Tim Sylvia & 16 Stars Who Are Perfect for a Comeback Season of Ultimate Fighter

Tim Sylvia has gone on record to say that if the only way that the UFC would take him back is through The Ultimate Fighter, he would be open to the opportunity. It made me wonder: who else would be willing to go through the TUF house in order to make their return?

After thinking about the subject for a few minutes, I realized that there is a healthy supply of former stars in both the middleweight and heavyweight divisions. So many, in fact, that the UFC could revisit a previous gimmick that was popular once before:

The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback

In my opinion, the biggest reason that fans aren't tuning in to The Ultimate Fighter like they used to is because the addition of the bantamweight, featherweight and flyweight divisions already have them trying to familiarize themselves with an overwhelming number of new fighters.

Season Four of the Ultimate Fighter featured sixteen fighters who had previously fought in the Octagon. Featuring middleweight and welterweight stars, the show led to various degrees of career resurgence for Chris Lytle, Matt Serra, Patrick Cote, Jorge Rivera, Scott Smith, Rich Clementi and Din Thomas.

As I mentioned previously, the middleweight and heavyweight divisions both have an abundance of former stars who are eager to work their way back into the Octagon. I've selected eight fighters from each division who would be great additions to the show. Let's have a look.

The Heavyweights:

Tim Sylvia
Sean McCorkle
Ricco Rodriguez
Todd Duffee
Tim Hague
Rolles Gracie
Brett Rogers
Jon Madsen

The Middleweights:

Patrick Cote
Jake Rosholt
Kendall Grove
Anthony Johnson
Thales Leites
Gerald Harris
Jamie Yager
Drew McFedries

This listing of fighters shows a collection of assorted UFC involvement. Tim Sylvia and Ricco Rodriguez were both former champions. Kendall Grove a previous TUF winner.

One bad performance can send you packing, as Jon Madsen and Gerald Harris found out the hard way. Harris (3-1) and Madsen (4-1) are both successful TUF alumni, and many were puzzled when each man was handed his pink slip after his first loss in the UFC.

Several fighters on here had mixed success in the Octagon, while some were failures.

Heavyweight Sean McCorkle quickly submitted Mark Hunt in his debut, and was thrust into a co-main event with Stefan Struve in his next fight. Nearly tapping Struve with a deep kimura, McCorkle lost that fight and his next, and then was cut from the roster.

Todd Duffee went 1-1 in the UFC, scoring a seven-second KO and eating a come-from-behind KO before being released by Dana White due to attitude issues.

Anthony Johnson, Patrick Cote, and Thales Leites all had impressive runs that saw them as either contenders or title challengers, but were released for various reasons. Johnson had an embarrassingly awful weight cut that no one could forgive. Thales Leites got on the company's bad side with a lackluster performance against Anderson Silva, and Cote unfortunately suffered three straight losses.

Drew McFedries and Jake Rosholt each had a big win that made people take notice. McFedries knocked out Marvin Eastman in little more than one minute, while Rosholt submitted fan favorite Chris Leben back at UFC 101. Neither man got his footing under him, as McFedries was released after a 4-5 run and Rosholt received the same treatment after going 1-2.

You may have noticed that I threw in a star who has never fought for the UFC in Brett Rogers. While his heavy-handed assault never made its way into the Octagon, he did fight under the Zuffa banner over in Strikeforce.  He had a tough run of things by squaring off with Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett in consecutive fights, but he did give Fedor a run for his money, and he knocked out former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski.

If next season becomes a Comeback season, these 16 fighters are an easy sell. Each man has a video catalog of highlights that Zuffa can air to help promote the show, as well as a story to tell on camera. Plus, many of these fighters already have hefty fanbases. The last time that the UFC used fighters with name value on TUF was when they brought in Kimbo Slice and Big Country on TUF 10, the most successful season to date.

If the UFC were to do another Comeback season of TUF, I would recommend that they not offer a title shot to the winner. In 2012, every division has a healthy supply of fighters who are worthy of a title shot. Giving a tournament winner a crack at the belt would upset a lot of fighters and some fans too.

History repeats itself, and history suggests that casting relevant and recognizable talent is a key for generating great ratings and big stars.