Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter premiered tonight on FOX Sports 1 and Sportsnet 360. In the elimination round, 32 male and female bantamweights competed in 16 two-round fights in hopes of earning a spot in the TUF house and continuing on towards the finals and a six-figure UFC contract.

TUF 18 coaches “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey and Miesha “Cupcake” Tate both kept a close eye on the action during tonight’s elimination bouts. At the conclusion of the episode, Rousey and Tate picked their respective teams. Episode one female fight results and team picks can be found below.

Highly-touted prospect Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke (2-0-0, 1 NC) made history during tonight’s premiere by becoming the first woman to ever advance on to the TUF house. Duke engaged in a back-and-forth ground battle with England’s Laura “Hot Head” Howarth (4-0-0 amateur) that ended with Howarth tapping out to a triangle choke at 3:49 of the first round.

Next up, Jessica “The Ragin'” Rakoczy (1-3-0, 1 NC) proved that records don’t mean everything. She survived submission attempts from Revelina “Nana” Berto (3-1-0) and eventually transitioned to a modified omoplata shoulder lock on Berto’s right arm. Berto tried to hold out, but eventually tapped at 2:32 of round two.

Former featherweight Peggy “The Daywalker” Morgan (2-0-0), an imposing force at 6’1″ tall, mauled an undersized Bethany Marshall (4-1-0) in a one-sided fight. Morgan battered Marshall with punches on the ground until the fight was finally stopped at 2:57 of round one.

Motivated by a need to restore belief in herself, former Strikeforce title challenger Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi (15-10-0) put on one of her best performances to date by defeating Valérie “Trouble” Létourneau (4-3-0). Modafferi secured an early takedown in round one and took advantage of a scramble by locking on a rear-naked choke that forced Létourneau to submit at the 3:35 mark.

Raquel “Rocky” Pennington (3-3-0) overcame a significant experience disadvantage and defeated Tonya “Triple Threat” Evinger (11-6-0) in another bout that was contested primarily on the ground. Pennington trapped Evinger in a guillotine choke and the veteran fighter tapped out at 3:55 of round two.

Early tournament favourite Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler (15-8-0) showcased her slick ground game by submitting SFL champion Colleen “Bisquit” Schneider (4-4-0). Baszler transitioned from submission hold to submission hold on the mat, including a brief twister attempt, before finally locking on a fight-ending armbar at 4:23 of the first round.

Another tough prospect, Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña (4-2-0), also earned her place in the TUF house with an impressive victory. Peña landed some hard shots on the feet and on the ground en route to a well-deserved Unanimous Decision victory over Gina “Danger” Mazany (3-0-0).

In tonight’s final female elimination fight, Canadian Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras (3-1-0) scored arguably the biggest upset thus far. Moras put forth a strong performance on the ground and walked away with a Unanimous Decision win over MMA pioneer Tara LaRosa (21-3-0), who had been regarded by some as a likely finalist at the end of the season.

Following the elimination fights, Rousey and Tate picked their respective teams for the season. Rousey won a coin toss and chose to pick the first fight matchup, leaving Tate to choose the first fighter. Tate picked friend and training partner Peña, while Rousey’s first pick was Baszler. Peña and Baszler will face each other in this season’s first official women’s fight.

The full lineup of female fighters on each team is as follows:

Team Rousey – Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, Peggy Morgan, Jessica Rakoczy
Team Tate – Julianna Peña, Sarah Moras, Raquel Pennington, Roxanne Modafferi

The Ultimate Fighter 18 airs weekly leading up to the finale on November 30th in Las Vegas, Nevada.