The Ultimate Fighter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Ultimate Fighter | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Genre | Reality, Sports |
| Creator(s) | Craig Piligian, Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White |
| Starring | Dana White |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 52 (including four Ultimate Finales) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Spike TV |
| Original run | January 18, 2005 – Present |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
The Ultimate Fighter is a reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, originating from United States, and produced by Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In a format similar to the TV series Survivor and Big Brother, professional MMA fighters that have yet to be featured by major MMA promotions are situated in a house outside of Las Vegas, Nevada and compete against each other for the title of Ultimate Fighter, winning a six-figure, multi-fight contract with the UFC.
For the first four seasons, prospect UFC fighters were selected in two weight classes. Season five features only lightweights, and thus was not divided in weight classes. The fighters are divided into two teams, irrespective of weight class, each team coached by a current UFC headliner. The teams then compete (in a manner which varies by season) to determine which team would have the right to pair one of their own fighters against an opponent of their choice in the same weight class to an MMA match, the loser eliminated from the house. At the end of a season, the two remaining fighters of each weight class are placed in a single-elimination tournament, where the title of Ultimate Fighter is awarded to the winner.
The show features the daily preparations each fighter makes to train for competition and the interactions they have with each other living under the same roof. Day-to-day events on the show are overseen by UFC president Dana White.
With the exception of the season finales, fights on The Ultimate Fighter are sanctioned by the Nevada Athletic Commission as exhibition matches and do not count for or against a fighters professional record. This is done to keep the results from going public before the air date.
Contents |
[edit] Seasons
- The Ultimate Fighter 1 (January 18, 2005—April 9, 2005) - Light heavyweights and middleweights
- The Ultimate Fighter 2 (August 22, 2005—November 5, 2005) - Heavyweights and welterweights
- The Ultimate Fighter 3 (April 6, 2006—June 24, 2006) - Light heavyweights and middleweights
- The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback (August 17, 2006—November 11, 2006) - Middleweights and welterweights
- The Ultimate Fighter 5 (April 5, 2007—June 23, 2007) - Lightweights
- The Ultimate Fighter 6 (Dates-Unknown) -Welterweights
[edit] The six-figure contract
The winners of the first three seasons of The Ultimate Fighter competition, and certain runner-ups depending on their performance in their competition finals, receive the touted "six-figure" contract to fight in the UFC. These contracts are specifically three-year contracts with a guaranteed first year. Each year consists of three fights, the first year's purse per fight consist of $12,000 guaranteed with a $12,000 win bonuses (a maximum of $24,000 per fight), the second year's purse per fight is $16,000 with a $16,000 win bonus (a maximum of $32,000 per fight) and the third year's purse per fight is at $22,000 with a $22,000 win bonus (a maximum of $44,000 per fight). A TUF winner who goes 9-0 can earn $300,000 total on the contract, but only $36,000 is guaranteed.[1]
Those that have not won the competition can still fight in the UFC. Their contracts however are not the same as the six-figure deal above.
[edit] Future plans
On March 23, 2006, UFC and Spike TV announced they have agreed to an extension of their working agreement and there will be four more seasons of The Ultimate Fighter after TUF3. TUF 5 & 6 will air in 2007, and TUF 7 will air in 2008.[2]
A Spanish language version of the series, tentatively known as Ultimate Fighter Mexico, is in the works.[3]
A Japanese version of the series is being considered by PRIDE Fighting Championships, which is under a common ownership with the UFC.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| The Ultimate Fighter - Season 1 | |
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| Stephan Bonnar | Kenny Florian | Forrest Griffin | Sam Hoger | Alex Karalexis | Josh Koscheck | Chris Leben | Nathan Quarry | Josh Rafferty | Diego Sanchez | Christopher Sanford | Alex Schoenauer | Lodune Sincaid | Bobby Southworth | Mike Swick | Jason Thacker
Coaches: Randy Couture | Chuck Liddell |
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| The Ultimate Fighter - Season 2 | |
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| Josh Burkman | Dan Christison | Luke Cummo | Marcus Davis | Rashad Evans | Melvin Guillard | Jorge Gurgel | Brad Imes | Keith Jardine | Eli Joslin | Rob MacDonald | Sammy Morgan | Tom Murphy | Seth Petruzelli | Kerry Schall | Kenny Stevens | Joe Stevenson | Anthony Torres | Jason Von Flue | Mike Whitehead
Coaches: Rich Franklin | Matt Hughes |
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| The Ultimate Fighter - Season 3 | |
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| Michael Bisping | Tait Fletcher | Jesse Forbes | Matt Hamill | Josh Haynes | Noah Inhofer | Mike Nickels | Kristian Rothaermel | Danny Abbadi | Kendall Grove | Ed Herman | Solomon Hutcherson | Ross Pointon | Rory Singer | Kalib Starnes | Mike Stine
Coaches: Tito Ortiz | Ken Shamrock |
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| The Ultimate Fighter - Season 5 | |
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| Alan Berube | Nathan Diaz | Robert Emerson | Manvel Gambaryan | Brian Geraghty | Corey Hill | Joe Lauzon | Gray Maynard | Brandon Melendez | Cole Miller | Gabe Ruediger | Marlon Sims | Noah Thomas | Andy Wang | Wayne Weems | Matt Wiman
Coaches: B.J. Penn | Jens Pulver |
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