Kelly - A coach is someone to look up to. He’s usually older, wiser, and knows how to get the best out of his men. He’s like EF Hutton-when he speaks, people shut up and listen. While few of the past TUF coaches have fit that mold, Bisping is less qualified than all of them. He’s 29, only two years removed from his win on season 3, and has never coached anyone. So why did he get the job? Because the next season will be a US vs. UK affair (Remember Bunker Hill!) and he’s easily the most well known brit in MMA. It’s also apparent that he’s being groomed by the UFC for an eventual middleweight title shot at Anderson Silva provided he can get past his opposing coach, either Dan Henderson or Rich Franklin (who’s supposed to be a light heavyweight now). Bisping is marketable and has the talent to be a champion, though he still needs to develop his skills. He’s known in the U.S. and is a bona fide rockstar in England, a market the UFC has been stubbornly hacking away at. As a coach on TUF, he’ll expand his fanbase and get a crack at a true contender. If he has one thing going for him as a coach, it’s the experience of being on the season with one of the least effective coaches ever-Ken Shamrock. They say we learn more from watching failure than success.

Mike - Kelly, you ignorant slut. Bisping is not fit to be a coach? Weeks after he wrapped up the seventh season, coach Quinton Jackson was arrested for driving on a California freeway with only three tires, while going the wrong way. Whatever stringent interview process Zuffa has for their coaches, I am sure that Bisping qualifies. In fact, I really like the casting of Bisping as coach for the ninth season of TUF. While it obviously falls into the UK theme of the season, Bisping has a lot more going for him beyond just being able to understand what his Cockney mates are saying. For lack of a better word, The Count has star power. He has “It.” I am not exactly sure what “It” is, but I can tell you that Matt Hughes, Ken Shamrock, BJ Penn and plenty of former coaches do not have “It.” Bisping is charismatic, enthusiastic and energetic. With only six weeks to work with, his job is to motivate and inspire the fighters, not rework their skillset from the ground up. Bisping has 18 pro MMA fights and a handful of kickboxing matches under his belt, so he has the knowledge and experience to do some fine-tuning on the brigade of pasty Brits who show up to cook under the Las Vegas sun. It is easy to imagine Bisping as the kind of coach who is highly invested in his charges, screaming from cageside and getting emotional about the performance of his athletes. He will be a lot like Forrest Griffin as a coach. And we all know how Team Forrest did.