The 3 Most Disappointing Winners of the Ultimate Fighter

Every once in a while, the UFC signs a fighter who turns out to be an absolute bust.

The same can be said for the reality show The Ultimate Fighter. Every once in a while, a fighter wins and then turns into an absolute bust.

Nobody ever sees it coming, nobody ever expects it, but it happens.

Let's take a look at the three most disappointing winners of The Ultimate Fighter.

James Wilks

James Wilks won season nine of The Ultimate Fighter as a welterweight when he defeated DaMarques Johnson in 2009.

After that, Wilks went 1-2, losing to Matt Browne and Claude Patrick, while beating Peter Sobotta in between the two losses.

After that, Wilks would never fight again. He officially retired last month, citing risk of paralysis due to injuries.

Efrain Escudero

Efrain Escudero holds the distinction of being one of the few Ultimate Fighter winners to ever be released by the UFC.

Escudero went 3-1, then in his final fight in the Octagon—the first time—he missed weight and was then submitted by Charles Oliveira. After that fight, he was released.

Then he went 5-1 in other promotions before getting the call to come back to the UFC against Jacob Volkmann.

He dropped a unanimous decision to Volkmann and then lost again, to Mac Danzig at UFC 145.

Travis Lutter

Could it be anyone else?

In a season of The Ultimate Fighter that produced one of the most successful winners—Matt Serra—it also produced the least successful winner, Travis Lutter.

Lutter won the show when he submitted Patrick Cote with an armbar. In his next fight, he got to square off against the UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva.

First, Lutter missed weight, making it a normal fight, and not a title fight.

Then, the BJJ black belt was submitted in the second round by Silva due to a triangle choke and elbows.

After that, Lutter would lose to Rich Franklin and receive his walking papers soon after. He has not fought since 2010.

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on Twitter @TimMcTiernan.