MTV The Challenge

Learn who will be on The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II. Get the latest news, videos, and updates about Battle of the Exes II here. Share your thoughts on the cast, the competitions, and the latest episode. Vote for your favorite cast member and predict who you think will win.

I am a huge fan of the Challenge series. I am counting down the days until The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II starts on January 6, 2015 at 11PM EST. Come back often and share what you think about the players and the latest episode.

Intro Graphic By:whatsittoyou

The Challenge on MTV is always interesting to watch. There is the competitions, the destinations, but mostly it is the people. They love each other, then they hate each other. There are the hook ups, the fights, the plots and plans that go awry. Going by this preview it seems we are in for another exciting season.

If you missed any of the previous seasons you can see it all on Amazon. If you want to see the last season of Rivals 2 it is available now as well.

The Couples Are:

Adam and Brittany

CT and Diem

Dustin and Jessica

Jay and Jenna

John "JJ" and Simone

Johnny and Averey

Johnny "Bananas" and Nany

Jordan and Sarah

Knight and Jemmye

Leroy and Nia

Thomas and Hailey

Wes and Theresa

Zach and Jonna

You see a picture and a brief bio of each contestant at MTV Challenge Free Agents Cast

Photo Credit: Chris 'C.T.' Tamburello Pictures

One of my favorite players is CT. You just never know what he is going to do. Is he going to be sweet and charming like when he and Diem first met? Will he completely lose his mind and get into another fight and get kicked off the show again? The one thing you do know is if he stays he will be a monster in the challenges.

Cara Maria has her own shop on Etsy where you can purchase some art made by Cara Maria herself Original Art by MTV's Cara Maria

If you want to show your support for Johnny, then Suck Yeah has the Johnny Bananas Bobble Head that has appeared on the show. They also have the real Johnny Bananas T-shirts available for both men and women.

In case you missed an episode there is a link to the latest episode below. You can also get a sneak peek at the next episode.

Sneak Peek of the next Episode

Episode 7 of The Challenge Free Agents

We see the contestants arriving in Uruguay South America. When they arrive at the arena TJ that this season it will be an individual competition with one guy and one girl winner, but there is a twist. On the day of each challenge you will find out if you are going to be competing as a team, a pair, or as an individual. The winners of the challenge will then chose one girl and one guy to go into the elimination round. Then everyone else who lost will take part in "the draw". Where 2 players are selected by pure chance to face off against the 2 nominated players.

The first competition they are split into 2 teams of 14. For the first leg, they have 6 people from each team chained together racing up the stairs of a 42 story building. When they reach the top the pass a key to unlock a puzzles that 4 people will try to solve. When they do they can use the key to unlock their last 4 teammates. They will have to walk off the edge of a building, then cross a rolling log, picking up a flag in the middle, and ring a bell when they get to the end.

LaToya was struggling going up the stairs and when she reached the top she hit her head on the door frame. She gets taken away by ambulance to get checked out. The red team lost the lead on the puzzle and then only Camila was able to make it to the otherside to ring the bell for them.

While Jessica struggled due to her fear of heights she made it. Cohutta was also able to make it which earned the black team the win. They then chose to vote Chet & LaToya in for elimination. Frank & Jemmye were the ones who drew the kill card in the draw.

Chet surprised a few people with how was doing in a physical challenge against Frank. Then he split open his chin and he chose to forfeit so he could go and get stitches right away. The match between the girls was an impressive battle that went to the very last round, but in the end LaToya beat Jemmye.

This week they are put into male/female pairs to compete. They have to race a stick shift car down a runway, then stop get out, and run over to a modified bike. The bike is designed so one person pedals and the other person steers. The tough part is the person steering is facing backwards.

The bottom 4 teams will be sent into the draw. The winners will get to select one guy and one girl to send into the elimination round. They must chose from the people who are not in the draw.

Cohutta & Laurel end up with the fastest time. They chose Dustin & Jonna to be automatically sent in. When it comes time for the draw Emille picks the kill card. Frank has to go in since everyone else who went before him chose the blank (safe) card.

The elimination challenge is to climb a 30 foot wall and be the first to ring the bell at the top of it. To climb it you need to break through the wall to make your own hand & foot holds. Since Emilee had difficulty breaking through the wall, Jonna was able to beat her pretty easily. The match between Dustin & Frank was much closer, but Dustin was eliminated and was sent home.

Frank is still feeling ill and is contemplating leaving, but decides that he will tough it out. However when they get to the challenge TJ informs Frank that he has to be removed from the game because he has a viral infection which means he could get everyone else sick.

The remaining contestants are then split into teams of four, except there will be one team of three since Frank had to leave. The team of three is given the option to sit it out. If they do they are guaranteed not to go into the draw, but they could still get chosen to go in by the winners. Jasmine, Jonna, and Jordan decide to compete.

They end up dropping a bar and they end up in last place. Cara Maria picked what looked like a strong team with herself CT, Leroy, and Aneesa but they chose to play it safe and were to slow. So they finished second to last putting them all into the draw.

The winning team was Jessica, Camilla, Brandon, and Johnny Bananas. They chose Nia and Johnny (Portland) to go into the arena. They were only 3 guys in the draw and there were 4 draw cards. Since Frank went home it was decided that if none of the guys picked the kill card there wouldn't be an elimination match. All 3 went and they all picked the blank, so everyone for the men was safe.

Cara Maria was now in her third draw in a row. The other two times she had flipped a blank card. This time she was going to be last to choose. Her fate was decided for her when all three before her flipped the blank card. The battle between Cara and Nia was epic. They each were attached to an end of a rope. They then had to run around poles and try to ring a bell. The first person to do it would win. They fought and pulled against each other for well over an hour. In the end Cara Maria's grit and determination paid off as she was able to make it to the bell first.

The competitors are broken into two teams for this one. They all have to put giant plastic bubbles on and try to have the person on their team who is designated as the ball get into the net.

The winning team chooses LaToya and Brandon to to automatically be sent in to the elimination. Everyone else on the losing team goes into the draw. Zach draws the kill card for the guys and for the second time in a row Cara Maria has to go in. This time she flipped over the kill card herself.

The elimination has both people starting back to back in a fenced off circle. There goal is to be the first to reach the bell at the other end of the circle where their opponent started.

When the guys face off in the first round Zach drops his shoulder so Brandon does too. Brandon gets the worst of it and loses the first round. Brandon tries an avoid strategy the second round but he ends up losing anyway and is sent home.

The girls seem to both decide to use the avoid strategy and try pure speed. Cara Maria wins both rounds sending home LaToya. Cara Maria is not only doing well at the eliminations, but she has been really gracious and kind to those she has defeated.

They are divided into two teams and the goal is to get everyone on your team across the ropes to the other platform the fastest. Both teams find this challenge very difficult and it comes down to getting the most team members across.

The first team to go gets Zach, Cara Maria, Johnny, and Leroy across. The second team starts out looking strong but soon they start dropping like flies. They get three people across Cohutta, Laurel, and Isaac. There are two people left but then Jasmine falls, so it is all up to Preston He gets across but he didn't touch one of the ropes with both hands so he is disqualified.

The winning team deliberates and Cara Maria suggests going after Bananas for the guys. Theresa really presses everyone to put Laurel. When it comes time for the public vote Cara sticks to her guns and votes for Bananas. Theresa lets a majority of people vote for Laurel but then doesn't follow through with voting for her herself. Devyn lets Laurel know that while she didn't vote for her, she was leading the charge to get her nominated.

So it is Bananas and Laurel automatically voted in. They find out that they have to face off against Isaac and Jasmine after the draw. The ladies fight isn't really fair given the size differential, so while Jasmine put up a good fight she is sent home.

While Bananas and Isaac are a closer looking match in size their match looks almost as uneven as the ladies match. Bananas sends Isaac home and then proceeds to celebrate and threaten Jordan. The threats continue between Jordan and Bananas went the get home with both threatening to send the other home. We'll just have to wait and see who is right.

This one is an individual challenge where you have to answer trivia questions while suspended above the water. If you get two wrong you get dropped into the water. We learn that some of the challengers are either too scared to be thinking properly or they are just not that bright.

In the end Zach wins for the guys and Devyn wins for the girls. They nominate Swift and Theresa to go in automatically. Camilla and Jordan flip the kill card so they have face off against them. While Swift talks a big game to the audience before hand, he ends up being beaten pretty easily by Jordan.

Theresa and Camilla's battle is a little bit better, but everyone is surprised at Camilla's lack of fight. She is normally a very driven competitor, so it is kind of odd to see her on the ground sobbing in the middle of the battle. Whereas Theresa is a little more fired up by what she felt was a betrayal. Then with everyone seemingly cheering against her, it pushes her even more and she ends up winning.

It is once again an individual game. This time they are wrapped up tightly in plastic wrap and they have to roll themselves through an obstacle course. The women go first and in the beginning they all seem to be struggling except for Laurel and Cara Maria. It is a close race between the two of them but Laurel ends up winning.

The men have a similar situation with a tight race between Johnny and Zach, but the difference is some of the men are choosing not to do well. Leroy states that he is throwing it because that way he will go into the draw and can't be directly nominated by Laurel. Jordan says he is throwing it because that way he can get Bananas nominated and then be able to go up against him by being in the draw.

Johnny is able to beat Zach, so he and Laurel will choose who goes in. They decide to send in Aneesa for the girls and Bananas for the guys. There is talk about how do you guarantee that Jordan will get to face Bananas like he wants to do. It is decided if he goes first and flips over all the cards, it would work. Now the only question is will he go through with it.

Jonna flips the kill card for the girls. Jordan follows through with his bravado and flips all of the cards. The girls go first and Aneesa wins against Jonna. The guys start out really close but it looks like Bananas is slightly ahead. Then Jordan misses a hold and falls off the wall, at that point it is done and Bananas wins.

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Below is the coverage of last season Rivals II.

The contestants arrive and find out who their partners are for Rivals 2. The men will play against the men, the women against the women. While both the men and women will both compete in every competition it will alternate between them for when it is a challenge day.

This week episode it was a challenge day for the men. The team that wins is safe from the jungle. The team that comes in last place automatically goes into the jungle (elimination challenge). For the women the team that wins will chose the order for the next competition plus $1000.

Paula and Emily win the first competition for the women. Zack and Trey win the first challenge for the men. Dunbar and Tyrie finish in last place and are automatically sent into the jungle. They hold a vote, Robb and Derek were voted to go into the jungle.

Naomi gets a call from home that her father had a heart failure. She decides to go home. When they all arrive at the Jungle, Cooke is told that she gets to stay. Her new partner will show up at the next challenge. Cooke is an athlete so if she gets a good partner the new team could be a huge threat.

Dunbar and Tyrie lose in the jungle and are the first team eliminated from the game.

When they are arrive at the challenge we found out Cooke's new partner is Cara Maria. This is a huge upgrade from Naomi. With this change I think these two could become a huge threat to win the whole thing.

The men compete first for a chance to win $1000 and the chance to pick the order for the next competition. Wes and CT do not compete as Wes chooses not to participate at all. Knight and Preston won the first round, but then Preston refuses to participate in the next part of the challenge.

Zach and Trey finish first, winning the $1000. TJ (the host) announces that Wes & CT and Knight & Preston will be given a penalty at the next competition for not participating in this one.

The women all compete as this is an elimination challenge for them. Paula & Emily finish first guaranteeing their safety. The rookies Anastasia & Jessica finish in last place and are sent into the jungle.

The men then vote for who is going into the jungle to face them. With 4 votes against them Cooke & Cara Maria are chosen to go up against Anastasia & Jessica.

Anastasia & Jessica lose in the jungle and are the first women's team eliminated from the game.

Once again we have more bickering and fighting going on in the house. Knight and Marlon started off this round of fights. Knight made what he thought was a joke, that no one else thought was funny, about Marlon. They had to be kept apart to prevent a fist fight.

Then Trishelle started running her mouth about Aneesa. When Aneesa found out what Trishelle said she went over and confronted her about it. Those two then had to be kept apart to prevent a fist fight. The next day Trishelle decided she wanted to leave. So she quit and went home.

It was elimination day for the men. Preston & Knight and CT & Wes were both assessed a 30 second time penalty for not participating in the previous competition. Preston & Knight were unable to complete the challenge within the 10 minute time limit and were disqualified.

Emily & Paula won amongst the women so they got the $1000. Frank & Johnny completed it the fastest for the men and were therefore safe from the jungle. The women voted in Robb & Derek to face off against Preston and Knight in the jungle.

Since Trishelle left by quitting, Sarah was sent home from the game. The match between the men ended up going to a tie breaker round. Knight & Preston won and that sent home Robb & Derek.

It is the women's turn to compete to not be sent into the jungle. They have a 20 foot bamboo pole strapped to their wrists. They then must make their way through a maze.

Knight & Preston finish last for the guys, they don't even finish in the 20 minute time limit. Marlon & Jordan finish in first place for the men.

Theresa & Jasmine are the last place team for the women and are automatically sent into the jungle. Emily & Paula win for the fourth time straight. The men vote Cooke & Cara Maria to face off against Theresa & Jasmine in the jungle.

When they get there they see two metal gurneys hooked up to electricity. TJ tells them that they will be strapped to the gurneys and 400,000 volts of electricity will be sent through their body. Who ever holds on the longest will win.

All four competitors look quite nervous but they are ready to try it. Then TJ reveals he is kidding they are all safe and going back to the house. He says he told them there would be some twists. I think it is actually because Trishelle & Sarah went home last week. Either way some of the other women are not happy that they didn't get rid of one of the two teams.

Zach calls home and he is now an uncle. He is happy that he is an uncle, but sad/upset that he isn't there to be with his family. Then he becomes a little ill and becomes very angry that the camera crew is filming him. He keeps swearing at them and starts breaking things.

The competition this week is to try to get across a beam that is high above the water while your opponents are swinging on large bags trying to knock you off. None of the girls swing at Theresa and Jasmine so they win the $1000.

When it is the guys turn to go Trey is knocked off really quickly. Everyone just needs to get further than Trey. The rookies do really well so to make sure they don't win the guys don't swing at CT & Wes. Everyone gets further then Trey so Zach & Trey are sent to the jungle and CT & Wes win so they are safe.

Theresa decides to put in what she believes is a throwaway vote for Leroy & Ty, but then Nany votes for them as well. Diem sees a chance to go after a team that won't support her so she puts the nail in the coffin and votes for Leroy & Ty as well sending them into the jungle.

In the jungle they have to take alternating turns breaking through different items to make it down to the next level. Zach & Trey finish the challenge first and Zach throws his helmet at the people watching. Then TJ informs them that while they did finish first they did not alternate breaking through the levels, so they are disqualified and are sent home.

The challenge for this episode is trying to match your partners answer. One is suspended 30 feet above the water and have given their answers ahead of time. The other one is on the dock and has to guess what their partner said. One of the questions is who is the most fake person left in the house. The questions lead to some hurt feelings and arguments but nothing too serious.

The first women's team that is eliminated is Camila & Jemmye so they are going straight into the jungle. For the women it comes down to Emily & Paula versus Cooke & Cara Maria. Cara Maria guesses wrong so Emily & Paula win once again.

Next it is the guys turn, CT & Wes are the first ones out when CT writes "RIP Wes" when asked what his partners answer was for who is the trashiest girl in the house. It comes down to Frank & Johnny versus Ty & Leroy. When Frank guesses wrong Ty & Leroy win the $1000 and get to control the order for the next challenge.

The guys vote for who will go into the jungle and Theresa & Jasmine are chosen to face off against Jemmye & Camila. In the Jungle they have to both run on treadmills, while passing a ball to one another, then putting that ball into a basket. Theresa & Jasmine are sent home when they are beaten two times in a row.

The challenge this week was to make it through a maze, blind folded and tied to your partner. They then put a shock collar on their wrists. If you are heading in the right direction the shock will get stronger.

The last place team for the girls was Nany & Jonna they hardly moved from the starting point. Aneesa & Deim had the fastest time for the girls. So they win the $1000 and get to pick the order for the next one.

The fastest time for the guys came down to Frank & Johnny or CT & Wes. Frank & Johnny won so they are safe from the jungle. Slowest time was between Leroy & Ty or the rookies Jordan & Marlon. Leroy & Ty had the slowest time so they were automatically sent into the jungle.

When they got back to the house the girls were talking about putting in Knight & Preston. Then Johnny came in and started talking to them about having them put in Jordan & Marlon. Sure enough when it came time to vote the women voted in Jordan & Marlon.

The competition went all 3 rounds but in the end Jordan & Marlon won. Thus eliminating Ty & Leroy from the competition.

This week they had to start out on a platform with both of them hanging onto a wide trapeze. They would then swing out together and both would try to catch the other trapeze bar that would take them down to the water below. They would then have to swim out to the midpoint buoy circle it and race to the finish buoy. The team with the fastest time wins.

Of course Cooke & Cara Maria are chosen to go first. Cooke does really well, Cara Maria not so much. Cooke pretty much had to drag her over to the finish line. What I do like about Cara Maria is she is not a quitter. She had to fight against the rip tide and basically had a panic attack in the water, but she kept going. However they still had the slowest time so they are automatically sent into the jungle.

Jemmye & Camila are both lifeguards, giving them an advantage in the water. They finished first, so they are safe. CT & Wes posted the fastest time for the guys so they win the $1000 and chose the order for the next challenge. The boys vote Nany & Jonna into the jungle.

The jungle was each person being blindfolded and facing off against each other in a circle trying to break a stick over their opponent. Cooke & Cara Maria won 2 in a row, sending home Jonna & Nany.

When they go out to a club CT and Diem kiss. It looks like they have a shot at rekindling the old relationship after all. This weeks challenge was to run up and down ramps trying to put 20 balls into a basket in the fastest amount of time. There were pathways where the 2 teams competing could run into each other and knock their opponents into the mud.

However for the most part people just stuck with trying to run and make baskets. The only team that was able to actually get all 20 balls into the baskets was CT & Wes. Therefore they were the winners for the guys making them safe from elimination and guaranteed a spot in the finals. Paula & Emily won the $1000 for the girls and they will chose the order for the next competition, which will be the final elimination competition for the girls.

Knight and Preston came in last place for the guys so they were automatically sent into the jungle. The girls voted in Jordan & Marlon to face off against them. The jungle game was break on through. Knight took forever trying to cut the chains so Jordan & Marlon won the challenge sending Knight and Preston home and putting themselves into the finals.

It is the final girls challenge before the finals. They have to run, tied together, along a trail that is a mile long. At the end of the trail is a light station where they have to remember the order of flashing lights. Then they have to run back and recreate the order of the flashing lights putting colored circles onto a peg.

All four teams go for the first round. The last place team will automatically be sent into the jungle. The top two teams in the first round face off in the second round to decide the winner. The winning team will guarantee themselves a spot in the final.

Cooke & Cara Maria finish first, Emily & Paula are second, Camila & Jemmye are third, so Aneesa & Diem finish in last. In the second round Cooke & Cara Maria finish first. So now the teams that have been working together have to turn on each other. Jemmye & Camila are voted in by the guys to face off against Aneesa & Diem in the jungle.

We see that the contest that they will be participating in is the one where they are suspended over the water and you have to cut the other teams rope. However they then end the show with a to be continued.

Jemmye & Camila get to go to the final after they beat Aneesa & Diem in the jungle. The six teams are then told they are going to Tokyo for the final. However when they are the bus heading to the airport they are stopped and taken to a dock where the final is actually going to start.

Cara Maria & Cooke are worried as being on a dock implies that there will be swimming involved and they both know swimming isn't Cara's strong suit. Sure enough the first day of the final is to swim one mile to shore. Once there you have to put together a puzzle. When you do you can grab a key to unlock your kayak where you have to paddle over to a yacht.

The first two teams (2 men teams & 2 women teams) will get to continue on to day 2 of the final. The third place teams are eliminated. Wes & CT are the first to finish the puzzle and are the first team to arrive on the yacht. While Cooke and Cara Maria were the last to arrive on the beach they are the next team to complete the puzzle and arrive on the yacht.

Emily & Paula finish the puzzle so when they get to the yacht Jemmye and Camila are eliminated. Frank & Johnny and Jordan & Marlon both do not complete the puzzle in the one hour time limit. However Frank & Johnny arrived at the beach first , so they have about a 40 second lead on Jordan & Marlon for the race to the yacht. The episode ends with both teams racing to the yacht and you see one kayak is flipped over. The question is which teams kayak is it?

We find out it was Jordan & Marlon who capsized, which pretty much ended their chances. So the final four teams are CT & Wes, Frank & Johnny, Cooke & Cara Maria, and Paula & Emily. The final challenge starts with a swim to Nightmare Island.

There will be 5 check points. After each one you have to go back to the beginning and drop of the idol that you collect. Then you can move onto the next one. The first check point is a puzzle where you have to jump pins over each other until only one remains.

CT & Wes arrive first and solve the puzzle rather quickly. Frank & Johnny struggle with it getting further behind. For the girls Paula & Emily arrive first but struggle to solve it. When Cooke & Cara Maria show up they get through fairly quick leave in the lead.

The next check point involved solving a math problem. If you got it wrong you would have to cut all 5 ropes. CT & Wes tried doing the math for a little while but decided to just take a guess and cut a rope. They got lucky and picked the correct one. Cooke & Cara were working on the math as well, then Cooke noticed that the numbers were the same as the boys just different colors were associated to the corresponding number. So she got Cara to cut the rope and they were finished.

Paula & Emily were the only ones to actually do the math and cut the rope based on the number that they got (which was correct). Frank & Johnny heard Emily say the number that she got and they used it to cut their rope.

The third stop was about eating/drinking disgusting things. Everyone was throwing up, but CT & Wes and Emily & Paula got through it first.

The fourth check point was to move 20 heavy body bags one at a time to a designated spot and then dig up your chest with the idol. CT & Wes were able to maintain their lead over Frank & Johnny. Paula & Emily were able to expand their lead over Cooke & Cara Maria.

The last check point you had to dig down into the sand to take a cover off of a tunnel entrance. Then you would crawl through the tunnel to get to an opening covered in bamboo. Move the bamboo out of the way to get into the cage to get to your last idol. Both CT & Wes and Paula & Emily completed this before their competitors even arrived.

The only thing left to do was run back to the starting point, place the final idol down, and grab the golden elephant. CT & Wes arrived first when the horn sounded that the competition was over for the guys Johnny & Frank were at the tunnel check point. Cooke & Cara were still moving body bags at the fourth check point when the horn went off for the girls.

I was hoping for a puzzle at the last stop so that maybe Cooke & Cara Maria could have a shot at catching up. I would have preferred to see them win as I think they had to fight harder to get there. However at least Paula & Emily are worthy winners in that they won most of the challenges this season. It was nice to see CT finally get a win after 10 years. He is one of the best competitors on the challenges so he deserves it. All in all it was a good season and I can't wait for the next one.