LAS VEGAS – Filming began Tuesday for Season 18 of the UFC's reality series, "The Ultimate Fighter," with a gigantic and unexpected switch.





Unbeaten Cat Zingano, who was slated to coach opposite women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, injured a knee and was replaced as coach by long-time Rousey rival Miesha Tate.

Rousey did not know that Zingano was injured – UFC president Dana White said it had been a tightly kept company secret since Zingano injured her right knee during a May 16 workout – or that Tate had been brought in to replace her, until the opening scenes of the show were filmed on Tuesday.

When Tate came out, Rousey was clearly stunned and she stormed out of the UFC training center, searching for White. She later said she was angry because she thought Tate was replacing her.

Rousey, though, was pleased with the change.





"This is what we really wanted all along," Rousey told Yahoo! Sports. "Everyone said an Ultimate Fighter between me and Miesha would be the best. We have a personal history with each other and this is a personal show. For some reason, me and Miesha are intertwined in fate like Ali and Frazier or something like that.

"I think people will look back at this as one of the monumental rivalries and look back at this as one of those things that really cemented women's MMA."





Tate was disappointed that it took an injury to Zingano for her to get the spot on the show, but she said she felt it was fate. She said she felt she was winning the fight with Zingano when referee Kim Winslow stopped it.





But Tate was thrilled to not only get the gig and the title shot, but to see Rousey get visibly angry when she appeared.

"It was rewarding to see that," she said. "I was like, 'Yay! This is getting good.' I watched her go to her corner and her corner was up in arms. I was just sitting there in the doorway thinking, 'This is awesome.'

"I felt I was cheated a little in that fight with Cat. I had two solid rounds and one not-so-good round. Either way, I felt I was meant to be here and it's come full circle."





Season 18 of 'The Ultimate Fighter' will debut in September on the new all-sports channel, Fox Sports 1, and will, for the first time, include women as coaches and females as well as males among the contestants, all vying for a UFC contract.