UFC’s TUF line-up unimpressive to fans — Daniel Cormier vs Bisping receives buzz

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Zuffa LLC

Daniel Cormier is set to return for a second consecutive season as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter.

The show will return in 2026, marking its debut on Paramount+ following the UFC’s new broadcasting agreement with the platform.

After confirming bantamweight and women’s strawweight as the two featured divisions for TUF 34, the promotion has also announced that UFC legends Cormier and Michael Bisping will serve as coaches.

With Cormier and Bisping confirmed as coaches, it means that three of the last four TUF seasons won’t have ended with a fight between the two opposing sides. Conor McGregor’s matchup with Michael Chandler was cancelled a year after TUF 31.

The following season featured rivals Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso, who met in a rematch soon after. Then came TUF 33, when the then-podcast co-hosts Cormier and Chael Sonnen faced off as coaches.

“But just because the recent trend has been to not go down that path doesn’t mean the coaching gig is meaningless. In fact, for some personalities, it serves a purpose beyond setting up an Octagon collision.”

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

UFC Fans unimpressed by coaching choices for TUF 34

The UFC’s latest announcement hasn’t exactly thrilled the fanbase. On social media, plenty of fans have been looking back fondly on earlier seasons of TUF, when real rivalries would build over the course of the show and finish with a fight between the coaches.

A lot of fans didn’t hold back their disappointment, with comments including: “Boring.”

“I think we’ve had enough of DC.”

“The show already does awful numbers, at least bring back the coaches having to fight each other.”

TUF 34 will debut on Paramount+ in June, but it remains to be seen whether Cormier and Bisping can win over viewers once episodes start airing.

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