| 12 September 2010
The Ultimate Fighter helped save the UFC and, subsequently, helped saved mixed martial arts. There was a time not too long ago when Zuffa was trying to sell the UFC and the best offer they could get was for $4 million. A few years later and the company is now estimated to be worth more than a $1 billion. Now, obviously, it took more than just TUF to turn things around so dramatically, but make no mistake about it - the first season of the show (and it's amazing finale fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar) brought an immeasurable amount of attention and new fans to the sport. Well, time flies, as they say, and five years later The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 is upon us already. So now is the perfect time to count down the five best TUF fighter casts, based on what the combatants did after they left the house.
Honourable Mention: Season 3 (Michael Bisping, Matt Hamill, Kendall Grove)
5) Season Eight - Team Nogueira vs Team Mir
Season winners: Ryan Bader (light heavyweight), Efrain Escudero (lightweight)
Other notable fighters: Kyle Kingsbury, George Roop, Tom Lawlor, Krzysztof Soszynski
The talent pool on this season wasn't very deep, but it was only two years ago so things could still improve as the fighters get more experience. No, the reason this season is ranked the fifth-best is not due to quantity, but rather the quality of the fighters. Lightweight winner Efrain Escudero has gone 3-1 in the UFC (with his fifth fight coming up tomorrow night) and looks to have real promise. But the real star of Season Eight is light heavyweight winner Ryan Bader, who has gone 4-0 in the UFC, including an impressive knockout victory over Keith Jardine his last time out. If the Arizona State product gets past Antonio Rogerio Nogueira - ironically the twin brother of his TUF coach - he could be one win away from a light heavyweight title shot.
4) Season Four - The Comeback
Season Winners: Matt Serra (welterweight), Travis Lutter (middleweight)
Other notable fighters:Scott Smith, Patrick Côté, Chris Lytle
This season of the show really switched things up, having veterans participate in it for a chance at a title shot. The big winner was welterweight Matt Serra, who won his weight class on the show then improbably went on to knockout out champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69, winning the 185lb belt. Unfortunately for Serra he dropped the belt back to GSP in the rematch and has only won one other fight in the UFC, his last match versus Frank Trigg. Other fighters from the show have also had success, with Patrick Côté winning four-straight in the Octagon after appearing on the show, only to blow his knee out during his Middleweight Championship match versus Anderson Silva. And you'd be hard-pressed to find a more exciting fighter than Chris Lytle, who has won seven UFC fight bonuses, including four Fight of the Night honours. His next opponent is none other than Serra.
3) Season Five - Team Penn vs Team Pulver
Season winner: Nate Diaz
Other notable fighters: Gray Maynard, Manny Gamburyan, Cole Miller, Joe Lauzon
Plenty of lightweight talent, both coaching and fighting, participated in Season Five of the show. Nate Diaz got past Gray Maynard and then Manny Gamburyan to win the season and has gone 8-3 in the UFC, mostly as a lightweight. While he has stumbled when he has fought "big names" in the promotion, losing to Joe Stevenson, Clay Guida and Gray Maynard, Diaz made an impressive welterweight UFC debut in his last fight, making Marcus Davis's face look ugly in the process. Maynard, meanwhile, has gone undefeated in his MMA career, including 8-0-1 in the "big show" and many expect him to take champion Frankie Edgar's 155lb belt when they meet in a few months. Gamburyan has enjoyed great success once he has dropped 10lbs to qualify as a featherweight - he'll be challenging Jose Aldo for the WEC Featherweight Championship at the end of this month.
2) Season Two - Team Hughes vs Team Franklin
Season winners: Joe Stevenson (welterweight), Rashad Evans (heavyweight)
Other notable fighters: Marcus Davis, Keith Jardine, Melvin Guillard
Rashad Evans, the heavyweight winner of Season Two, has gone on to great things since the show, winning the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship while becoming one of the sport's most visible fighters and top earners. He'll be getting his first shot at reclaiming his belt next year versus Mauricio Rua. Welterweight winner Joe Stevenson has also gone on to become a pretty big deal in the lightweight ranks. A perennial challenger for Fight of the Night honours (he's won it three times in his past four fights), unfortunately for him he hasn't been able to get over the hump, losing his lone title shot to B.J. Penn while also dropping contests to three other former TUF contestants - Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez and George Sotiropoulos. Keith Jardine had a nice UFC run, including wins over Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin before the wheels fell off and he got released by the company; and Marcus Davis has also carved out a nice, long UFC career, winning nine matches and five fight bonuses in the Octagon.
1) Season One - Team Couture vs Team Liddell
Season winners: Forrest Griffin (heavyweight), Diego Sanchez (middleweight)
Other notable fighters:Stephan Bonnar, Josh Koscheck, Kenny Florian, Chris Leben, Mike Swick, Nate Quarry
The season that helped resuscitate the UFC also was the most talent-packed one yet. Check out this roster. Forrest Griffin became the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, beat legends such as Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz; and also became a best-selling author. Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian have dominated the lightweight division (save for B.J. Penn, that is); Josh Koscheck is back on the show as a coach for Season 12 before he gets his first title shot versus GSP at the end of the year; and the mercurial Chris Leben has enjoyed a career resurgence this year, winning his last three fights. And that's not even mentioning welterweight contender Mike Swick and Nate Quarry, who fought for the middleweight crown shortly after leaving the TUF house. Just as is often the case with musicians - TUF's debut was its best work thus far.
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