The Ultimate Fighter is a breeding ground
Every organization needs a breeding ground for its stars of tomorrow. Being as though the UFC is the most elite professional mixed martial arts organization, it also needs somewhere to cultivate new talent. In the world of mixed martial arts, there are several organizations where this new talent can be found. It seems like each and every week, new mma organizations are popping up all over the world. However, the UFC has enjoyed the most success cultivating that talent from within.
The Ultimate Fighter has been more than just an entertaining reality series. For the UFC, it has been the birthplace of many mma careers. Although some fighters have entered The Ultimate Fighter with a few UFC fights under the belt, they were pretty much unknowns in the UFC. For those fighters, their UFC futures truly began when they signed on for what would turn out to be the blossoming of their careers.
Set to enter its eighth season, The Ultimate Fighter is now locked in for at least five more seasons. That would give the UFC a cool dozen. That means five more fighters will have earned the right to compete in the UFC after emerging victorious on the hit television show. Some of the brightest names in the sport got their start on TUF. Below is a list of those who have conquered the competition to become an Ultimate Fighter as well as their overall records in the UFC.
2005 TUF 1 205 Forrest Griffin 7-2-0
2005 TUF 1 185 Diego Sanchez 8-2-0
2005 TUF 2 265 Rashad Evans 6-0-1
2005 TUF 2 170 Joe Stevenson 5-2-0
2006 TUF 3 205 Michael Bisping 6-1-0
2006 TUF 3 185 Kendall Grove 4-2-0
2006 TUF 4 185 Travis Lutter 2-4-0
2006 TUF 4 170 Matt Serra 6-5-0
2007 TUF 5 155 Nate Diaz 4-0-0
2007 TUF 6 170 Mac Danzig 2-0-0
2008 TUF 7 185 Amir Sadollah 1-0-0
Seasons one through four featured two champions and compile quite an impressive list of current UFC stars. Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Joe Stevenson and Michael Bisping all rank among the very best in their respective weight classes. However, the show not only benefited those who went on to survive the elimination.
Simply because a fighter was not crowned the winner on TUF doesn’t mean that they can’t be destined for success in the UFC. Kenny Florian has gone on to rack up an impressive 7-1 record since being knocked out by Diego Sanchez during the finale of the first ever Ultimate Fighter.
Chris Lytle treads water at 3-3 following his Ultimate Fighter season 3 loss to Matt Serra. Yet, Lytle’s trio of losses came at the hands of top quality opponents in Matt Hughes, Thiago Alves and Josh Koscheck. Despite the losses, Lytle hung around for just about all three of those fights and put in a valiant effort.
Patrick Cote is riding a five fight win streak since Travis Lutter submitted him in the first round of the season 4 finale. Ironically, it has been Cote’s career that has taken off since then. Lutter has since dropped both of his fights following his Ultimate Fighter victory.
When UFC Fight Night 14 comes around, it will present an opportunity for two more Ultimate Fighters to snare the spotlight even though they failed to win season 7. CB Dollaway will take on Jesse Taylor on July 19th as both will take home their first UFC paycheck.
UFC President Dana White may not need to scour the globe for the fighters of tomorrow. He may simply need to pluck tomorrow’s champions from his weekly reality show that benefits him in a multitude of ways. The Ultimate Fighter generates a weekly buzz, draws a regular television audience while also providing the UFC with future champions.
Still, White does have to find the stars of tomorrow from other organizations as many of the past Ultimate Fighters came on to the show with little or no UFC experience. However, those fighters must prove themselves on the battlefield White created before they can earn the right to partake in a professional UFC fight.
Of course, talent will still sprout up throughout the world of mixed martial arts and White cannot rely solely on TUF for the future. Nevertheless, it is a good source of talent he continually grabs from within. History has already furnished TUF with a solid reputation and history always repeats itself.
So while White does what is in his power to squash other mma organizations, he can still rely on the hotbed of talent that he is breeding from within his own organization. Making the cut on The Ultimate Fighter has become a stepping stone for those who aspire to make a living as part of the UFC.
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