The Best Fighters to Appear on the Ultimate Fighter

Who would have thought TUF would one day overtake M*A*S*H?

I'd wager no one saw that coming back in 2005. Let's travel back in time, shall we? On the big screen, the Sith was exacting his revenge, young Harry Potter was sneaking swigs from the Goblet of Fire, and Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson introduced audiences everywhere to the Stage 5 Clinger.

Meanwhile, on the small screen, in an overlooked corner of the basic cable universe, a little revolution was beginning.

Fifteen seasons, 240 fighters, very few format changes and one network relocation later, The Ultimate Fighter—the first vehicle to bring mixed martial arts to the water cooler—is still kicking along (and holding its own in the ratings department).

And though it has a ways to go to catch the venerable M*A*S*H in years on the air and the ratings scale, it has already outlasted the long-running sitcom if you're scoring by seasons.

I don't know about you, but to me, it never gets old. I love watching fights with no background noise except the coaches and teammates. And I admit it: I like the action in the house, too. No matter how predictable it is, I never tire of watching the house gadfly finally get charged, with everyone holding the guy back and shouting things like, "Don't let him take your dreams, man! You hit him, he wins!" Great stuff.

So in honor of the most real of reality shows, here are the 25 best fighters to graduate from the TUF house.

Honorable Mentions

Jesse Taylor

Constantinous Phillipou (lost in the house qualifiers, otherwise would be on the list)

Keith Jardine

Marcus Davis

Ed Herman

John Dodson

Court McGee

Nam Phan

Patrick Cote

26. Joe Stevenson

MMA Record: 31-14
UFC Record: 8-8
TUF Season: 2

Can you tell I was conflicted about this list? Eight honorable mentions and a No. 26 on a top-25 list? Geesus, make a decision, Harris! 

I wanted to leave Stevenson off, by virtue of the late-career nosedive that led to an even UFC record. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. 

25. Tony Ferguson

MMA record: 13-3 
UFC record: 3-0
TUF season: 13

If the head-hunting Season 13 winner keeps going this way (six-fight win streak, five of them by T/KO), he'll shoot up these ranks sooner rather than later.

Who knows? He might even be able to buy himself a decent T-shirt.

24. Ross Pearson

MMA record: 13-5
UFC record: 5-2
TUF season: 9

With apologies to DeMarques Johnson, this delightfully unintelligible British featherweight is thus far the only major-leaguer to emerge from the UK vs. USA season. 

23. Matt Wiman

MMA record: 14-6 
UFC record: 8-4
TUF season: 6

People sometimes overlook "Handsome" Matt, but he has better win percentages than some of the more heralded alums (Marcus Davis comes to mind). Plus, it's tough to forget that terrific series with fellow alum Mac Danzig.

22. Brendan Schaub

MMA record: 8-2
UFC record: 4-2
TUF season: 10

For a minute there, this young heavyweight and former NFL baller appeared to be on the road to contender status. But the train came to a halt, at least temporarily, with a loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira last year.

21. Matt Mitrione

MMA record: 5-1
UFC record: 5-1
TUF season: 10

See previous slide, replace "Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira" with "Cheick Kongo."

20. Mike Swick

MMA record: 14-4
UFC record: 8-4
TUF season: One

Protracted health-related layoffs make it easy to forget he's even an active fighter. But if his Twitter feed is to be believed, he's optimistic about a return.  

19. Chris Lytle

MMA record:  31-18-5
UFC record: 10-10
TUF season: Four

"The Bonus Hunter" has as many postfight accolades as he does UFC wins. Or losses, for that matter.

The cast member from the show's "comeback" season gets extra points not only for the bonuses but for ending his career on a high note when he announced his retirement before his fight with Dan Hardy at UFC on Versus 5, then choked Hardy out to set the bonus record and leave the sport with his hands and head held high. 

18. Nate Quarry

MMA record: 12-4
UFC record: 7-3
TUF season: One

Before retiring in 2010, Quarry had a pretty good career, once fighting Rich Franklin for the middleweight title (though he did get knocked out in the first round).

17. Matt Hamill

MMA record: 10-4
UFC record: 9-4
TUF season: 3

Everyone points to his inspiring story. Rightly so. But he also beat Tito Ortiz, Tim Boetsch, Mark Munoz, Keith Jardine and Jon Jones (I know, I know, but still).

That's a pretty darn good victims list.

16. Roy Nelson

MMA record: 16-7
UFC record: 3-3
TUF season: 10

The Season 10 winner may not have the gaudiest record. But the first fighter to go the distance with Junior dos Santos has proven that he has plenty of worth beyond soundbites and pub stunts.

15. Stephan Bonnar

MMA record:  14-7
UFC record: 8-6
TUF season: One

The Other One is back on track with a three-fight winning streak.  

14. George Sotiropolous

MMA record: 14-4
UFC record: 7-2
TUF season: Six

After a blazing-fast start at lightweight, the Australian submission fighter has dropped his last two.

13. Melvin Guillard

MMA record:  29-10-2 (1)
UFC record: 11-6
TUF season: Two

He's a fearsome fighter, and is still only 28, but the clock is ticking for Guillard to deliver in a fight that would make him a true elite.  

12. Matt Serra

MMA record: 11-7
UFC record: 7-7
TUF season: Four

Sorry, but when it comes to Matt Serra, I just don't see it.

I realize he's a great real-life underdog story and all. I know he beat GSP to win the title. I saw the fight. But it's hard for me to give a top ranking to a guy with these overall numbers, and whose second-most-famous career moment is a tie between a tough loss to Matt Hughes and a spinning-backfist KO loss to Shonie Carter.

I mean, how far can you ride basically one win? To No. 12 on this list, that's how far. 

11. Joe Lauzon

MMA record: 21-7
UFC record: 8-4
TUF season: Five

He was on the wrong side of the highlight reel against Anthony Pettis, but something tells me that won't dampen his enthusiasm next time. In fact, with seven post-fight bonuses at age 27, he'll probably threaten Lytle's career record before it's all said and done.

10. Ryan Bader

MMA record: 14-2
UFC record: 7-2
TUF season: Eight

The sky—or at least Jon Jones—is the limit again for Bader after he won two straight to counteract the first two defeats of his pro career.

9. Chris Leben

MMA record: 22-8
UFC record: 12-7
TUF season: One

In the wake of his most recent round of troubles, the 31-going-on-40 middleweight may be running out of lives. But something tells me that whenever he hits the end of the line (and seriously, may it not be for a while yet) he'll go out with a blaze. 

8. Kenny Florian

MMA record: 14-6
UFC record: 12-5
TUF season: One

With his fight career in jeopardy, it's a good thing he has a solid Plan B.

7. Diego Sanchez

MMA record: 23-5
UFC record: 12-5
TUF season: 1

Sanchez is considering a drop back to lightweight. We'll see how that goes.

He's like the driver who gets stuck in the right lane, sees the traffic going faster in the left, then moves to the left lane, and the right speeds up. Pick a lane, dude! 

6. Nate Diaz

MMA record: 15-7
UFC record: 10-5
TUF season: Five

Not the best cumulative record, but he's coming into his own, and may now be the best lightweight in the UFC not named Edgar or Henderson.

5. Gray Maynard

MMA record: 10-1-1 (1)
UFC record: 8-1-1 (1)
TUF season: Five

Oh, and this guy.

4. Josh Koscheck

MMA record: 17-5
UFC record: 15-5
TUF season: One

The least-popular fighter in the UFC—and I think that's a more-than-fair assessment at this point—is still pretty daggone good.

The UFC could have some fun with this. And they may be already by putting him in with the explosive Johny Hendricks.

If he can beat Hendricks this May, give him Jake Ellenberger. If he loses, give him Brian Ebersole. 

3. Michael Bisping

MMA record: 22-4
UFC record: 12-4
TUF season: Three

His fight with Tim Boetsch this July should be verrrrry interesting.

2. Forrest Griffin

MMA record: 18-7
UFC record: 9-5
TUF season: 1

The former light heavyweight champ and, even here in what appears to be the twilight of his in-cage career, one of the most popular mixed martial artists on planet Earth.

1. Rashad Evans

MMA record: 17-1-1
UFC record: 12-1-1
TUF season: Two

Not only a former light heavyweight champ, but the only light heavyweight, for my money, who can threaten the current champ.

We'll see for sure on April 21.