What Are the Top 10 Seasons in Histoty of The Ultimate Fighter?
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Since debuting in 2005, The Ultimate Fighter has been a huge reason for the UFC’s rise to mainstream popularity.
The show has not only delivered high drama and unforgettable rivalries but has also launched the careers of some of the sport’s biggest stars. With dozens of seasons across multiple formats and weight classes to choose from, we have chosen the ten best TUF seasons in UFC history.
The Ten Best The Ultimate Fighter Seasons in UFC History
10. TUF Season 26 (2017)
The Ultimate Fighter season 26 saw UFC lightweight legends Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje coach up flyweights in the women’s division, with the company putting a clear emphasis on finding talent and crowning the first-ever UFC women’s flyweight champion.
The title was first held by Nicco Montano, but fighters such as Roxanne Modafferi and Lauren Murphy, two legends of the women’s 125-pounds division, also came from this season.
9. TUF Season 28 (2018)
This season featured high-calibre prospects in both the women’s featherweight and men’s heavyweight divisions. Macy Chiasson later emerged as a legit contender in the women’s 145-pounds weight class.
But whilst TUF 28 wasn’t hugely popular compared to other years, the coaching dynamic between UFC Middleweight’s Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum was refreshing because there wasn’t much back and forth, it was professional and the coaching side of things were one of the most technical seasons we’ve seen thus far.
8. TUF Season 2 (2005)
It was always going to be tough for TUF 2 to follow up the insanely good first-ever season (spoiler alert). Nevertheless, the second season did pretty well. Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin were the coaches, and we saw some heated exchanges between the coaches as well as the fighters such as Rashad Evans at light-heavyweight.
Evans wasn’t the only quality fighter to come out of this season though. Keith Jardine and Joe “Daddy” Stevenson also had decent MMA careers. I particularly loved the Luke Cummo vs Joe Stevenson TUF 2 Finale at welterweight.
7. TUF Season 10 (2009)
This is another favourite season to many, as we saw Rashad Evans coach against Rampage Jackson. The show featured plenty of heated exchanges with the two light-heavyweight fighters showing animosity to one and other on a number of exchanges.
Outside of this, we saw some iconic names on the cast at heavyweight such as Kimbo Slice, a hardcore fight fan’s favourite. The legendary Roy Nelson was also on the season as well as Brendan Schaub.
6. TUF Season 20 (2014)
This historic all-female season, with Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis as coaches, crowned the UFC’s first ever strawweight champion, which Carla Esparza would win. However, the real star of the season to come out of TUF 20 was Rose Namajunas.
Other top level 115-pounds fighters like Tecia Torres, Felice Herrig, and Joanne Calderwood also came through this season and helped elevate women’s MMA in the UFC.
5. TUF Season 17 (2013)
With Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen as the coaches, this one was always going to be a highly entertaining season. It was packed with drama and elite-level talent, and this season gave us future middleweight contenders such as Kelvin Gastelum and Uriah Hall.
Hall also arguably owns the craziest and most brutal knockout in The Ultimate Fighter history.
4. TUF Season 14 (2011)
Season 14 was the first season to feature the lighter weight classes, and it did not disappoint. You could argue that without this season being successful, the bantamweight division and below may have died out in the UFC.
This season introduced elite talents such as T.J Dillashaw and John Dodson, who both instantly became title contenders. And of course, Dillashaw is a former two-time UFC bantamweight champ.
3. TUF Season 5 (2007)
One of the biggest MMA stars in history came from The Ultimate Fighter season 5 in Nate Diaz, who of course emerged victorious from the tournament.
The Californian wasn’t the only talent to come out of the season though. Gray Maynard and Joe Lauzon also rose through the ranks, helping to add incredible depth to the UFC’s 155-pounds division.
2. TUF Season 4 (2006)
The Ultimate Fighter season 4 brought about a new twist to the show’s format. Prior to this point, Dana White was looking for fresh new talent. But, TUF 4 saw former UFC fighters given another chance to show that they deserve to be in the UFC.
The talent included Matt Serra, Chris Lytle, and Patrick Cote. Of course, Serra’s eventual upset of Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69 is one of the biggest shocks in MMA history, and we wouldn’t have had that moment if it wasn’t for this season.
1. TUF Season 1 (2005)
It just simply had to be the very first season of The Ultimate Fighter in top spot. The show featured Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell as the coaches, and whilst there was arguing, they still had mutual respect for each other.
On the talent side, the show produced legends like Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Diego Sanchez, and Kenny Florian. But a special mention needs to be given for the light-heavyweight finale: Griffin vs Bonnar, as this is still one of the most important fights in UFC history as it changed MMA forever.
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