THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER® FRIDAYS PREMIERE RECAP AND RESULTS

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Las Vegas, Nevada (Sept. 14, 2012) – Welcome to the End of the Weak. The 16th season of the Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization’s famed reality television show kicked off Friday evening on FX, as 16 of the most talented unsigned welterweight (170 lbs) fighters took their first step towards achieving their dream of receiving a six-figure contractwith the UFC®.

In the exciting two-hour premiere of The Ultimate Fighter® Fridays, viewers were treated to 16 exciting fights, previously taped at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, as 32 fighters vied for a coveted spot on the series. The winners, now official cast members, earned their way into The Ultimate Fighter® house where cameras documented their activity in and out of the Octagon® over a span of six weeks.

The series resumes next Friday, September 20, on FX at 10 p.m. ET/PT (check local listings for Central and Mountain Time) with the second episode of its 12-week run.

Below are the premiere episode match-ups and results:

Dom Waters d. Kevin Nowaczyk – TKO, 1rd, 0:32 Michael Hill d. Lev Magen – TKO, 1rd, 1:27 Bristol Marunde d. George Lockhart – Sub (via guillotine), 1rd, 2:23 Mike Ricci d. Jason South – TKO, 1rd, 1:50 Julian Lane d. Diego Bautista – Unanimous decision Igor Araujo d. Cortez Coleman – Sub (via triangle choke), 3rd (victory round), 3:16 James Chaney d. Jerel Clark – Sub (via triangle choke), 1rd, 1:30 Cameron Diffley d. Zane Kamaka – Sub (via armbar), 1rd, 1:37 Neil Magny d. Frank Camacho – Unanimous decision Jon Manley d. Ricky Legere, Jr. – Unanimous decision Colton Smith d. Jesse Barrett – Unanimous decision Matt Secor d. Max Griffin – Sub (via triangle choke), 3rd (victory round), 2:55 Eddy Ellis d. David Michaud – Sub (via arm triangle), 2rd, 4:29 Joey Rivera d. Saad Awad – Majority decision Nic Herron-Webb d. Tim Rubert – Sub (via armbar), 1rd, 4:17 Sam Alvey d. Leo Kuntz – TKO, 1rd, 0:47 A full recap is available at ufc.com.

Following the elimination fights, viewers watched as coach of Team Carwin, former UFC interim heavyweight champion, Shane Carwin and coach of Team Nelson, TUF™ season 10 winner, Roy Nelson selected their teams. The first overall pick was Alvey, chosen by Carwin, while Nelson’s first pick was also a winner by TKO, Waters. Below are the complete team breakdowns (in order of selection):

Team Carwin (Twitter handles)

Sam Alvey @Smilensam Bristol Marunde @bristolmarunde Mike Ricci @MikeyRicci Neil Magny @neilmagny James Chaney @jameschaneymma Eddy Ellis @fasteddyellis Igor Araujo @igoraraujojj Matt Secor @secormatthew

Team Nelson

Dom Waters @shonuff89 Michael Hill @mmamike Cameron Diffley @camerondiffley Colton Smith @coltonsmithmma Jon Manley @jonmanleymma Nic Herron-Webb @NaptimeNic Joey Rivera @joeyboomboom Julian Lane @julianlanemma

Photo credit: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC – The cast of The Ultimate Fighter® Fridays.

For more show information, bios, videos and photos, visit ultimatefighter.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter under our new name @TUFonFX or on Facebook.com/TUF.

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Universally recognized for its action-packed, can’t-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX.

In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website, UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with over twomillion followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best-sellingDVDs, an internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TV offering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, the best-selling UFC Undisputed® video game franchise distributed by THQ, and a new franchise in development with EA, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel and trading cards.

FX

FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from Fox. Launched in June of 1994, FX iscarried in more than 98 million homes. The diverse schedule features a growing roster of critically acclaimed and award-winning hit dramas series Sons of Anarchy and Justified; the miniseries American Horror Story, which earned 17 primetime Emmy® Awards, tying for the most nominations of any program this year and the most nominations for a miniseries in basic cable history; the acclaimed hit comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Louie, Archer, Wilfred, Legit, BrandX with Russell Brand, and Totally Biased with W. KamauBell. The network’s library of acquired box-office hit movies is unmatched by any ad-supported television network. FX's other offerings include the acquired hit series Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother, and live sports with UFC and NCAA football.