Larissa Pacheco

For the first time ever The Ultimate Fighter competition will feature the biggest male and female weight classes in the UFC. Eight heavyweights and eight female featherweights from around the globe come to Las Vegas to compete on The Ultimate Fighter - Heavy Hitters. After coaches Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum introduce themselves, they run the fighters through drills to evaluate their skill sets. Then UFC President Dana White arrives, greets the group, and the coaches pick their teams and choose the first preliminary matchup. After the fighters move into The Ultimate Fighter house, team training sessions get underway. While Team Gastelum's practice is intense, with the men and women sparring together, the Team Whittaker session takes a lighter approach to training. Back at the house, one of the heavyweights enjoys drinking alcohol before and after training, which raises some eyebrows among the other fighters. Then, in the first preliminary fight of the competition, two fighters lay it all on the line for a spot in the semifinals.

With only three fights remaining in the preliminary round, Team Whittaker's next fighter is back at the gym preparing for her fight. With an already impressive trajectory in the sport, she works hard to make sure she lives up to expectations. At the house, she weighs the pros and cons of staying with her current team vs switching to Team Gastelum. She hangs out with the opposing team and talks about her desire to join them. Kelvin brings in current UFC fighter and former TUF 17 rival Uriah Hall as a guest coach while also preparing his next featherweight for a tough matchup. Even though her opponent is favored, she doesn't seem too concerned about her lack of professional MMA experience and hopes to make a statement on fight day. Through home video footage, we get a glimpse of her quiet life back home and learn more about her family and hobbies. Meanwhile, Whittaker's fighter talks to a teammate about her background and her less-than-ideal current living situation, which we learn more about through her self-shot video. After the weigh-ins, the fighters share a friendly comedic moment at the house as they prepare for their bout. Finally, the third featherweight preliminary fight determines the next semifinalist.

With the first fight in the competition in the books, Kelvin goes straight back to work, putting his team through an intense conditioning session. One of the heavyweights struggles throughout, raising concerns over his ability to perform in his fight. During Team Whittaker's practice, the coaches turn their attention to their upcoming featherweight. She's familiar with her opponent and plans for a stand up battle. Back at the house, Team Gastelum's upcoming featherweight shows off pictures from back home and talks about how fond she is of her pet. Through home video footage, we meet her family, boyfriend and, most importantly, her adorable dog. As her competitor keeps mostly to herself, we learn more about her and her life back home through her own self-shot footage. At the gym, it's Team Gastelum's turn to prepare their fighter. She's very excited about the matchup and believes her opponent may be underestimating her skills. A couple of days later, as Team Gastelum is about to start another training session, their next featherweight has a mishap, which lands her in the dentist office in need of a painful procedure. The fighters make weight and go to war the next day. The first featherweight semifinalist is revealed and the coaches pick the second heavyweight fight.

With only one fight remaining before the live finale, Team Whittaker sits down with their last featherweight to watch tape and analyze her opponents preliminary fight. At the Team Gastelum practice, Kelvin decides to give his team a break and they all play a friendly game of dodgeball. Meanwhile, Team Whittaker's fighter is hard at work at the gym preparing for a tough matchup. As the fight approaches, Team Gastelum's featherweight decides to sit down with her coaches to review her own previous performance. They compare her last opponent to the next challenger and come up with a game plan at practice. At the house, Team Whittaker's featherweight pushes herself to the limit by putting in extra workout sessions in the backyard. Back at the Gastelum practice, their upcoming fighter finally has had enough and she breaks down during the training session. Later, the team rallies behind her at the house to help with a difficult weight cut and the two competitors have an uncomfortable run in with one another. After barely making weight, the two featherweights battle it out in the last fight of the season. Finally, the finalists all face off in anticipation of the live finale.

Leah returns home from her fight battered and bruised, but gets praise from her teammates for her strong performance. After weeks of debating whether she should switch teams, she finally comes to a decision. The next night, Maurice goes on a profanity-laced tirade, calling Juan out along the way. After Juan takes offense to his salty language, the two have a heated confrontation in the backyard. The next night, just 24 hours after the big blowup, Ben and Przemyslaw try to talk some sense into Maurice. After a long conversation, Maurice decides to approach Juan and they settle their differences, at least for the time being. Then, after a few days of training, two more heavyweights take to the Octagon in the seventh preliminary fight. At stake, a spot in the semifinals!