The Ultimate Fighter 14: Ranking the 16 Bantamweights and Their Odds of Winning

With the UFC 134 results now in the books, the Season 14 premier of The Ultimate Fighter is less than one month away. Usually, fans head into every season without any sense of how the fighters rank against one another in terms of talent.

This year, The Ultimate Fighter will feature two weight divisions that are fairly new to the UFC. Therefore, there was an abundance of untapped talent that tried out for this season of the reality show. Some world-ranked fighters will even be attempting to prove their worth to the UFC.

In ascending order of their chances of winning the 135-pound tournament, here are the 16 bantamweight contestants who will will be competing for a spot on one of two teams coached by UFC middleweights Michael Bisping and Jason Miller.

16. John Albert

John "Prince" Albert opened his MMA career with six straight victories. However, Albert was submitted in the first round of his most recent fight against Roy Bradshaw, who currently holds a less-than-impressive 7-10 record.

A member of Victory Athletics, home of Dennis Hallman and The Ultimate Fighter veteran Len Bentley, Albert is dangerous off his back. However, the young fighter lacks the experience of some of his counterparts in the Season 14 bantamweight tournament.

15. Dustin Pague

Dustin "The Disciple" Pague enters Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter on a five-fight winning streak. However, those wins followed three consecutive losses that resulted in a step down in competition.

The 24-year-old Pague has already gained valuable experience against UFC and Bellator veterans in Din Thomas, Anthony Leone and Jeff Lentz. However, Pague found little success against those opponents, so the 9-4 bantamweight will have to show marked improvement in order to make a run on the reality show.

14. Johnny Bedford

With a career record of 17-9-1, Johnny "The Tyrant" Bedford is one of the more experienced bantamweights heading into Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter. However, with eight of his nine losses coming by way of submission, Bedford has a major hole in his game.

In one of his more recent appearances, Bedford was knocked out in the second round by UFC bantamweight Edwin Figueroa.

13. Roland Delorme

After finishing the first six opponents of his career before the end of the second round, Roland "Stunning" Delorme suffered a split decision loss to a fellow up-and-coming fighter in his most recent fight.

Picking up four of his six victories by way of submission, Delorme is a well-rounded grappler. This Canadian is the type of fighter who might not blow the coaches away early on, but he will be a dark horse in the competition.

12. Tateki Matsuda

Tateki Matsuda's 6-3 record is far from impressive, but it also isn't as mediocre as it first appears. One of Matsuda's losses came via disqualification, while another happened in the form of a split decision against WEC and Bellator veteran Anthony Leone.

Matsuda is a product of Team Sityodtong, which is notorious for outputting exceptionally tough fighters, such as Stephan Bonnar and Marcus Davis. Matsuda is no different, and he will be a tough out for anyone he faces on The Ultimate Fighter.

11. Josh Ferguson

Carrying a slightly more impressive record into The Ultimate Fighter than Tateki Matsuda, Josh "Taz" Ferguson might have the best submission game of any of the 16 bantamweights competing in Season 14. All seven of Ferguson's professional wins have come by way of submission.

Two of Ferguson's three defeats have come by split decision, while his third was a submission defeat to the extremely promising Mike Easton. However, one of Ferguson's two split decision losses came against the next fighter on this list.

10. Orville Smith

Orville "Pooh Bear" Smith's career began with an outstanding 11-1 record. However, two straight losses have to be worrying for Smith as he heads into his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter.

Smith may have a strategic edge heading into the reality show, though, as he has competed against two other participants. In April 2008, Smith picked up a split decision win over the aforementioned Josh Ferguson. Later that same year, Smith was defeated by Matt Jaggers in a unanimous decision.

9. Casey Dyer

Add Casey Dyer to the list of bantamweight participants entering Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter on the heels of a loss. In his last appearance, Dyer was submitted by Jeremy Pender, who also holds a submission victory over Orville Smith.

Using his lanky 6'1" frame, Dyer threatens with submissions off of his back and has a reach advantage over just about any bantamweight.

8. Carson Beebe

The younger brother of former WEC champion Chase Beebe, 23-year-old Carson Beebe has gotten his career off to a solid start and definitely has one of the more recognizable names in this season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Ca. Beebe is coming off of a loss in his most recent fight, though. Less than one minute into the bout, Ca. Beebe's opponent secured a triangle choke and forced a tap.

7. B.J. Ferguson

The older brother of Josh Ferguson, B.J. Ferguson owns a respectable 6-2 professional MMA record. B. Ferguson's most impressive win came in February 2010, when he knocked out Jeremy Pender, who holds wins over The Ultimate Fighter participants Casey Dyer and Orville Smith.

With two brothers fighting in the same division, we could see the first sibling-on-sibling fight in UFC history during Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter.

6. John Dodson

A Greg Jackson-trained fighter, John "The Magician" Dodson is one of the top-ranked flyweights in the world. Nonetheless, Dodson has decided to test himself against bantamweight competition on Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter.

As long as Dodson performs well on the reality show, he may guarantee himself a spot in the UFC's soon-to-be-introduced 125-pound division.

5. Louis Gaudinot

At 27 years old, Louis "Good Night" Gaudinot enters his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter with four straight wins. The well-rounded Gaudinot has only lost to Bellator's Nick Cottone.

In one of his more impressive victories, Gaudinot scored a first-round submission over Jessie Riggleman, who has gone the distance with John Dodson and defeated Josh Ferguson.

4. Paul McVeigh

At 18-6, Paul McVeigh's record doesn't stand out from the other bantamweight competitors, but his experience does.

McVeigh has gone the distance with Alex Owen, who has defeated UFC fighter Brad Pickett. Also, McVeigh took Chris David to the scorecards, an opponent with a win over Bellator veteran Georgi Karakhanyan.

3. Matt Jaggers

Like Paul McVeigh, Matt "Jagger Bomb" Jaggers and his 20-7 record don't jump off the page. However, Jaggers is by far the most experienced fighter in this bantamweight tournament. In addition to picking up a win over Orville Smith, Jaggers has mixed it up with well-known featherweights Chan Sung Jung and Marlon Sandro.

In a high-pressure competition like The Ultimate Fighter, experience is invaluable. Look for McVeigh and Jaggers to use their maturity to make a deep run in the reality series.

2. Brandon Merkt

At 11-0, Brandon Merkt is one of only two undefeated bantamweights competing in Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Merkt possesses a dangerous ground game that has helped him capture seven victories by way of submission. The only thing holding Merkt back from winning this tournament could be his lack of experience against top competition.

1. T.J. Dillashaw

T.J. Dillashaw has only four fights under his belt, but they all resulted in dominant victories. Training under the Team Alpha Male leader, Dillashaw has developed a very similar style to Urijah Faber.

A standout wrestler at Cal State Fullerton, Dillashaw has to be considered the most naturally talented fighter in this batch of bantamweight hopefuls.

Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. Sean has also had his work featured on UFC.com and LowKick.com. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.