The Ultimate Fighter season 9 will air in the spring of next year, and we know one of the coaches will be Michael Bisping. The other coaching slot is still up in the air. Dana White said that the winner of Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson would coach against Bisping, but it sounds like Franklin is still cool to the idea.
A fight between Franklin and Bisping makes zero sense. If Franklin wins, which he probably will, all it does is kill off a potential contender for Anderson Silva, as nobody wants to see Franklin-Silva 3. Franklin is also trying to move on at 205 pounds, moving back to Middleweight to fight Bisping really derails that effort.
I believe the best option for the coaching slot is Wanderlei Silva. He is undersized for his weight class, and expressed an interest in moving to 185 in the past. He is extraordinarily popular among UFC fans, and this would give him time to recover from the injury before a big fight in July.
Then there's the kicker: season 9 features a United States vs. United Kingdom theme. This was always a dumb idea, and they are seeing now how much it limits their options. It is only limiting if they let it be though, the only people who would really object to Wanderlei Silva coaching team USA are nitpickers and people like Matt Hughes.
Wanderlei Silva lives in the United States. He works in the United States. He moved his whole family here. He opened a gym here. He was the second most popular fighter at a show filled with American fans. American fans would probably be thrilled to have him as a Team USA coach.
In the end, this isn't the olympics. It's a goofy theme on a reality show. The only immediate effect of the show these days is the fight between the coaches, and if Rich Franklin wins his fight with Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva makes a lot more sense as a coach than Rich. He'd also be a lot more entertaining on television.
