A look back at former 'TUF' winners
A look at the career paths the champions of the first seven seasons of "The Ultimate Fighter" have taken since winning:
Season One
Forrest Griffin (16-4): UFC's current light heavyweight champion is the show's greatest success story. Some credit his win over Stephan Bonnar in the first finals as the most important match in UFC history. Griffin immediately became one of the company's most popular fighters because of the heart he showed in that win, and his dry wit. But he was only 3-2 in his first five fights after the show and looked like he would settle in as a popular guy who would fight mid-card on PPV.
Since then, he's shocked the mixed martial arts world, beating Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, ranked No. 1 in the world at 205 pounds by many at the time, and followed with a decision victory on July 5 to win the title from Quinton Jackson. His next fight is a title defense against Rashad Evans tentatively scheduled for Dec. 27 in Las Vegas.
Diego Sanchez (21-2): The first middleweight winner, Sanchez immediately dropped to welterweight after beating Kenny Florian in the finals and reeled off five wins in a row. But his road to a title shot was blocked by losses to TV show rival Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch. He's rebounded since that time and goes for three in a row on Oct. 25 in Chicago against Thiago Alves in a match that the winner will be at least close to a title shot.
Season two
Rashad Evans (12-0-1): Evans, a former college wrestler at Michigan State at 174 pounds, won the show as a small (219 pounds) heavyweight by beating 265-pound Brad Imes. He immediately cut to light heavy. After going 5-0-1, including a draw with Tito Ortiz and wins over Michael Bisping and Bonnar, he knocked out Chuck Liddell on Sept. 6 to earn himself a championship match. His bout with Griffin also will determine the mythical title as the most successful fighter to emerge from the show.
Joe Stevenson (34-8): Stevenson, who won at welterweight, was upset by Josh Neer in his first UFC fight. He then moved to lightweight, where he's 5-1. His only loss was to B.J. Penn in a title match on Jan. 19. Next fight: Nov. 15 in Las Vegas against Florian, which may determine Penn's next title contender.
Season three
Michael Bisping (17-1): Liverpool, England's Bisping, the only international winner, won the light heavyweight division on the Ken Shamrock/Ortiz show, which drew the show's highest ratings. He spearheaded the company's success in making the U.K. a profitable market with a string of sellouts. He got a win in the most controversial decision in recent years over Matt Hamill, lost to Evans and then moved down to middleweight where he's won two in a row. The question is, with Anderson Silva as champion, is earning the title shot a blessing or a curse? Bisping's next fight is Oct. 18 in Birmingham, Eng., against season one star Chris Leben.
Kendall Grove (11-5): Known as "Da Spyder," because he's 6-foot-6 and fights at 185 pounds, Grove has gone 3-2, including consecutive first round knockouts against Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera, since upsetting Ed Herman in the finals. In his most recent fight, on June 21, against the late Evan Tanner, he was told that if he lost, he would most likely be cut. He won a decision but still has to overcome a reputation that he has a questionable chin. He's currently taking time off after the birth of a child.
Season four
Matt Serra (16-5): Serra barely squeaked by Chris Lytle in "The Comeback" season, where the winner would get a title shot. Serra captured the welterweight title from Georges St. Pierre in his next fight as an 8-to-1 underdog at UFC 67. But between a back injury and a season coaching "Ultimate Fighter," he didn't fight for a year until defending against St. Pierre on April 19 in Montreal. Serra did one of the company's all-time great jobs of promoting a fight, which drew the largest live crowd in company history. But St. Pierre dominated him in regaining the title. His next fight will be a major grudge match against TV show coaching rival Matt Hughes, although no date is set as Hughes is recovering from a serious knee injury.
Travis Lutter (12-5): Lutter, winning the middleweight tournament, is the only TUF winner who ended up cut. He won the tournament by submitting Patrick Cote in just 2:18. Things started out bad as he failed to make weight for a title shot at Anderson Silva, then lost via submission when it was made non-title. He took time off, not fighting for 14 months, and lost to Rich Franklin on April 19. While he lost to two of the best fighters in the world at the weight, UFC officials were unhappy that he got tired so quickly against Franklin and dropped him after the fight.
Season five
Nate Diaz (9-2): Known at first as simply Nick Diaz's younger brother, Nate has reeled off three straight submission wins after what some said was a fluke win in the finals, when Manny Gamburyan injured his shoulder in a fight Diaz was losing. But over the past year, few fighters have shown such an impressive ground game in UFC competition. His next fight is Wednesday night against Josh Neer on Spike TV.
Season six
Mac Danzig (19-4-1): The winner in a welterweight tournament that is generally thought to have had the lowest level of competition, Danzig is a seven-year pro who had far more experience than anyone on the show. He defeated Mark Bocek via choke on April 19 in his only fight since dominating Tommy Speer in the finals. His next fight is also Wednesday night on Spike TV, when he faces Clay Guida in what is a significant test.
Season seven
Amir Sadollah (2-0): The biggest surprise winner in TUF history, Sadollah was a kickboxer who had never had a professional MMA match before coming on the show, and submitted four straight people, including All-American wrestler and show favorite C.B. Dollaway twice. His first fight since winning the show will be Nov. 15 in Las Vegas against unbeaten Nick Catone.
