The Ultimate Fighter series debuted in 2005 and to date there is 12 seasons completed with a total of 18 fighters being crowned "The Ultimate Fighter". For every winner there has to be a loser, but one day I started thinking how has the loser of The Ultimate Fighter fared compared to the winner since their fight? In this post I broke down each TUF finalist since the finale fight including common opponents and the results are closer than probably a little closer than people would think. (note that the finale fight is not including in the records)
Season 1 Middleweight finalists (finale took place 4/9/2005)
Diego Sanchez 11-4
Kenny Florian 11-3
common opponents
BJ Penn- vs Florian 8/7/09 Penn via rear naked choke 4th Round
vs Sanchez 12/7/09 Penn via TKO 5th Round
Clay Guida- vs Sanchez 6/20/09 Sanchez via split decision
vs Florian 12/12/09 Florian via rear naked choke 2nd Round
Joe Stevenson- vs Florian 11/15/08 Florian via rear naked choke 1st Round
vs Sanchez 2/21/09 Sanchez via unanimous decision
I would argue these two are the most success Finalists in TUF history. Even with Sanchez winning their season I would say Florian has the slight edge so far in their careers, he has had 2 title shots to Sanchez's one and could see another one in his future in his new weight class (featherweight). He also has been more impressive against their common opponents.
Season 1 Light Heavyweight finalists (finale took place 4/6/05)
Forrest Griffin 8-4
Stephan Bo
nnar 7-5
nnar 7-5common opponents
Keith Jardine- vs Bonnar 4/6/06 Bonnar via decision
vs Griffin 12/30/06 Jardine via TKO 1st Round
Rashad Evans- vs Bonnar 6/28/06 Evans via majority decision
vs Griffin 12/27/08 Evans via TKO 3rd Round
*Griffin won a rematch (8/26/06) against Bonnar via unanimous decision
The contestants in one of the best MMA fights to date. Have to give Griffin the edge here with winning the Light Heavyweight title against Rampage Jackson and well as winning the rematch against Bonnar a year after their classic bout. Bonnar is no slouch though having a similar record to Griffin's at least and is always a tough fight for his opponent.
Season 2 Welterweight Finalists (Finale took place 11/5/05)
Joe Stevenson 7-7
Luke Cummo 3-3
Advantage for Stevenson here even though they both have a .500 UFC record. Stevenson had one title shot at lightweight against BJ Penn losing in the 2nd Round via a rear naked choke.Cummo however hasn't fought since losing a decision to Tamdan McCrory in 2008.
Season 2 Heavyweight Finalists (Finale took place 11/5/05)
Rashad Evans 9-1-1
Brad Imes 10-6 (0-2 UFC)
No contest here as Evans has put up a stellar 9-1-1 record in the UFC while winning the Light Heavyweight title against Forrest Griffin. Evans is still in the title picture and could very well see him self earn another shot at gold this year. Imes however came up short on 2 different occasions in the UFC but he did someone get back to back gogoplata submission wins in 2007
Season 3 Middleweight Finalists (Finale took place 6/24/06)
Kendal Grove 6-5
Ed Herman 4-4
Common Opponent
Alan Belcher- vs Grove 4/7/07 Grove via brabo choke 2nd Round
vs Herman 9/17/08 Belcher via decision
Demian Maia- vs Herman 4/19/09 Maia via triangle choke 2nd Round
vs Grove 12/4/10 Maia via decision
Chris Price- vs Grove 10/10/06 Grove via elbows 1st Round
vs Herman 1/25/07 Herman via arm bar 1st Round
I almost considered this a draw but due to Herman's inactivity (hasn't fought since August 09) and a slightly better quality of opponent, Grove gets the nod there.
Season 3 Middleweight Finalists (Finale took place 6/24/06)
Michael Bisping 10-3
Josh Haynes 5-5 (0-2 UFC)
No contest here Bisping outclassed Haynes in the finale, Haynes went on to lose his next 2 in the UFC and found him self out of the company. Bisping is currently working his way towards a potential middleweight title shot.
Season 4 Welterweight Finalists (Finale took place 11/11/06)
Matt Serra 2-3
Chris Lytle 8-5
Common Opponents
Matt Hughes- vs Lytle 3/3/07 Hughes via decision
vs Serra 5/23/09 Hughes via decision
*Chris Lytle won rematch 9/25/10 via decision
This is probably the hardest twosome to grade but I'm going with Serra. It wouldn't take a whole lot of an argument for Lytle's case however, he has a better record with a larger body of work as well as winning their rematch. The win over St. Pierre is/was just too huge of a win to ignore despite where Serra's career went after that fight.
Season 4 Middleweight Finalists (finale took place 11/11/06)
Travis Lutter 1-3 (0-2 UFC)
Patrick Cote 5-3 (4-3 UFC)
Common Opponents
Anderson Silva- vs Lutter 2/3/07 Silva via elbows 2nd Round
vs Cote 10/25/08 Silva via TKO 3rd Round
Yes they both fought Silva, the difference? Cote actually made weight and his was a title fight. Lutter got his title shot by winning the finale against Cote, but Cote went on and earned his own title shot just a year later so any advantage LutterLutter's future but I can say we could most likely see Cote back in the UFC.
Season 5 Lightweight Finalists
Nate Diaz 7-5
Manny Gamburyan 5-3 (2-2 UFC) (3-1 WEC)
Diaz has looked outstanding in his wins finishing 6 of 7 and not so great against wrestlers which his 4 loses came from said wrestlers. Manny eventually left for the WEC to fight at 145 and worked his way up to a title shot which he lost. This one is pretty close in my opinion but for now I'd say Diaz has been more successful.
Season 6 Welterweight Finalists
Mac Danzig 3-4
Tommy Speers 7-3 (0-1 UFC)
Danzig still surviving in the UFC has had a 3 fight losing streak and is most likely one more bad performance away from being cut. Speer however has gone 7-2 outside of the UFC. So the question remains is quantity better than quality?, well yes and no but in this case I would give Danzig the edge based on quality of opponent.
Season 7 Middleweight Finalists
Amir Sadollah 4-2
C.B. Dollaway 5-2
Amir has since moved down to welterweight while C.B. is still battling as a middleweight. It's really hard to say who has the advantage on this one, I'd really just call it a draw. They both have been in the cage against comparable competition, C.B was finished in both his loses where as Amir lost via TKO and a decision.
Season 8 Lightweight Finalists
Effrain Escurdero 5-3 (2-2 UFC)
Phillipe Nover 0-2
Both have been cut by the UFC, Escurdero did win 3 in a row before losing his last outing. Nover however has not fought since his release so the advantage here goes to Ecurdero.
Season 8 Light Heavyweight Finalists
Ryan Bader 4-1
Magalhaes 6-2 (0-1 UFC)
Bader went from an underdog in their TUF Finale bout to a favorite against Keith Jardine, Rogerio Nogueira, and is again in his upcoming bout against Tito Ortiz. Vinny has gone an impressive 6-1 outside of the UFC but hasn't been in there against anyone the caliber Bader has.
Season 9 Lightweight Finalists (Finale took place 6/20/09)
Ross Pearson 3-1
Andre Winner 2-2
Common Opponents
Dennis Siver- vs Pearson 3/31/10 Pearson via Decision
vs Winner 11/13/10 Siver via Rear Naked Choke 1st Round
No real question here that Pearson has been the better fighter since their fight at the season 9 finale which he was the underdog going into that fight. Would have to think their next bouts will really tell us their positions within the UFC. Can Pearson be a top contender as he takes on Edson Barboza and is Winner even a UFC caliber fighter as he takes on Anthony Njokuani.
vs Winner 11/13/10 Siver via Rear Naked Choke 1st Round
No real question here that Pearson has been the better fighter since their fight at the season 9 finale which he was the underdog going into that fight. Would have to think their next bouts will really tell us their positions within the UFC. Can Pearson be a top contender as he takes on Edson Barboza and is Winner even a UFC caliber fighter as he takes on Anthony Njokuani.
Season 9 Welterweight Finalists (Finale took place 6/20/09)
James Wilks 1-2
DeMarques Johnson 3-2
Neither guy has been able to get any real traction so far in the UFC, Based just on their records Johnson has the advantage so far.
Season 10 Heavyweight Finalists
Roy Nelson 1-1
Brendan Schaub 4-0
Both have very big fights coming up as Nelson is taking on Frank Mir and Schaub sees him self booked against Rodrigo Nogueira. with wins over those opponents each of them could position them selves for a title shot in the near future. Until those fights are in the books and based on Schaub's undefeated record I'll go with him for now.
Both have very big fights coming up as Nelson is taking on Frank Mir and Schaub sees him self booked against Rodrigo Nogueira. with wins over those opponents each of them could position them selves for a title shot in the near future. Until those fights are in the books and based on Schaub's undefeated record I'll go with him for now.
Season 11 Middleweight Finalists
Court Mcgee 1-0
Kris McCray 0-2
Injuries have slowed season winner Mcgee but McCray has already been cut from the UFC after losing 2 in a row since the fight with McGee.
Season 12 Lightweight Finalists
Jonathan Brookins 0-0
Michael Johnson 0-0
Johnson will be the first to prove himself since their fight as he is scheduled to fight in June. Brookins however had to recently pull out of his fight against Jeremy Stephens.
So there it is every TUF winner vs TUF loser, now here are the total records for the winners and the losers
The Ultimate Fighter Winner's total record
So there it is every TUF winner vs TUF loser, now here are the total records for the winners and the losers
The Ultimate Fighter Winner's total record
79-46 UFC Record (82-47 overall)
The Ultimate Fighter Loser's total record
68-48 UFC Record (84-52 overall)
We see that the TUF winner's has won 63.2% of their UFC fights and 63.6% overall. The loser's have won 58.6% of their UFC fights and 61.8% overall. The big difference is Tommy Speers and Vinny Magalhaes having 13 wins between them outside of the UFC to really make the overall records really close. So in conclusion as Brock Lesnar would say you can always make chicken salad out of chicken shit and never count out the loser.
The Ultimate Fighter Loser's total record
68-48 UFC Record (84-52 overall)
We see that the TUF winner's has won 63.2% of their UFC fights and 63.6% overall. The loser's have won 58.6% of their UFC fights and 61.8% overall. The big difference is Tommy Speers and Vinny Magalhaes having 13 wins between them outside of the UFC to really make the overall records really close. So in conclusion as Brock Lesnar would say you can always make chicken salad out of chicken shit and never count out the loser.
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