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By Patrick Lujan

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced that Guam fighter Ryan Bigler is one of 28 finalists to make it to the 17th edition of The Ultimate Fighter.

The 28-year-old from Yona will be part of a single-elimination tournament on Jan. 22 (Jan 23 Guam time) that will be shown live on FX. Bigler sports a 9-3 MMA record dating back to 2005 and had a couple of attempts at the TUF House.

Bigler (9-3) normally fights at 170-lbs. but will be going up in weight for this TUF tryout in the 185-lb. division. The final 14 athletes who advance will be coached by light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen.

Bigler’s last fight was a first-round loss to Korea’s Hyun Gyu Lim for the PXC welterweight title last July. Lim would go on to sign with the UFC after that fight.

UFC fighter Jon Tuck was in the same situation a year ago and lost in the qualifying tournament due to a dislocated toe.

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