On the European side, McGregor will have a mixed bag of fighters for his team once the elimination round is completed, and this group might have some of the best talent The Ultimate Fighter has seen in years.
One of the names that will stand out at the top of the list of Europeans is Artem Lobov, who doesn't have the most impressive record on paper with an 11-10 mark overall, but he will certainly get his coach's attention considering that he trains alongside McGregor at SBG in Ireland and was a big part of the featherweight champion's camp ahead of UFC 189. Lobov served as a sparring partner for McGregor as he got ready for Jose Aldo and he will likely provide the same function for "The Notorious" one's upcoming fight at UFC 194 as well.
David Teymur is another well-known name on the European side, coming from an extensive Muay Thai background as well as fighting as a K-1 kickboxer in the past. Mehdi Baghdad joins the show after training for the past few years at Black House, where he is a regular training partner for former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and former champion Lyoto Machida.
England will also be represented well this season on the European side, with fighters such as Saul Rogers, who is 10-1 overall and already holds a win over UFC veteran John Maguire, not to mention a victory early in his career over Lobov, who could eventually be a teammate on the show.
All told, 32 competitors will vie for the 16 open spots on the show this season, with the Americans going head-to-head with the Europeans. The fights to get into the house will fill up the two-hour premiere episode as you get to know more about these competitors while seeing the kind of talent on display.
Plus, as an added bonus, watch as McGregor and Faber exchange verbal jabs over the course of two hours, with UFC President Dana White acting as intermediary while the two fighters poke and prod at each other while assessing the talent that will make up their teams for the season.
Don't miss a minute of the action as The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber kicks off tonight at 10pm ET on FOX Sports 1.
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