Anchorage fighter part of cast for UFC’s ‘The Ultimate Fighter’

The fighters touch gloves, circle each other with a couple quick jabs and then comes the hammer.

Twenty-three seconds into the fight, Terrence Mitchell's lightning-fast foot to the head knocks out Travis Zenka and Mitchell retains his flyweight belt as Alaska Fighting Championship champion.

"I know the man is out here somewhere, Dana White," Mitchell says in the cage afterward. "I'm ready, man … 11-2. I stumbled when I was a kid. I'm ready, man."

That fight happened in November at Sullivan Arena with White, the Ultimate Fighting Championship president, in attendance.

Less than a year later, Mitchell will appear in UFC's "The Ultimate Fighter" — a reality television show that pits regional mixed martial arts champions against each other for a shot at a UFC title fight and a contract with the UFC.

The first episode will air at 6 p.m. Wednesday on Fox Sports 1, GCI channel 41.

"It was a dream come true," Mitchell said of hearing he'd be in the show. "I was just training like always and my manager called me saying, 'Hey, I think you're gonna be on the show.' The emotions were high.

"Been fighting since 2009, so a little while now and it's something that I've always worked towards."

Filming for the show is complete aside from the finale, but Mitchell has to keep quiet about the outcome.

AFC president Sarah Lorimer, who gave Mitchell his first big break in 2009, will be watching on TV with the rest of Mitchell's fans.

"He's our champion, he's the best 125-(pounder) in Alaska," Lorimer said. "We're gonna have to wait and see how he pans out against the other guys. I'll be watching it with everybody else."

This season of 'The Ultimate Fighter' divides 16 fighters from around the world into two teams, coached by former flyweight title challengers Joseph Benavidez and Henry Cejudo.

The fighters live together in a house in Las Vegas and compete in a single-elimination tournament, with two fighters eliminated in the first episode and one in each subsequent episode.

The winner will challenge the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson.

"I think Demetrius Johnson is a phenomenal champion, he's the only flyweight champion that they've ever had," Mitchell said. "Our goal is obviously to beat the guy, so we're all trying to do that this season."

Mitchell is 11-2 as a fighter in the AFC. Growing up in Anchorage, he didn't play sports aside from doing tricks on his BMX bike around town.

He attended Bartlett High and got serious about MMA soon after he graduated in 2009 when he started training with his older brother, Maurice.

Mitchell didn't have experience in any fighting discipline when he started, but other fighters praised his abilities when he helped them train.

"At first it was off-and-on as just a cool thing to help people out a little bit," Mitchell said. "A lot of the people at my gym would tell me, 'Oh, you're good. You can take (a) fight.'

"At first, I just wanted to take one and get it out of the way."

Mitchell made his debut in the octagon on March 4, 2009, winning by technical knockout in the first round. He's been a regular in the cage ever since.

"I started training with my brother, took my first fight and we fought on the same card and we both won," Mitchell said. "From then on, it's been a journey we've had together for a long time now."

Maurice, 29, is 8-1 in the AFC, but all eyes are on Terrence this fall.

Lorimer said Mitchell possesses a well-rounded fighting style, but his best skill is his striking ability.

"Those fancy kicks are always well-received by the crowd and he's always a really exciting fighter," she said.

Don't blink though. In his 11 victories, Mitchell has ended every fight in the first or second round by finish, with seven knockouts or technical knockouts.

"I'm always known to end the fight early," Mitchell said. "So a lot of people like to call me 'The Finisher.' "

Mitchell has won eight consecutive AFC fights and hasn't lost since 2010. He suffered his two losses in back-to-back fights early in his career — setbacks that could have hampered his fighting future.

But Mitchell turned things around and won his next fight by TKO in the second minute of the first round in AFC 83 on May 18, 2011.

"I never had doubts," he said. "I just knew that I needed to be more comfortable, settle down. From then on, as I grew comfortable (after I) experienced the two losses, nothing was really scary anymore. I could go out and fight the way I wanted to."

Mitchell trains at Legacy Jiu Jitsu in Anchorage with head coach Jordan Kantra and striking coach Giovanni Deverra.

He isn't the first Alaska fighter to appear on "The Ultimate Fighter."

Gina Mazany and Colleen Schneider were on TUF 18 in 2013 when Ronda Rousey and Meisha Tate were the coaches, and Andy Enz and Nic Herron-Webb appeared in TUF 17 and TUF 16, respectively.