"The Ultimate Fighter 11" Tryouts Begin

Tryouts for the upcoming 11th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" took place Monday in Los Angeles, and at least three notable names were among the day's 300 applicants.

Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth, who appeared on the first season of "TUF," and fellow UFC veterans Nick Thompson and Logan Clark attended the tryouts in hopes of appearing on "TUF 11," Spike TV officials confirmed with MMA Junkie.

"TUF 11," which begins taping in early 2010 with an April debut on Spike TV, features middleweight and light heavyweight fighters. The tryouts took place at the Renaissance Los Angeles Airport Hotel in California.

Southworth, 39, was the oldest fighters on the first season of "TUF" in 2005. He was also one of the more experienced fighters and entered the show soon after a one-fight stint in PRIDE Fighting Championships. The American Kickboxing Academy fighter defeated Lodune Sincaid in the first round of the competition but suffered a razor-thin split-decision loss to eventual show runner-up Stephan Bonnar in the second round.

Southworth, who butted heads with UFC president Dana White after the fight because he felt he had won, suffered a loss to Sam Hoger at the show's live finale and soon departed for Strikeforce. He went 3-2 in the organization and won the 205-pound title with a victory over Vernon White in late 2006. Southworth made a successful title defense over Anthony Ruiz but lost his belt to Renato "Babalu" Sobral 11 months ago. He's now 9-6 over a 10-year career.

Former BodogFIGHT welterweight champion Nick Thompson, who had a 1-1 stint in the UFC in 2005 and 2006, also tried out for the show. The 28-year-old UFC/Strikeforce/EliteXC/World Victory Road veteran has long been ranked in the top 20 of the welterweight division and would compete with the middleweights if chosen for the cast. Thompson won 12 straight fights from 2006 to 2008 but is just 2-3 in his past five fights.

Finally, another UFC vet who appeared at the tryouts was Logan Clark, who defeated Steve Byrnes at the military-themed UFC: Ultimate Fight Night 7 (The Final Chapter) event. The 24-year-old then immediately joined the WEC (where he went 2-1) and later joined WVR. Clark, who owns Rochester MMA and also trains at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, began his career 10-0 but is just 1-4 ever since.

The final cast for "TUF 11" will be determined during the next few weeks.

"The Ultimate Fighter" debuted in early 2005 and is considered the main force that brought MMA into the mainstream. The reality show has launched more than 100 UFC careers while producing former champions such as Rashad Evans and Matt Serra and perennial contenders such as Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian, Mike Swick, Joe Stevenson, Michael Bisping, Nate Diaz and Joe Lauzon.

Source: mmajunkie.com