'The Ultimate Fighter 15' cast unveiled with 32 lightweight fighters, PXC's Jon Tuck part of the cast

The UFC and FX have revealed 32 lightweight fighters who have been selected to compete on "The Ultimate Fighter 15."

The show (also dubbed "TUF: Live") debuts March 9 on FX with a two-and-half-hour episode that features 16 live elimination-round fights. All the winners earn official cast-member status.

UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and top contender Urijah Faber serve as coaches on the tournament-based show, which initially was slated to feature both lightweights and welterweights.

However, the field now includes just lightweights. Notable 155-pounders from the list include "TUF 13" competitor Myles Jury (who was forced off the show with a torn ACL), Cristiano Marcello and James Krause. Cast members come from the U.S., England, Northern Ireland and Brazil, but notable is Jon Tuck who has fought in the Philippines under the PXC banner.

The "TUF 15" debuts airs at 9 p.m. ET/PT (meaning the West Coast will get a delayed feed). Future episodes then air every Friday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. After the live debut, the remaining 12 episodes include pre-taped content and then a live fight to close out each show.

The show's live finale takes place June 1, when a "TUF 15" champion will be crowned.

"TUF 15" is the first season to air on the FOX-owned FX. All previous seasons aired on Spike TV.

The official "TUF 15" cast includes:

Akbarh Arreloa (Chula Vista, Calif.)
Al Iaquinta (Wantagh, N.Y.)
Ali Maclean (Belfast, North Ireland)
Andy Ogle (Tynemouth, England)
Austin Lyons (Cordova, Tenn.)
Brendan Weafer (New York, N.Y.)
Chris Tickle (Bloomington, Ill.)
Cody Pfister (Amarillo, Texas)
Cristiano Marcello (Curitiba, Brazil)
Chase Hackett (Littleton, Colo.)
Chris Saunders (Long Beach, Calif.)
Dakota Cochrane (Omaha, Neb.)
Daron Cruickshank (Wayne, Mich.)
Drew Dober (Omaha, Neb.)
Erin Beach (San Diego, Calif.)
James Krause (Blue Springs, Mo.)
James Vick (Fort Worth, Texas)
Jared Carlsten (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Jeff Smith (Mechanicsburg, Penn.)
Jeremy Larsen (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Joe Proctor (Pembroke, Mass.)
John Cofer (Hull, Ga.)
Johnavan Vistante (Pearl City, Hawaii)
Jon Tuck (Hagtna, Guam)
Jordan Rinaldi (Matthews, N.C.)
Justin Lawrence (Villa Ridge, Mo.)
Mark Glover (Liverpool, England)
Michael Chiesa (Spokane Valley, Wash.)
Myles Jury (San Diego, Calif.)
Mike Rio (Miami, Fla.)
Sam Sicilia (Spokane Valley, Wash.)
Vinc Pichel (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)

Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber Selected as Coaches of Next Ultimate Fighter Season

Boy, I'm really pumped for this one, as it has been announced that before the before Dominick Cruz defends his UFC Bantamweight title against arch-rival Uriah Faber, they will first meet each other and go head to head as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 15.

Less than six months after Dominick Cruz defeated Urijah Faber to vanquish his biggest rival and retain the UFC bantamweight title, the champ can begin preparation for a rematch.

That's because on Tuesday, the UFC confirmed that the pair would coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter when the revamped series moves to its new home on FX.

The season, which will feature both lightweight and welterweight contestants, will begin airing on March 9, 2012, with a two-hour premiere.

Cruz (19-1) has solidified his stronghold as the 135-pound division's best fighter, capturing 10 straight fights overall. Most recently, he defeated Demetrious Johnson by decision at October's UFC on Versus 6. But just prior to that, he beat Faber in a long-awaited rematch of their 2007 fight which remains the only loss on his record.

Cruz injured his hand in the Johnson fight but apparently will be ready to go by the springtime.

"This is a dream come true," Cruz said in a statement. "To get a chance to coach TUF and beat Faber again is all the motivation I need. This is going to be an insane season of The Ultimate Fighter."

The new season will air on Fridays for 13 weeks, with live fights on each episode. That would likely put a Cruz-Faber bout in June, about a year from their last match.

In that bout, Cruz won by scores of 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47 but Faber said afterward that he believed he did enough to earn the win. The Cruz victory puts them at 1-1 heading into a rubber match.

Faber is 26-5 overall and rebounded from his Cruz loss to beat Brian Bowles in a second-round submission at UFC 139, but despite his overall history of success, he's struggled recently in some big fights, going 0-4 in his last four title bouts.

Wow, this is some big news and it has been quite sometime that MMA fans had been expecting both fighters to grace The Ultimate Fighter as coaches, and what is better is that it will once again provide a spotlight to the smaller weight classes in the UFC.