Leah Letson

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.

Missing his family after a hard day of training, heavyweight Justin Frazier places photos of his wife and kids on the kitchen table and sits down to a nice 'dinner' with them. As the competition moves along, the fighters in the house begin to separate into cliques, with the American fighters hanging out together while the foreign fighters stick together. While there's an obvious language barrier between many of the fighters, Team Gastelum's Maurice and Justin think that some of the Spanish-speaking fighters actually understand more English than they lead on. During a team meeting at the gym, Maurice pokes fun at the Spanish fighters. Juan Espino hears his comments in the nearby hallway and is not pleased. As a result the two get into a small argument, leading Juan to call out Maurice to fight in the semifinals. In the days leading up to the second heavyweight matchup, one of the fighters struggles with his weight cut. In support of their teammate, the entire squad and staff of coaches helps him out during the night, working with him to try to shed the pounds in preparation for his weigh-in the next day. Then, in the third preliminary matchup, two heavyweights face off with a spot in the semifinals on the line.

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.

Fresh off the third preliminary fight, Team Whittaker is back at the gym and hard at work preparing their next featherweight fighter. They hope her unique background and skills will prove to be too much for her veteran opponent to handle. Back at the house, her opponent shares the hardships she endured as a young gay woman and, through her home video, reveals how she overcame her past and built a great life for herself. The following day, Kelvin surprises his fighters with two guest coaches from his hometown. As the practice unfolds, Kelvin receives an unexpected gift that leaves him speechless. Meanwhile, Whittaker decides to take his team on a fun paddleboard outing. Kelvin then turns his attention to his upcoming fighter, who is confident her opponent is just a one trick pony. As fight day approaches, the fighters exchange words at the house and the tension rises in anticipation of their bout. At the gym, a featherweight begins to worry that she's not getting what she needs from her training and starts to contemplate the possibility of switching teams. Finally, an action packed roller coaster of a fight reveals the next semifinalist.

At the house, Team Whittaker complains about Robert and the coaches' training style. They feel that they're not sparring and practicing hard enough, and it's taking its toll on the team. The next day at training a few of the fighters go against the demands of the coaches, which forces Robert to hold a team meeting in the middle of practice. After lecturing the team, they resume training. Despite Robert's speech, the Whittaker fighters still feel they're not getting the training they need. The next morning they hold a practice on their own, without the coaching staff, and run through various drills. That night at the house the fighters, and a few assistant coaches from Team Gastelum, watch UFC 227. During the fights a heated argument breaks out between Marciea and Maurice over her use of the remote control. Eventually Maurice heads outside to smoke a cigarette and relax, looking to avoid more confrontation. The following day both teams head with their coaches to the UNLV track stadium for the Coaches Challenge. There, Dana and the Octagon girls greet them and introduce this season's challenge, a running race. Despite the scorching heat the coaches face off, with one team earning a cash prize. Then, two more fighters go head-to-head in the Octagon in the second heavyweight semifinal fight. At stake, a spot in the live finale in Las Vegas!