It's a concept that took the MMA world by storm and has helped to elevate the sport to where it is today.
In early 2005, the UFC created the Ultimate Fighter. Sixteen fighters from across the world would compete in a single elimination tournament and the last man standing would receive a six figure contract with the UFC.
After nine seasons, the UFC has crowned Diego Sanchez, Forrest Griffin, Joe Stevenson, Rashad Evans, Kendall Grove, Michael Bisping, Travis Lutter, Matt Serra, Nate Diaz, Mac Danzig, Amir Sadollah, Efrain Escudero, Ryan Bader, Ross Pearson and James Wilks as Ultimate Fighter winners.
The Ultimate Fighter TV show has treated the fans with some of the most memorable fights.
Listed here, are ten of the greatest fights from the show. The finale cards do not count, only the fights that took place while the fighters were still in the house are listed here.
Now, some of you will disagree for sure, but this is my opinion only.
10. Cole Miller vs Joe Lauzon (TUF season 5)
Both fighters had made it passed the preliminary round and they met in the quarterfinals. The fight was pretty good and very explosive with most of the fight taking place on the ground.
Lauzon was a heavy favorite heading in the fight thanks to his previous upset of Jens Pulver and total destruction of Brian Gerathy in the first round.
Miller held his own through the fight and even got Joe's back early in the fight. Unfortunately, Miller received an elbow in the back of the head which stunned him pretty bad. Lauzon was deducted a point but Miller decided to go on with the fight even if he was still rocked from the elbow shot.
Lauzon ended up getting the TKO win at the end of the second round to advance in the semi-finals, but who knows what would of happened if Lauzon hadn't hit Cole in the back of the head?
9. Jason Von Flue vs Jorge Gurgel (TUF season 2)
Jason Von Flue arrived inside The Ultimate Fighter house a little later than the others. He replaced an injured Josh Burkman and the fact that he was a replacement didn't sit well with the other fighters. He always seemed to be the odd man out of the team.
As his first fight inside the house, Von Flue was paired up against rival coach's best friend Jorge Gurgel. Most people were counting Jason out, but both men ended up having a war that lasted three rounds.
They were both bloody, bruised and tired and Jason Von Flue proved he belonged in the house with a unanimous decision win over Jorge Gurgel.
8. Ben Saunders vs Dan Barrera (TUF season 6)
Although there's not much to remember from season six of The Ultimate Fighter , the war Ben Saunders and Dan Barrera had was something to watch. Ben Saunders was taller and had more reach, but all that didn't seem to faze Dan Barrera.
Dan wanted that win more than anything and he gave it all he had. He rocked Saunders early in the fight and dropped him. Saunders was bleeding from the nose early in the fight but he never stopped smiling.
Ben Saunders was able to pull off the decision win but the fight was so good, that both men had a rematch in the finale.
7. Amir Sadollah vs Matt Brown (TUF season 7)
After his brutal KO win over Jeremy May in the preliminary round, nobody wanted to fight Matt "The Immortal" Brown. In the quarterfinals, Brown was paired up against best friend in the house Amir Sadollah.
Being friends, both men agreed to deliver a war to each other and they didn't disappoint. The fight mostly took place on foot where both men were throwing punches, kicks and knees to knock the other one out. At a certain point, Brown had Amir against the cage and began unloading with punches and Dana White was screaming, "Holy shit!" while jumping in and out of his chair.
In the end, Amir was able to weather the storm and got a submission win over his friend Matt Brown in the second round.
6. Jason Dent vs Ross Pearson (TUF season 9)
Jason Dent had made it to the semifinals of The Ultimate Fighter 9 with unimpressive wins against Rob Browning and Jeff Lawson. In the semifinals, he had to fight the tough Ross Pearson and that's when Dent said he would fight like never before.
Dent said he had kept his energy for the semifinals and that he would give a fight to Pearson, and that he did. Pearson proved to be the better wrestler and the stronger of the two, but Dent displayed some pretty good stand up skills. Dent was able to catch Ross with several punches that seemed to hurt the UK fighter.
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