Did you ever wonder what a battle between UFC, Strikeforce, Pride, and WEC may have produced? Well, this Thursday night we will get to find out, well sort of as Quintet Ultra Goes live on UFC Fight Pass and is looking to hit us in the feels with one of the most unique grappling events we have ever seen.
With a mix of old school and newer stars comprising the teams, we are set for a night of incredibly fun action and some interesting open-weight matchups that have been put together by the Quintet Ultra matchmaking team. Red Rock Resort and Casino in Las Vegas plays host to the event and it airs exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.
As I stated this is an “open-weight” elimination tournament. Win and move on, lose and you are done. Team UFC taking on Team PRIDE and Team WEC vs. Team Strikeforce is the opening team vs. team matchups to start the night.
Team UFC 
- Anthony Smith: UFC LHW Contender – Team Captain
- Anthony Johnson: Former UFC LHW Contender
- Sean O’Malley: Undefeated UFC Bantamweight
- Clay Guida: 29 Fight UFC veteran
- Gilbert Burns: Current UFC LW/WW
Team Pride 
- Kazushi Sakuraba: 27 Fight PRIDE Veteran, Team Captain
- Takanori Gomi: PRIDE LW Champion, PRIDE LW Grand Prix Winner 2005
- Gregor Gracie: ONE FC veteran, Gracie Family member
- Hector Lombard: Bellator and UFC veteran, Judo Gold medalist
- Yves Edwards: 3x PRIDE veteran
Team Strikeforce 
- Gilbert Melendez: Strikeforce LW Champ, WEC LW Champ, Team Captain
- Jake Shields: Strikeforce MW Champion
- Mo Lawal: Strikeforce LHW Champion
- Gesias Cavalcante: 2x K1 MW Grand Prix Champion
- Renato Sobral: Strikeforce LHW Champion
Team WEC 
- Chad Mendes: 4x WEC veteran, 2x NCAA All-American, Team Captain
- Glover Teixeira: UFC HW
- Mark Munoz: 2x WEC veteran, 2x NCAA All-American
- Cub Swanson: Former UFC/WEC title challenger
- James Krause: 2x WEC veteran, UFC WW
This event could have so many unexpected matchups as it’s a win, and move on style format. Imagine a match between Anthony Johnson and Chad Mendes, or Sean O’Malley vs. Glover Teixeira! It sounds crazy, but anything is possible at an event with this format, and Quintet Ultra is the only place to find these possibilities. The only way to see how this all plays out is on UFC Fight Pass this Thursday night at 10:00 p.m Eastern time. If you don’t have it, get it!
UFC President Dana White is stoked about this event. Check out the video
Christopher James has been in the MMA industry for 15 years, Working as a ring announcer for promotions like the XFC, Island Fights, Combat Night and Fight Nights Global during his career. Chris’ love for the sport and the athletes that partake in it led him to writing and doing face to face interviews with the athletes he admired and respected. Chris isn’t conventional by any stretch of the imagination, he has his own style, and takes pride in not being a “cookie-cutter” member of the media. Unique and sometimes controversial takes are what he brings to the table, forcing folks to think a little differently about the world of MMA. He also has a love for music as he has been a dj for 25 years and his love for music gets brought to the MMA world when he gets his guests to sing on his weekly show Cage Side with Christopher James which can be seen Wednesday nights on FACEBOOK LIVE, and soon via podcast.