The Ultimate Fighter - Season Synopses

Season Synopses

Season 1-3

The first season of The Ultimate Fighter was the last attempt by the UFC to capture public interest in the sport. The Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin bout saved the sport according to many journalists and Dana White. Griffin and Sanchez are also regarded as the original Ultimate Fighters, after their wins at the finale.

The second season saw welterweights and heavyweights compete, featuring coaches Rich Franklin and Matt Hughes. The final saw Rashad Evans defeating Brad Imes and Joe Stevenson defeating Luke Cummo.

The third season highlighted the long-standing rivalry between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock. It was also the first season to feature competitors from outside of North America, after the addition of Michael Bisping and Ross Pointon. The season saw a format change, when the team-games were eliminated in favour of a conventional knockout style tournament format. The final fights saw Michael Bisping become the first non-American winner, defeating Josh Haynes and Kendall Grove defeat Ed Herman.

Season 4-7

The fourth season was different to others before it, as it was the "comeback" season. Past UFC fighters who hadn't had the success they were expected to have, were invited back, to compete in the show, with the winner receiving a guaranteed title shot. This season was also the only one to date to not feature team coaches. Instead, the show had guest coaches each week. The final saw Matt Serra defeat Chris Lytle and Travis Lutter defeat Patrick Côté to receive their guaranteed title shots.

The fifth season was coached by Jens Pulver and B.J. Penn, as the company attempted to kickstart the lightweight division. The show featured many of the future stars of the lightweight division such as Nate Diaz, Joe Lauzon, Gray Maynard, Matt Wiman and Cole Miller.Despite the fact that Team Pulver won 5 out of the first eight fights, the 3 fighters who made it through the quarterfinals on Team Penn are still in the UFC which are Gray Maynard, Matt Wiman and Joe Lauzon while Cole Miller, Manvel Gamburyan, and Nate Diaz from Team Pulver are still in the UFC.The final was contested by Nate Diaz and Manvel Gamburyan, with Gamburyan falling to a shoulder injury early on.

Former winner Matt Serra returned to the show in the sixth season to coach alongside Matt Hughes and oversaw a group of welterweight fighters. The final saw veteran Mac Danzig defeat Tommy Speer to become The Ultimate Fighter, before he dropped to the lightweight division. Arguably, only George Sotiropoulos has gone on to have any success post-TUF, having gone on a 7 fight win streak after The Ultimate Fighter, while season winner Danzig has hovered around the .500 mark since his season win.

The seventh season saw another format change, as fighters had to compete to be official castmembers. Instead of the usual 16 fighters, the season had 32 fighters after Dana White claimed that he was tired of fighters coming onto the show for airtime. This season was coached by UFC Light Heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson and challenger Forrest Griffin, the first season's winner. The season's final was due to be competed between Amir Sadollah, who hadn't competed in a professional fight before the show, and Jesse Taylor. However, Taylor was kicked off the show after filming had completed, when he kicked the window out of a limosine in Las Vegas. His slot was taken by C.B. Dollaway who defeated Tim Credeur for the right, but Sadollah won in the final to become The Ultimate Fighter.

Season 8-12

The eighth season was coached by UFC Interim Heavyweight champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir, with lightweights and light heavyweights being the focus for the season. The show was largely dominated by the actions of Junie Browning, who would regularly get drunk and act in an aggressive manner towards his fellow castmates. The two fights at the final saw Efrain Escudero defeat Phillipe Nover and Ryan Bader defeat Vinny Magalhães.

The ninth season saw a United States vs. United Kingdom theme for the show, with Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping coaching the respective sides. The two sides contrasted, with the UK side showing close friendship (with many coming from Team Rough House), whilst the US team appeared fractured. The lightweight final saw Team Rough House teammates Andre Winner and Ross Pearson face off for the contract, with Pearson coming out on top via decision. The welterweight final saw James Wilks defeat DaMarques Johnson via submission in the opening round, handing the UK team a 2-0 victory.

The tenth season was the first season to feature only heavyweights and was largely built around the internet sensation Kimbo Slice and former NFL players. The two coaches were former UFC Light Heavyweight champions Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans who squabbled throughout the entire season, hyping their eventual fight further. However, midway through the airing of the season, it was announced that Jackson was filming The A-Team, as its lead character B. A. Baracus, leading to the postponement of the coaches' fight. The season also featured several former NFL players, with one - Brendan Schaub - making the final of the show. Additionally, the season was occasionally criticised after the cardio of the heavyweights came into question. The final saw MMA veteran Roy Nelson and Brendan Schaub, with Nelson winning via first round knockout.

The eleventh season saw former UFC Light Heavyweight champions Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell coach the two teams. Unlike previous seasons, the number of competitors in the house was reduced to 14, with 7 progressing to the quarter-finals. An eighth was added via a "wildcard" bout - a bout between two losers from the round of 14. The slots went to Kyacey Uscola and Kris McCray, which saw McCray win via submission. McCray would then go on to avenge his earlier defeat, in the semi-finals, defeating Josh Bryant. The season was blighted by injuries to multiple competitors, such as the withdrawal of Nick Ring, after he required knee surgery. After Rich Attonito pulled out of the competition, his quarter final place was taken by Court McGee. Court McGee and Kris McCray met in the final, where McGee would win via submission to become The Ultimate Fighter.

The twelfth season saw the UFC Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre coach alongside former opponent and number one contender to the title, Josh Koscheck. The season saw the continuation of the wildcard format and 14-man tournament bracket. The show's number one pick was Marc Stevens, who would go on to lose in one of the quickest submissions (via guillotine choke) in the show's history. The wildcard slots went to Marc Stevens and Aaron Wilkinson, with Wilkinson handing Stevens his second successive guillotine choke loss. The show was dominated by Josh Koscheck's attempts to annoy Georges St-Pierre, with St-Pierre's paramedic getting involved in the arguments with Koscheck. The finale was a match between Jonathan Brookins and Michael Johnson on December 4, 2010 which resulted in Brookins winning via unanimous decision.

Season 13-16 (and regional versions)

The thirteenth season was coached by former UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos, who would later go on to win the same title. This season featured welterweights and removed the elimination bouts to get into the house, with 14 fighters immediately gaining entry into the house. The first day of training saw Myles Jury pull out of the competition with a knee injury. The wildcard made another appearance, with Javier Torres and Chuck O'Neil getting the slots, leading to a submission victory for O'Neil. The final of this season saw Tony Ferguson defeat Ramsey Nijem via KO in the first round.

The fourteenth season featured bantamweights and featherweights for the first time, with Michael Bisping coaching for the second time, with Jason Miller opposing him. The cast was considered to be one of the most notable in several seasons of the Ultimate Fighter, perhaps owing to this season being the first for the weight classes. Fighters once again had to compete to get into the house, but during the preliminary round, Dana White announced end-of-season bonuses for the best knockout, submission and fight. The awards went to John Dodson, Dennis Bermudez and Dustin Pague vs. Louis Gaudinot respectively. The eventual winners of the season were John Dodson (who defeated TJ Dillashaw at bantamweight) and Diego Brandao (who defeated Dennis Bermudez at featherweight).

The fifteenth season was the first season to air on FX and moved to a live format. The season was coached by UFC Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber and featured the lightweight division. The entry fights consisted of just one round, as opposed to the usual two with the possibility of a sudden death victory. During the first week in the house, Michael Chiesa - one of the participants - was told that his father had passed away. Despite this, he was able to continue in the competition and ultimately won after defeating Al Iaquinta at the finale. The live season aired at the same time as TUF Brazil, which was the first regional version of the show. That season was coached by Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva and featured featherweights and middleweights. This season featured a scrambling of the teams, as seven of the Team Vitor fighters had won for only one of the Team Wanderlei fighters. The finalists for the show were Rony "Jason" Mariano Bezerra and Godofredo "Pepey" Castro in the featherweight division and Cezar "Mutante" Ferreira and Daniel Sarafian in the middleweight division. However, Sarafian was forced to withdraw from the finale, making him the first and (to-date) only finalist to ever withdraw through injury. He was replaced by Sergio "Serginho" Moraes, the man he had defeated via KO in the semi-final round. The eventual winners were Bezerra and Ferreira, with both winning via decision.

^ A. Tito Ortiz was replaced in the final episode by Rich Franklin.
^ B. Daniel Sarafian was scheduled to be part of the finale, but was injured and replaced by Sergio Moraes.