According to a UFC press release, the contenders for the 12th season of The Ultimate Fighter, all lightweights, have been announced.

The coaches, of course, are Georges “Rush” St. Pierre and top contender Josh Koscheck. Although Koscheck has grown on me over the years,  it would be hard not to play second fiddle to GSP. The series begins on September 15th.

I’m listing the fighters that have been announced. It is, of course, too early to make predictions (let’s see who gets in the house first). I’ve only seen Mike Richman fight, and he’s good, and it’s hard not to bet on a Marine. Still, there’s some AKA guys on this list, and a guy from Donegal, Ireland where they know how to party and how to crack skulls. Also there’s a guy from a Gene LeBell school, and anyone with a pink gi is okay with me. There’s a couple 35-year olds I probably wouldn’t put money down on, but you never know these days.

Fighters include:

• Jason Ambrose (12-2) from AKA in California
• Paul Barrow (2-0) from Gracie Tampa
• Jason Brenton (6-0) from Impact Boxing in Colorado
• Jonathan Brookins (12-2) from Gracie Barra Orlando
• Mike Budnik (8-4) from Triton in Oklahoma
• Alex Caceres (4-2) from Young Tigers Foundation in Miami, Florida
• Sako Chivitchian (5-0) from Gene LeBell/Hayastan MMA in California
• Joseph Duffy (7-0) fighting out of Falcons Martial Arts in Donegal, Ireland
• Pablo Garza (7-0) from Academy of Combat Arts in North Dakota
• Toby Grear (7-4-1) from True Warrior in LA
• Daniel Head (6-2) from IBJJA in Indiana
• Michael Johnson (8-4) from Springfield Fight Club in Missouri
• Amir Khillah (6-4) from Jeremy Horn’s Elite in Michigan
• Jeff Lentz (6-1) from Kurt Pellegrino MMA in New Jersey
• Sevak Magakian (8-3) from Hayastan MMA in CA
• Steve Magdeleno (5-1) from Torrance, CA
• Andy Main (4-1) from AMA Fight Club in NJ
• Cody McKenzie (10-0) from Fancy Pants Fight Team in WA
• TJ O’Brien (13-3) from Round Kick in Iowa
• Spencer Paige (5-2) from CNY MMA in Watertown, NY
• Nam Phan (15-7) from Ma Du Academy in CA
• Mike Richman (8-0) from MN Fight Factory
• Dane Sayers (7-1) from the Academy of Combat Arts in Fargo
• Ariel Sexton (6-3) from Renzo Gracie in San Jose
• Marc Stevens (12-5) from Relson Gracie in NY
• Kyle Watson (13-6-1) from the Hit Squad in St. Louis
• Ran Weathers (13-5) from Greg Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque
• Aaron Wilkinson (6-3) from Wolfslair in Manchester

If you know of any of these guys, leave your thoughts in the comments. Oh, and… WAR GSP!