TUF Live: Ranking the Top 5 Lightweight Favorites

The elimination round is over.

Sixteen UFC hopefuls advanced into the Ultimate Fighter house on Friday night's debut episode of The Ultimate Fighter Live, and now, the hard part begins.

They'll be sequestered from society, locked up in a mansion with nothing to do but train and annoy each other. Past Ultimate Fighter contestants have spoken about the difficulty of being locked away for six weeks, often naming that isolation as the worst part of being on the show.

The contestants on this season face an even greater challenge due to the live nature of the show. Instead of six weeks away from their families and friends, they'll be stuck inside the house for 13 weeks. Expect plenty of madness as they start to get on each other's nerves and miss the daily comforts of cell phones, Internet and television.

One thing they'll have plenty of time for, though, is training. And so, as we prepare for the real fun to begin next Friday on FX, let's take a look at the five contestants who have the best shot of seeing their way through to the finals and becoming the next Ultimate Fighter.

5. Sam Sicilia

Professional record: 10-0

How he advanced into the house: Defeated Erin Beach by KO

We didn't see much of Sicilia on the debut episode of TUF Live. After all, his fight with Erin Beach lasted just eight seconds, long enough for Sicilia to dispatch Beach with a bomb of a right. Half of Sicilia's pro wins have come by knockout, so be on the lookout for more Dan Henderson-style right hands over the course of the show.

4. Myles Jury

Professional record: 9-0

How he got into the house: Defeated Akbarh Arreola by unanimous decision

Jury did what he needed to do in order to get into the house, using his wrestling skills to stifle the action and earn a unanimous decision. It wasn't the most exciting thing in the world, but it was effective. 

But it didn't show us what Jury is truly capable of. He'll have to use more of a well-rounded skill set if he hopes to make his second go-round on The Ultimate Fighter a successful one.

3. Justin Lawrence

Professional record: 3-0

How he got in the house: Defeated James Krause by TKO

Lawrence displayed the most exciting striking game of all of the TUF Live hopefuls, dispatching James Krause with a wide array of kicks and arm strikes. We haven't seen what he can do on the ground, but given that his home gym is Black House (and he has one armbar submission win), I'm fairly certain he won't be a fish out of water if the fight goes to the mat.

If Lawrence can keep his fights standing, he'll be handful for anyone on the TUF Live roster.

2. Mike Rio

Professional record: 8-1

How he got into the house: Defeated Ali MacLean by submission (rear-naked choke)

Rio has the best overall wrestling credentials in the house. As we've seen in the past, wrestling can take you a long way when you're doing multiple short-notice fights in a short amount of time. Rio is a decent striker with a couple of TKO wins on his record, but look for him to rely heavily on his wrestling in order to advance in the house.

1. Cristiano Marcello

Professional record: 12-3

How he got into the house: Defeated Jared Caristen by submission (rear-naked choke)

As Joe Rogan is fond of saying: There are black belts, and then there are black belts. Marcello falls into that second category with his fourth-degree black belt, making him the most accomplished grappler in the house by a significant margin.

We don't know how far his striking has advanced in the past few years, but he may not even need to rely on it. As we saw during his destruction of Caristen, Marcello has the ability to completely and utterly control his opponents on the ground and will take advantage of any small holes in their game with his incredible submission skills.

Marcello is very good at one specific thing, and that should be enough to see him through to the finals of the first-ever Ultimate Fighter Live.