Rumor: TUF 25 could feature Junie Browning, Julian Lane, and Justin Edwards

There’s a rumor going around that the upcoming 25th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” could feature an “all-star” cast with fighters who have appeared on the show before, or who have competed in the UFC prior.

The UFC previously ran a similar concept with Season 4, where fighters who were cut from the UFC were brought back to vie for a title shot at welterweight and middleweight. Matt Serra even shocked the world and became UFC champion after knocking out Georges St-Pierre after winning the show.

Now, there’s a rumor that the UFC is bringing back former cast members, and that a group of them are in Las Vegas for casting for the show.

The group includes Kentucky native Junie Allen Browning, who was a cast member on TUF 8 and was known for his antics on the show and after. He made it to the semifinals on the show, and was cut after going 1-1 in the UFC. He went on to go 1-5 in his next six bouts, before disappearing from the sport for nearly four years. He returned at Hardrock MMA 84 in October, earning a first round TKO over Jeremy Myers at the event to move his career record to 5-6.

Another fighter who made waves during his time on the show who is rumored to be part of the cast is Julian Lane. The Ohio native was on Season 16 of the show and is famous for his “Let Me Bang, Bro” drunken rant during the season. He went onto the show with a 4-0 record, and is 7-6-1 since, including winning the CES lightweight and welterweight titles. His last fight was a loss to Bradley Desir for the Ring of Combat title in September.

A second Ohio fighter could be part of the cast, as Justin Edwards is another rumored name. The Scott Sheeley protege was a replacement fighter on TUF 13 and he went 2-5 over his UFC career including stints at welterweight and lightweight. He returned to action in September, submitting Casey Pahan at “Fight Night at the Island” in Minnesota in his first bout since being cut from the UFC.

For what it’s worth, there’s another report from Globo that Medhi Baghdad, Hayder Hassan, and Dhiego Lima have all been approached about being on the show.

Some interesting names from the MMANewsLine reports are James Krause and Zak Cummings, who are both reportedly still part of the UFC roster. Other interesting names include Gerald Harris and former lightweight title challenger Joe Stevenson.

Again, it’s important to remember that these names are just rumors at this point, but here’s the full list from MMANewsLine:

Johnny Nunez

Dominic Waters

Jesse Taylor

Joseph Stevenson

Gilbert Smith

Julian Lane

Edward Gordon

Dhiego Lima

Kajan Johnson

James Krause

Zak Cummings

Mehdi Baghdad

Gerald Harris

Justin Edwards

Seth Baczynski

Michael Ricci

Jamie Yager

Hector Cervantes

Edward Ellis

Junie Browning

Ramsey Nijem

Hayder Hassan

Thomas Gallicchio