The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale: Top 5 TUF Championship Fights

With a guaranteed six-figure Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) contract on the line, fighters in the finals of their respective tournaments on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) are bound to leave everything in the cage at the season finale.

For that reason, TUF tournament finals have produced some of the great fights in UFC history.

While the finals of TUF 13 produced an brutal knockout, as Tony Ferguson floored Ramsey Nijem with a left hook, it probably won't go down as one of the best fights in TUF finals history.

Here are the five best TUF final bouts that last night's knockout couldn't live up to.

5. Matt Serra vs. Chris Lytle

Although far less exciting than the other fights on this list, this TUF Season 4 welterweight tournament final was a strategic chess match that became one of the most meaningful TUF championship fights ever.

Much like he was able to do in their recent rematch, Chris Lytle's goal was to keep this fight with Matt Serra standing. However, in this original meeting between these two veterans, Serra was able to press Lytle up against the fence and secure enough takedowns to earn a win in the narrowest of decisions.

With a title shot on the line, there was no shortage of drama as the decision was read. Of course, Serra didn't take his title shot for granted, as he went on to complete one of the greatest upsets of all time in a technical knockout of UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre.

4. Joe Stevenson vs. Luke Cummo

In Season 2 of TUF, Joe Stevenson met Luke Cummo in the finals of a welterweight tournament.

While most expected Stevenson to dominate the fight on the ground, Cummo was able to hang in there for three rounds and turn the fight into one of the most exciting displays of grappling TUF has ever seen.

Both fighters nearly secured a number of submissions in a fight that UFC President Dana White later compared to the first fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar, only on the ground.

In the end, Stevenson came away victorious but in a very close decision.

3. Rashad Evans vs. Brad Imes

Competing as an extremely undersized heavyweight on TUF, Rashad Evans still found a way to make it to the finals of the Season 2 heavyweight tournament, where he met Brad Imes.

Despite giving up eight inches of height and plenty of weight to Imes, Evans was able to come away with the victory in a hard-fought split decision.

With that, the best fighter in TUF history was born.

2. Kendall Grove vs. Ed Herman

After Ed Herman earned a clear win of the first round in this final fight of the TUF Season 3 middleweight tournament, Kendall Grove began to mount a valiant comeback.

Over the final two rounds of the fight, both fighters battled back and forth on the ground, and Grove nearly pulled off a submission in the final moments with a rear-naked choke. However, Herman survived the submission attempt only to hear that the narrow decision had not gone in his favor.

Because the fight was so closely contested and entertaining, Dana White decided to award both fighters with six-figure UFC contracts.

1. Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar

No surprise here.

This TUF championship fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar took place all the way back in Season 1 of the series. However, its impact is still felt today in that the fight helped shape TUF and UFC into what they are today.

For three rounds, Griffin and Bonnar went to war on their feet. Somehow, both men remained standing long enough for the bout to be decided by the judges, who awarded Griffin the victory. Dana White had seen enough to award both fighters six-figure UFC contracts, though.

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 here.