Efrain Escudero and the Most Disappointing Ultimate Fighter Winners

For the last seven years, The Ultimate Fighter has been a steady part of a well-balanced MMA breakfast. Not only does the show help to promote an upcoming pay-per-view battle between the coaches, but it introduces fans to upwards of 32 new fighters over a 12-week period.

UFC President Dana White credits the epic battle between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar as the most important fight in the history of MMA. The Ultimate Fighter has produced three world champions and several title contenders.

Unfortunately, not all champions of The Ultimate Fighter can have the success of a Rashad Evans or a Michael Bisping. In fact, some TUF winners fell on their face right out of the gate. This is a look at the five most disappointing The Ultimate Fighter winners of the show's 14-season history.

Kendall Grove

Kendall Grove started his UFC career with a lot of promise.

Standing 6'6" and possessing a 78" reach, the lengthy submission artist appeared to be on track to continue the legacy started by winners of the first two seasons.

As a member of Team Ortiz on The Ultimate Fighter 3: Shamrock vs Ortiz, Kendall advanced to the finals by defeating Ross Pointon and Kalib "Running Man" Starnes on his way to the finals.

Meeting a very game Ed Herman in the end, Kendall was able to threaten with submissions while surviving Herman's dangerous grappling game en route to winning a close decision, a six-figure contract and the prestigious title of The Ultimate Fighter.

After winning the tournament, Da Spyder would kick off his UFC career with two more wins, including a submission victory over Alan Belcher.  

Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there. From that point on, Grove would win only four of his next 10 fights. What's worse is that two of those wins came via split decision.

Grove is one of only four TUF winners to be released by the organization.

Efrain Escudero

Efrain Escudero was the fourth lightweight picked in Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter, but that didn't stop him from from beating the odds and the No. 1 and No. 2 choices along the way.

In his quarterfinal bout, he faced No. 3 lightweight Shane Nelson and was able to finish the fight via mounted triangle choke.

The semifinals saw Escudero paired up with Mir's first choice and resident troublemaker Junie Browning. Like Nelson, Browning was submitted in the second round. 

Once Escudero made it to the finals, he stood across from his teammate and the first pick of Coach Nogueira, Phillipe Nover. Although he was unable to finish his opponent, Escudero did pick up two rounds on the scorecards to become The Ultimate Fighter.

The Mexican lightweight didn't keep much momentum, as he traded wins and losses over his next four fights. Trouble began when Escudero weighed in at a whopping 159 pounds going into his bout with Charles Oliveira.

In what appeared to be a message that they will not tolerate fighters missing weight, the UFC didn't waste any time in dropping him from the roster.

Since his return at UFC 141, Escudero has dropped decisions to Mac Danzig and Jacob Volkmann.

Mac Danzig

Alongside Roy Nelson and Tony Ferguson, Mac Danzig is one of TUF competitors who was expected to win the tournament and actually did.

However, Danzig had an easier test than expected.

Danzig was widely expected to face one of the two Team Serra favorites George Sotiropoulos or Ben Saunders, but neither man moved on.

Saunders' quarterfinal bout saw him competing with the flu and Sotiropoulos was knocked out shortly after an eye-poke in his semifinal bout.

Instead, Danzig faced the man who defeated them both, Tommy Speer. Danzig quickly submitted his Team Hughes teammate and dropped down to his natural weight class of 155.

Since that time, Danzig has faced stiff competition, but won only four of nine UFC contests, the lowest point of which includes a stretch where he was victorious only twice in a seven-fight stretch.

With a victory last week over Efrain Escudero, Danzig appears to be back on track, but only time will tell if he can fully shake off the funk that nearly ended his relationship with Zuffa.

James Wilks

James Wilks was the welterweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 9: United States vs. United Kingdom.

I only tell you this because he seems to be forgotten by most fans, due to his 1-2 record since winning the show and his absence from the sport since the fall of 2010.

Wilks defeated DaMarques Johnson in the show's finale but lost an exhausting battle with Matt Brown in his first bout following the tournament. 

The low point of Wilks' career must have been his loss to Claude Patrick in his home country at UFC 120. The event was on a tape delay, and the TUF champs' bout was so boring that it was removed from the American broadcast and replaced by Cyrille Diabate vs. Alexander Gustafsson.

Since that bout, Wilks has not been able to compete after nagging injuries forced him out of fights with Duane Ludwig, Amir Sadollah and Rory MacDonald. 

Being eclipsed by the success of Ross Pearson, who won the season's lightweight tournament, surely hasn't helped Wilks' case.

Travis Lutter

The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback was designed to be the most prestigious prize in the show's history.

Using a cast of UFC veterans, the Zuffa boys decided that a six-figure contract was a great prize, but it wasn't flashy enough.

For the first (and only) time, The Ultimate Fighter winners would receive a shot at the coveted UFC championship.

The competition in the middleweight bracket was fierce, including Patrick Cote, Jorge Rivera, Scott Smith and eventual winner Travis Lutter.

Lutter defeated Smith and Pete "Drago" Sell on the way to the finals, where he submitted Patrick Cote in the first round. Lutter received the title of Ultimate Fighter and a crack at middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Not only does Lutter's career become disappointing, it becomes shameful.

Lutter forfeited his title shot by missing weight. The fight with Silva still took place, but it was changed to a three-round, non-title affair. Lutter would submit to elbow strikes in the second round.

Unbelievably, the UFC was willing to give Lutter another high-profile fight. At UFC 83, he met former champion Rich Franklin and was stopped again in the second round. He was subsequently released from the promotion.

Lutter has not fought since being knocked out by Rafael Natal nearly two years ago. At the age of 38, it looks like the black sheep of The Ultimate Fighter may have hung up the gloves forever.