Report: Cody Garbrandt and TJ Dillashaw to serve as coaches for TUF 25 all-star cast

According to a report from MMANewsline.com, the upcoming, 25th instalment of The Ultimate Fighter will be coached by new bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt, and estranged former Team Alpha Male stablemate TJ Dillashaw. This report claims to have confirmed the two bantamweights as the TUF 25 coaches with sources close to Team Alpha Male and several rumored TUF 25 cast members.

The cast for this upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter will be composed of veterans of the UFC, The Ultimate Fighter, and apparently, several current UFC fighters. These experienced fighters will be competing in the welterweight division.

According to a December report from MMANewsline, tryouts for this season included the following names: Johnny Nunez, Dominic Waters, Jesse Taylor, Joe Stevenson, Gilbert Smith, Julian Lane, Edward Gordon, Dhiego Lima, Kajan Johnson, James Krause, Zak Cummings, Mehdi Baghdad, Gerald Harris, Justin Edwards, Seth Baczynski, Mike Ricci, Jamie Yager, Hector Cervantes, Edward Ellis, Junie Browning, Ramsey Nijem, Hayder Hassan, and Thomas Gallicchio.

Back in October, it was reported that this season would begin filming in January.

Garbrandt was last seen in action in the co-main event of December’s UFC 207, when he swiped the UFC bantamweight title from Dominick Cruz with a surprisingly dominant unanimous decision win. Prior to this title-winning upset, he scored a trio of first round knockouts over Takeya Mizugaki, Thomas Almeida, and Augusto Mendes.

Dillashaw, meanwhile, was also last seen at UFC 207, when he secured a lopsided win over John Lineker. Prior to this win, he defeated Raphael Assuncao by decision, which marked his return to the win column after a razor-close title loss to Dominick Cruz.

Garbrandt and Dillashaw trained together at Team Alpha Male until 2015, when Dillashaw made headlines by relocating to Elevation Fight Team in Colorado.

If these reports turn out to be true, we can assume pretty safely that Garbrandt and Dillashaw will fight for the title when the season wraps up. If this is indeed the case, who do you think wins? Sound off, PENN Nation!