwondo, judo, wrestling or mixed martial arts, and now they’ve got the opportunity to become a professional athlete and potentially make millions of dollars,” White said. “I knew there was going to be a great turnout, and every season we do, the turnouts will get bigger and bigger.”

A full list of cast members will be revealed later this year, but Kedzie believes that regardless of the names of the fighters who qualify for the show, women will continue to prove to be valuable UFC additions.

“It’s cool to see this as a fresh start and a new beginning for the UFC,” Kedzie said. “Some of these women have been doing this for a decade. This is going to be their chance to shine, and I’m excited to see them finally get the recognition they deserve.”

(Pictured: Tara LaRosa and Kim Couture)