MMA: Power Ranking Every Past Winner of the Ultimate Fighter

In its more than 12 seasons of existence, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) has produced multiple champions and even more top contenders. On the other hand, we have also seen a number of former winners being released after not being able to live up to their potential.

Still, The Ultimate Fighter has become an excellent source of new talent for the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC). However, even with all the former TUF talent that exists within the organization today, only series winners have been able to capture a UFC title.

From worst to best, here are the power rankings of the 18 former TUF winners.

18. Travis Lutter

With his submission win over Patrick Cote in the finals of the TUF Season 4 middleweight tournament, Travis Lutter earned an immediate title shot against Anderson Silva.

Not only did Lutter fail to make weight for the title fight, which effectively ruined his chance at fighting for a belt, but Lutter was also finished with elbows from a triangle choke in the second round.

After being finished in the second round again in his next fight against Rich Franklin, Lutter was released from the UFC.

Since his release, Lutter has only fought twice, earning a decision victory over Jason MacDonald and losing due to knockout against Rafael Natal.

Released just two fights after winning TUF and considering the fact that he failed to make weight for a title fight, Lutter is unquestionably the least successful series winner in UFC history.

17. Jonathan Brookins

The winner of TUF Season 12 lightweight tournament, Jonathan Brookins has not yet competed in the UFC since winning the series with a decision victory over Michael Johnson.

Prior to TUF, Brookins' last loss against Jose Aldo showed a glaring weakness in the series winner's striking game. Even against Johnson, Brookins was still carrying his hands low and holding his chin high.

While Brookins was able to get away with this poor technique against his inexperienced TUF opponents, it is something that he will definitely need to show improvement with in his next UFC fight.

Brookins is currently scheduled to fight a powerful, dangerous brawler in Jeremy Stephens at TUF Season 13 Finale in June.

16. Court McGee

After winning TUF Season 11 with a submission of Kris McCray, Court McGee has only fought one more time in the UFC.

McGee made the most of his one fight so far, though, with a third round submission win over Ryan Jensen at UFC 121.

McGee had been scheduled to fight against Jesse Bongfeldt at UFC 131. However, McGee was forced out of that bout due to a knee injury.

15. James Wilks

The winner of TUF Season 9 welterweight tournament, James Wilks has been far from spectacular since fighting his way into the UFC.

After beating DaMarques Johnson to earn his UFC contract, Wilks has gone 1-2 in his first three fights since TUF.

With losses to Matt Brown and Claude Patrick, Wilks could very easily drop below Court McGee and Jonathan Brookins on this list if those two fighters are able to continue their success.

Wilks had been scheduled to fight Duane Ludwig recently, but an injury forced him out of that bout and has kept him out of the Octagon since.

14. Efrain Escudero

Efrain Escudero was a promising young fighter after winning TUF Season 8 lightweight tournament with a decision victory over Phillipe Nover.

After TUF, Escudero went 2-2 against stiff UFC lightweight competition. Escudero's impressive victories over Cole Miller and Dan Lauzon were offset by his submission losses to Evan Dunham and Charles Oliveira.

While failing to make weight prior to the fight hardly helped his case, Escudero was released from the UFC after his loss to Oliveira.

Escudero appeared to be on his way back to the UFC with three straight wins after his release. However, a recent loss to Fabricio Camoes has certainly served as a major setback in Escudero's hopes of fighting in the UFC again.

13. Amir Sadollah

Despite having never fought professionally prior to TUF, Amir Sadollah was able to win the Season 7 tournament with back-to-back arm bars against C.B. Dollaway.

After his post-TUF career got off to a rough start in a loss against Johny Hendricks, Sadollah has rebounded nicely by winning four of his last five fights.

With his only loss during that time coming against Dong Hyun Kim, Sadollah has defeated fighters like Phil Baroni and DaMarques Johnson on his way to gaining stability with the UFC.

Sadollah is scheduled to fight Duane Ludwig at UFC Live on Versus 5 in August.

12. Kendall Grove

With a unanimous decision victory over Ed Herman, Kendall Grove become the winner of TUF Season 3 middleweight tournament.

Grove has not been able to string together an outstanding number of wins since earning his contract with the UFC, but he has won more than he has lost and has been able to remain with the organization for more than five years now.

While he hasn't been able to score back-to-back victories over big names during his career, Grove has defeated fighters such as Evan Tanner and Alan Belcher.

Grove's next fight is scheduled to come against Tim Boetsch at UFC 130 later this month.

11. Ross Pearson

Since winning TUF Season 9 lightweight tournament, Ross Pearson is quietly becoming a contender at 155 pounds.

Pearson has defeated Dennis Siver and Spencer Fisher since beating Andre Winner in the Season 9 Finale, with his only loss coming against Cole Miller.

Next, Pearson is expected to face skilled striker Edson Barboza at UFC 134 in August.

10. Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz won TUF Season 5 due to an unfortunate shoulder injury suffered by Manny Gamburyan in the season finale.

Nevertheless, Diaz has proven that he was a worthy series winner through his performances in the Octagon since the fight with Gamburyan.

During his UFC career, Diaz has defeated fighters like Kurt Pellegrino, Melvin Guillard and Marcus Davis. Diaz has also taken Gray Maynard and Clay Guida to narrow split decisions.

Diaz recently lost back-to-back fights for only the second time in his career after dropping a decision against Rory MacDonald. After the loss, a return to lightweight seems likely for Diaz.

9. Roy Nelson

Former International Fight League (IFL) Heavyweight Champion Roy Nelson defeated internet sensation Kimbo Slice and former NFL player Brendan Schaub on his way to becoming the TUF Season 10 winner.

Nelson has fought much more experienced competition since earning his UFC contract, but has still performed fairly well.

After knocking out Stefan Struve in under 40 seconds, Nelson went the distance with Junior Dos Santos, something no other fighter has been able to do inside the Octagon.

Nelson's next fight will come against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir at UFC 130.

8. Joe Stevenson

After winning TUF Season 2 welterweight tournament, Joe Stevenson found immediate success in the lightweight division.

Six fights after winning the reality series, Stevenson was fighting B.J. Penn for the UFC Lightweight Championship.

However, Stevenson lost that fight and has now only won three of eight fights since then.

Regardless, Stevenson has had a solid UFC career with wins over Melvin Guillard, Kurt Pellegrino, Nate Diaz and several others.

After losing his last three fights, Stevenson is planning a drop to featherweight, where he will debut against Javier Vazquez at UFC Live on Versus 4.

7. Mac Danzig

Prior to his last fight, Mac Danzig would have been near the bottom of this list. However, Danzig earned a huge knockout victory against Joe Stevenson in his last appearance that may have salvaged his UFC career.

Prior to the fight with Stevenson, Danzig had lost four of his last five fights, although one of those losses was due to a premature stoppage by Yves Lavigne, who thought that Danzig had lost consciousness due to a guillotine choke.

TUF Season 6 winner Danzig will now meet Donald Cerrone at UFC 131 in June.

6. Michael Bisping

Love him or hate him, Michael Bisping has been hugely successful in the UFC since winning TUF Season 3 light heavyweight tournament.

With his most recent victory over Jorge Rivera, Bisping stretched his UFC record to 11-3.

Bisping has also defeated fighters such as Yoshihiro Akiyama, Chris Leben and Matt Hamill during his time with the UFC.

5. Ryan Bader

Winner of TUF Season 8 light heavyweight tournament , Ryan Bader lost for the first time in his career in his last fight against Jon Jones.

Still, Bader has been successful thus far in his UFC career with wins over fighters like Keith Jardine and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Bader will have a chance to get back on track against a big name in Tito Ortiz at UFC 132 in July.

4. Diego Sanchez

Since winning TUF Season 1 middleweight tournament, Diego Sanchez has had a ton of success at both lightweight and welterweight during his UFC career.

In addition to nearly going the distance with B.J. Penn in a lightweight title fight, Sanchez has beaten some of the best fighters that both divisions have to offer.

Sanchez has defeated fighters such as Martin Kampmann, Paulo Thiago, Clay Guida, Joe Stevenson, Nick Diaz and Kenny Florian during his time with the UFC.

Now, Sanchez will meet a legend in Matt Hughes at UFC 135 in September.

3. Matt Serra

After earning a title shot through TUF Season 4, Matt Serra pulled off one of the great upsets in UFC history with a win over UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre.

Of course, St-Pierre defeated Serra in a rematch to reclaim the title, but Serra is one of only three former TUF fighters to win a UFC championship.

However, Serra has gone 1-3 since winning the belt and it appears the 36-year-old's career will sooon be coming to an end.

2. Forrest Griffin

Forrest Griffin is likely the most recognizable TUF champion in the history of the series. His fight with Stephan Bonnar at the Season 1 Finale put the show on the map.

In addition to his success on TUF, Griffin also captured the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship with a win against Quinton Jackson. Griffin has also defeated two other light heavyweight legends in Mauricio Rua and Tito Ortiz.

Next up for Griffin is a rematch with Rua at UFC 134 in August.

1. Rashad Evans

An extremely undersized heavyweight on TUF Season 2, Rashad Evans found a way to win the series and has gone on to become the most successful fighter in the history of the reality show.

At UFC 92, Evans dethroned Forrest Griffin as UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

Although Evans lost his title to Lyoto Machida in his first attempted title defense, he has remained one of the best 205-pound fighters in the world and has been next in line for a title shot for quite some time.

Injuries to his opponents and himself have continually delayed Evans' shot at a title, but he will most likely face current champion Jon Jones if he is able to defeat Phil Davis at UFC 133 in August.

Sean Smith is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @BR_Sean_Smith.