The Ultimate Fighter Series: An Apprenticeship That Pays Off

In 2005, The Ultimate Fighter 1 reality series premiered on Spike TV catapulting the UFC into an immediate ratings success story. A lot of the credit for its later success was handed directly to Forrest Griffin and Stefan Bonnar who put on one of the best stand up battles ever witnessed inside the octagon during the finale. It was a fight that sent fans into a wild texting frenzy, mesmerised by the brutal exchanges that took place.

Since 2005, more than 100 high profile UFC athletes have enjoyed success following their participation on the Ultimate Fighter Series. The most successful fighters to date have been Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, and Matt Serra. These are the only fighters to have successfully won a title after competing as contestants on the TUF series.

More than seven years have now passed since TUF first began and sadly many of our favourite fighters from TUF are getting closer and closer to retirement. We often forget that seven years is a very long time in this sport as evident by the number of TUF fighters who are now retired.

It was just this week that fan favourite Forrest Griffin retired, who will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame alongside Stefan Bonnar. We have also witnessed the retirement of Shane Carwin and Stefan Bonnar this year as well, and many fighters below have now either retired or left the organization.

This season on the Ultimate Fighter 18, Rhonda Rousey and Meisha Tate will face off as coaches and bitter rivals in a much anticipated rematch. For anyone out of the loop, Meisha Tate was a late replacement to coach opposite Rhonda Rousey after Cat Zingano suffered a serious knee injury. The decision to promote the two female coaches on the series comes as a major victory for female fighters.

Although the Ultimate Fighter Series has had some regrettable moments over the years, on the whole it has been a huge success and introduced some of the most spectacular moments as witnessed last season by Uriah Hall.

Here’s a list of 100 contributions TUF has mde to the UFC. Let us hear your thoughts on any changes you would like to see on the TUF series!

1.Forrest Griffin

2.Stephan Bonnar

3.Josh Koscheck

4.Kenny Florian

5.Chris Leben

6.Diego Sanchez

7.Mike Swick

8.Nate Quarry

9.Rashad Evans

10.Melvin Guillard

11.Marcus Davis