The Ultimate Fighter debuted on January 17th 2005 in the 11:00PM Timeslot on SpikeTV, directly following WWE’s (WWF at the time) Monday Night Raw. The show was a combination of Reality television and rigorous MMA Training at the UFC training center. The concept was simple enough, take 16 guys and put em in a house for about 2 months where they will get professional training from UFC fighters and compete for a UFC Contract and a six figure prize. The show every season has been hosted by UFC president Dana White. It’s produced 7 UFC Champions (1 Interim champion) as well as countless stars and future hall of famers. Forrest Griffin won season 1 and went on to coach the show and then defeat Rampage Jackson and win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. He’s the first ever TUF Alum to win UFC Gold. He is also a Two time UFC Hall of Famer, going in as a performer and in the Fight section (For his TUF Finale against Stephan Bonnar). Griffin was defeated by season 2 winner Rashad Evans who was the second Alum to achieve championship status.
The first season which debuted in 2005 featured future UFC Fighters and classic personalities such as Griffin, Chris Leben, Josh Koscheck, Diego Sanchez among others. The season was a huge success w/ all the personalities and the highly competitive fights each week. The crowning moment was at the Ultimate Fighter finale when Stephan Bonnar fought Griffin in the finals of the Light Heavyweight tournament. The bout was so good that between rounds 1 and 2 fans viewers called friends and family to tell them to tune in as the viewership went up by a few million. The fight is called the most important fight in UFC History as SpikeTV was on the fence about renewing the program for a second season. Dana White and Spike Executives famously went to the dressing room area and signed a deal to renew the show directly after that fight.
Season 4 saw a new format w/ former UFC fighters coming back to compete for a title shot and redemption. The season was called “The Comeback”. No coaches were assigned though eventual winner Matt Serra took the reigns as the leader of team No Love as they took on Team Mojo. Travis Lutter won the Middleweight tournament but missed weight in his title bout against Anderson Silva, who defeated him to retain the title. Matt Serra took full advantage and went on to score one of the biggest upsets in UFC History by knocking out George’s St. Pierre to become the UFC Welterweight champion. He would go on to lose to GSP in his first title defense.
The show thus far has only seen 4 ladies coach. The first 2 females to host the show were Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate. Originally the UFC had planned on Ronda coaching opposite Holly Holm however Holm was sidelined w/ an injury and Ronda was surprised by former strikeforce rival Tate who stepped in to take the job. The two fought at the end of the season w/ Ronda defending her title successfully by forcing Tate to submit for the second time. Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha were the only other two females to coach the show. They would also fight on the Finale w/ Joanna successfully defending her title.
The format has mainly stayed the same w/ the winner getting a contract and monetary payment. Season 24 promised the winner a Flyweight championship bout against the one of the greatest UFC champions of all time. Tim Elliot would take advantage and go on to lose by decision to Johnson but not before putting him in some scary positions. Season 20 saw a crowning of the Inaugural Woman’s Strawweight champion when Carla Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas in the finale. Another woman’s division debuted w/ season 26 as Nicco Montano became the first every Woman’s Flyweight champion.
Some of the biggest names in the sport got their breakthrough by winning the Ultimate Fighter. Names such as Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez, Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping, Tony Ferguson, Nate Diaz, Kelvin Gastelum, Kamura Usman and many others. Coaching the show as also been one of the biggest compliments the UFC can give a fighter. Huge names such as Conor McGregor, Brock Lesnar, BJ Penn, Chuck Liddell (2), Tito Ortiz (2), Randy Couture, Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey, George’s St. Pierre and a slew of others. The show has not only spawned careers but reignited stars, put champs on camera and elevated champions by bringing them to millions of homes each week.
This page will include notable achievements, records and the full breakdown of each season of the show. We had alot of fun researching this and putting this together and taking a trip down memory lane. The MMA IQ Reports introduction came w/ Season 1 of this show as our creator had just finished watching Raw and upon seeing advertisements for weeks decided to give the debut a shot. The world it led to has been truly remarkable…

SEASON 31 COMING MAY 31ST: MCGREGOR VS. CHANDLER

SEASON 1: TEAM LIDDELL VS TEAM COUTURE
Winners: Diego Sanchez (Middleweight)
Forrest Griffin (Light Heavyweight)

SEASON 2: TEAM FRANKLIN VS. TEAM HUGHES
Winners: Rashad Evans (Heavyweight)
Joe Stevenson (Welterweight)

SEASON 3: TEAM ORTIZ VS. TEAM SHAMROCK
Winners: Michael Bisping (Light Heavyweight)
Kendell Grove (Middleweight)

SEASON 4: THE COMBACK
Winners: Matt Serra (Welterweight)
Travis Lutter (Middleweight)

SEASON 5: TEAM PENN VS. TEAM PULVER
Winner: Nate Diaz (Lightweight)

SEASON 6: TEAM HUGHES VS. TEAM SERRA
Winner: Mac Danzig (Welterweight)

SEASON 7: TEAM FORREST VS. TEAM RAMPAGE
Winner: Amir Sodallah (Middleweight)

SEASON 8: TEAM NOGUEIRA VS. TEAM MIR
Winners: Ryan Bader (Light Heavyweight)
Efrain Escudero (Lightweight)

SEASON 9: TEAM UNITED STATES VS. TEAM UNITED KINGDOM
Winners: Ross Pearson (Lightweight)
James Wilks (Welterweight)

SEASON 10: “HEAVYWEIGHT” - TEAM RAMPAGE VS. TEAM EVANS
Winner: Roy Nelson (Heavyweight)

SEASON 11: TEAM LIDDELL VS. TEAM ORTIZ
Winner: Court McGee (Middleweight)

SEASON 12: TEAM KOSCHECK VS. TEAM GSP
Winner: Jonathon Brookins (Lightweight)

SEASON 13: TEAM LESNAR VS. TEAM DOS SANTOS
Winner: Tony Ferguson (Welterweight)

SEASON 14: TEAM BISPING VS. TEAM MILLER
Winners: Diego Brandao (Featherweight)
John Dodson (Bantamweight)

SEASON 15: TEAM CRUZ VS. TEAM FABER (ULTIMATE FIGHTER LIVE)
Winner: Michael Chiesa (Lightweight)

SEASON 16: TEAM CARWIN VS. TEAM NELSON
Winner: Colton Smith (Welterweight)

SEASON 17: TEAM JONES VS. TEAM SONNEN
Winner: Kelvin Gastelum (Middleweight)

SEASON 18: TEAM ROUSEY VS. TEAM TATE
Winners: Julianna Pena (Woman’s Bantamweight)
Chris Holdsworth (Men’s Bantamweight)

SEASON 19: TEAM EDGAR VS. TEAM PENN
Winners: Corey Anderson (Light Heavyweight)
Eddie Gordon (Middleweight)

SEASON 20: “A CHAMPION WILL BE CROWNED” - TEAM PETTIS VS. TEAM MELENDEZ
Winner: Carla Esparza (Woman’s Straw Weight)

SEASON 21: TEAM AMERICAN TOP TEAM VS. TEAM BLACKZILLIANS
Winner: Kamaru Usman (Welterweight)

SEASON 22: TEAM MCGREGOR VS. TEAM FABER
Winner: Ryan Hall (Lightweight)

SEASON 23: TEAM JOANNA VS. TEAM CLAUDIA
Winner: Tatiana Suarez (Woman’s Strawweight)
Winner: Andrew Sanchez (Light Heavyweights)

SEASON 24: “TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS” - TEAM CEJUDO VS. TEAM BENEVIDEZ
Winner: Tim Elliot (Flyweight)

SEASON 25: “REDEMPTION” - TEAM GARBRANDT VS. TEAM DILLASHAW
Winner: Jesse Taylor (Welterweight)

SEASON 26: “A NEW WORLD CHAMPION” - TEAM ALVEREZ VS. TEAM GAETHJE
Winner: Nicco Montano (Woman’s Flyweight)

SEASON 27: “UNDEFEATED” - TEAM STIPE VS. TEAM CORMIER
Winner: Michael Trizano (Lightweight)
Winner: Brad Katona (Featherweight)

SEASON 28: “HEAVY HITTERS” - TEAM GASTELUM VS. TEAM WHITTAKER
Winner: Macy Chiasson (Woman’s Featherweight)
Winner: Juan Espino (Heavyweight)

SEASON 29: TEAM VOLKANOVSKI VS. TEAM ORTEGA
Winner: Ricky Turcious (Bantamweight)
Winner: Bryan Battle (Middleweight)

SEASON 30: TEAM PENA VS. NUNES:
Winner: Mohommad Usman (Heavyweight)
Winner: Julianna Miller (Woman’s Flyweight)

SEASON 31: TEAM MCGREGOR VS. TEAM CHANDLER:

CHAMPIONS SPAWNED BY THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER:
01. Forrest Griffin (Light Heavyweight) - Defeated Rampage Jackson. No Title Defenses
02. Matt Serra (Welterweight) - Defeated George’s St. Pierre. No Title Defenses
03. Rashad Evans (Light Heavyweight) - Defeated Forrest Griffin - No Title Defenses
04. Carla Esparza (Woman’s Strawweight) - Defeated Rose Namajunas (Show Finale) - No Title Defenses
05. T.J. Dillashaw (Bantamweight) - Defeated Renan Barao - 2 Title Defenses
06. Nicco Montano (Woman’s Flyweight) - Defeated Roxanne Modefferi (Show Finale) - No Title Defenses
07. Rose Namajunas (Woman’s Strawweight) - Defeated Joanna Jedrzecyzyk - One Title Defense
08. Michael Bisping (Middleweight) - Defeated Luke Rockhold - 1 Title Defense
09. Kamura Usman (Welterweight) - Defeated Tyrone Woodley - 3 Defenses (Current Champion)
10 Tony Ferguson (Lightweight) - Defeated Kevin Lee - No Title Defenses (INTERIM CHAMPION)
11. Robert Whittaker (Middleweight) - Defeated Yoel Romero - One Title Defense

TUF ALUMS RETURNING TO COACH THE SHOW:
01. Forrest Griffin (Won Season 1) - Returned to Coach Season 7 vs. Rampage Jackson
02. Michael Bisping (Won Season 3) - Returned to Coach Season 10 Vs. Dan Henderson
03. Rashad Evans (Won Season 2) - Returned to Coach Season 10 Vs. Rampage Jackson
04. Josh Koscheck (Competed in Season 1) - Returned to Coach Season 12 Vs. George’s St. Pierre
05. Michael Bisping (2) (Won Season 3) - Returned to Coach Season 14 Vs. Jason Miller
06. Roy Nelson (Won Season 10) - Returned to Coach Season 16

COACHES WHO APPEARED 3 TIMES:
01 Chuck Liddell - Coached Season 1 (Vs. Randy Couture) & Season 11 (Vs. Tito Ortiz) + Season Latin America (Vs. Forrest Griffin)

COACHES WHO APPEARED TWICE:
01. Matt Hughes - Coached Season 2 (Vs. Rich Franklin) & Season 6 (Vs. Matt Serra)
02. Rampage Jackson - Coached Season 7 (Vs. Forrest Griffin) & Season 10 (Vs. Rashad Evans)
03. Forrest Griffin - Coached Season 7 (Vs. Rampage Jackson) & Latin America (Vs. Chuck Liddell)
04. Tito Ortiz - Coached Season 3 (Vs. Ken Shamrock) & Season 11 (Vs. Chuck Liddell)
05. Michael Bisping - Coached Season 10 (Vs. Dan Henderson) & Team 14 (Vs. Jason Miller)
06. B.J. Penn - Coached Season 5 (Vs. Jens Pulver) & Season 19 (Vs. Frankie Edgar)
07. Uriah Faber - Coached Season 15 (Vs. Dominick Cruz) & Season 22 (Vs. Conor McGregor)
08. Chael Sonnen - Coached Season 17 (Vs. Jon Jones) & Brazil 3 (Vs. Wanderlei Silva)
09. Antonio Rogrigo Nogueira - Coached Season 8 (Vs. Frank Mir) & Brazil 2 (Vs. Fabricio Werdum)
10. Kelvin Gastelum - Coached Season 28 (Vs. Robert Whittaker) & Latin America 2 (Vs. Efrain Escudero)
11. Wanderlie Silvia - Coached Brazil 1 (Vs. Vitor Belfort) & Brazil 3 (Vs. Chael Sonnen)
12. Fabricio Werdum - Coached Season Brazil 2 (Vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira) & Latin America (Vs. Cain Velasquez)

WOMAN WHO HAVE COACHED THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER:
01. Ronda Rousey - Coached Season 18 (Vs. Miesha Tate)
02. Miesha Tate - Coached Season 18 (Vs. Ronda Rousey)
03. Joanna Jedrzejczyk - Coached Season 23 (Vs. Claudia Gadelha)
04. Claudia Gadelha - Coached 23 (Vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk)
05. Amanda Nunes - Coached Season 30 (Vs. Julianna Pena)
06. Julianna Pena - Coached Season 30 (Vs. Amanda Nunes)

WEIGHT CLASS BREAKDOWN:
8 - Welterweight & Middleweight
7 - Lightweight
5 - Light Heavyweight
4 - Heavyweight
3 - Bantamweight
2 - Featherweight, Woman’s Strawweight, Woman’s Flyweight
1 - Flyweight, Woman’s Featherweight, Woman’s Bantamweight

WINNERS BY SEASON:

Season One - Forrest Griffin (Light Heavyweight) / Diego Sanchez (Middleweight)
Season Two - Rashad Evans (Heavyweights) / Joe Stevenson (Welterweights)
Season Three - Michael Bisping (Heavyweights) / Kendall Grove (Middleweights)
Season Four - Matt Serra (Welterweights) / Travis Lutter (Middleweights)
Season Five - Nate Diaz (Lightweights)
Season Six - Mac Danzig (Welterweights)
Season Seven - Amir Sadollah (Middleweights)
Season Eight - Efrain Escudero (Lightweights) / Ryan Bader (LIght Heavyweights)
Season Nine - Ross Pearson (Lightweights) / James Wilks (Welterweights)
Season Ten - Roy Nelson (Heavyweights)
Season Eleven - Court McGee (Middleweights)
Season Twelve - Jonathon Brookins (Lightweights)
Season Thirteen - Tony Ferguson (Welterweights)
Season Fourteen - John Dodson (Bantamweights) / Diego Brandao (Featherweights)
Season Fifteen - Michael Chiesa (Lighweights)
Season Sixteen - Colton Smith (Welterweights)
Season Seventeen - Kelvin Gastelum (Middleweights)
Season Eighteen - Chris Holdsworth (Bantamweight) / Julianna Pena (Woman’s Bantanweight)
Season Nineteen - Eddie Gordon (Middleweights) / Corey Anderson (Heavyweights)
Season Twenty - Carla Esparza (Woman’s Strawweight)
Season Twenty One - Kamaru Usman (Welterweights)
Season Twenty Two - Ryan Hall (Lightweights)
Season Twenty Three - Andrew Sanchez (Light Heavyweights) / Tatiana Suarez (Woman’s Strawweights)
Season Twenty Four - Tim Elliot (Flyweights)
Season Twenty FIve - Jesse Taylor (Welterweights)
Season Twenty Six - Nicco Mondano (Woman’s Flyweights)
Season Twenty Seven - Brad Katona (Featherweights) / Michael Trizano (Lightweight)
Season Twenty Eight - Juan Espino (Heavyweight) / Macy Chiasson (Woman’s Featherweight)
Season Twenty Nine - RIcky Turcious (Bantamweight) / Bryan Battle (Middleweight)
Season Thirty - Mohammad Usman (Heavyweight) / Julianna Miller (Woman’s Flyweight)

Top 5 Most Successful Winners of The Ultimate Fighter Reality Show:
01. Kamaru Usman (Season 21) - Amassed an 8-0 Record in the UFC then Defeated Tyrone Woodley to Become Welterweight Champion. So far 3 defendes
02. Michael Bisping (Season 3) - Won Middleweight Title, Defended TItle, Defeated Anderson Silva, returned to coach 2 seasons of TUF. Now Successful Commentator.
03. T.J. Dillashaw (Season 14) - Won The Bantamweight Title twice and defended the belt 3 times.
04. Forrest Griffin (Season 1) - Won Light Heavyweight Championship, 2 time Hall of Famer and has a HOF award named after him. True Pioneer of the Sport.
05. Nate Diaz (Season 5) - Extremely Successful UFC Career including PPV Records, a Win over Conor McGregor & Top 5 PPV Buys /w 2 events.
05. Rashad Evans (Season 2) - Won the Light Heavyweight Title, Knocked out Chuck Liddell and is currently an Analyst for UFC

INTERNATIONAL ULTIMATE FIGHTER SEASONS:
Season Brazil - Rony Jason (Featherweights) / Cezar Ferreira (Middleweights)
Season Smashes - Norman Parke (Lightweights) / Robert Whittaker (Welterweights)
Season Brazil 2 - Leonardo Santos (Welterweights)
Season China - Ning Guangyou (Featherweights) / Zhang Lipeng (Welterweights)
Season Canada - Chad Laprise (Welterweights) / Elias Theodorou (Middleweights)
Season Brazil 3 - Warlley Alves (Middleweights) / Antonio Carlos Junior (Heavyweights)
Season Latin America - Alejandro Perez (Bantamweights) / Yair Rodriguez (Featherweights)
Season Brazil 4 - Reginaldo Vieira (Bantamweight) / Glaico Franca (LIghtwieghts)
Season Latin America 2 - Enrique Barzola (Lighweights) / Erick Montano (Welterweights)
Season Latin America 3 - Martin Bravo (Lightweights)

Top 2 Most Successful WInners of The Ultimate Fighter International Seasons:
01. ROBERT WHITTAKER - Rob would go on to Capture the Middleweight Title in the UFC and Defeat a who’s who of that Division including Yoel Romero (Twice), Darren Till, Derek Brunson, Jacare Souza Uriah Hall and Jared Cannonier.
02. YAIR RODRIGUEZ - Yair would run roughshod over the lightweight division until a loss to Frankie Edgar and then an injury Sidelined him.