The Ultimate Fighter recently wrapped it’s 29th season awarding two young fighters with UFC contracts. It’s time to take a look back at other Ultimate Fighters that have traveled the same path through the UFC’s longest running show.
The Ultimate Fighter is a mixed martial arts based reality show commonly labeled as TUF that first aired in 2005. That first season is considered one of the turning points for The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) when it aired. The reality show brought in fighters that were unknown then in a sport that was yet to be as popular as it is now, for a chance at signing with the UFC. It has aired twice a year since it began and has just completed its 29th season.
Similar to Dana Whites Contender Series, the show would pull fighters from regional circuits to give them a chance to get into the UFC. The difference is the fighters are pooled together in the same house, and are usually coached by two tenured fighters in the promotion. Usually the coaches are a champion and contender that can have a fight that would be scheduled for when the season ends.
The fighters are assigned to the team of one of the coaches and sometimes complete team challenges. The team that wins the challenges gives the coach matching rights for which fighters are going to compete the week of the challenge. The winners advance until there are finalists for the contract (or contracts) up for grabs. The exposure fighters get during their time on the show adds to any potential star power they might have in their UFC career. It has been a path where UFC stars and champions begin and with the growth the UFC has seen in recent years, it’s time to look at some of the best winners of The Ultimate Fighter so far.