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Ever since its first season back in 2005, The Ultimate Fighter has acted as one of the UFC’s best production lines when it comes to new fighters. TUF veterans like Rashad Evans and Kamaru Usman went on to claim gold in the octagon.
While everyone remembers the likes of Kamaru Usman and Julianna Pena during their TUF runs, there are a number of current UFC contenders whose time on the reality show has been almost entirely forgotten.
This tends to be for a number of different reasons. While some washed out of the show early, others took part in the lesser-remembered international versions of the show. Regardless, they’ve become far more renowned for what they’ve done since their reality show days.
Here are five current UFC contenders whose TUF runs have been completely forgotten.
#5. Claudio Puelles – UFC lightweight (TUF: Latin America 3)
Perhaps no season of The Ultimate Fighter flew under the radar quite as much as the third season of TUF: Latin America. While the first edition of this version of the reality show was widely popular with UFC fans and led to a big finale in Mexico City, the third simply didn’t make any kind of dent at all.
The “finale” was built around a fight between Tony Ferguson and Rafael dos Anjos more than the reality show. As well as none of the losing castmates being signed by the promotion, the final, which saw Martin Bravo knock out Claudio Puelles in the second round, was quickly forgotten.
Nearly six years later, though, Puelles has developed into a genuine prospect in the lightweight division. The Peruvian fighter is currently riding a five-fight win streak, with three of those victories coming via kneebar. In fact, he hasn’t lost since that fight with Bravo.
Of course, it’s safe to say that nobody remembers his TUF run at all, probably because nobody really saw the show in the first place. As it goes, Puelles was highly impressive during his time on the show, beating three opponents, two via finishes, to make the finals.
Given that he was just 20 years old at the time, it was clear that he had some potential, but given that he took two years away from the octagon between his loss to Bravo and his current winning run, it’s probably understandable that nobody remembers his stint on TUF.
#4. Max Griffin – UFC welterweight (TUF 16)
A decade after it first aired, it’s safe to say that time hasn’t been kind to TUF 16. The edition of the reality show, which was coached by Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin, is largely better remembered for Julian Lane’s drunken ranting than any of the fights that took place. Of the 16 fighters who competed in the house, only Sam Alvey remains part of the UFC’s roster.
However, a fighter who had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance on this edition of the show is still competing in the octagon and he’s actually doing a pretty good job for himself, too. That fighter is current welterweight contender Max Griffin.
‘Max Pain’ actually fell to a submission defeat at the hands of the thoroughly unremarkable Matt Secor in the preliminary rounds of the season, which meant he didn’t make it into the TUF house at all. Considering the bizarre and tiresome antics that took place there, it’s probably fair to say that it was probably for the best.
In the end, Griffin returned to the regional scene following his TUF failure, but subsequently reeled off seven wins while only suffering one loss, and that was enough for the UFC to ink him to a deal.
And while ‘Max Pain’ lost to Colby Covington in his octagon debut, he’s since put together a record of 6-7, which doesn’t look good on paper, but seems a lot better when you consider he holds wins over the likes of Carlos Condit and Mike Perry.
In fact, as bizarre as it seems, there’s probably an argument that Griffin should be recognized as TUF 16’s most successful fighter!
#3. Vicente Luque – UFC welterweight (TUF 21)
2015’s TUF 21 put a different twist on the usual format of the reality show, as it pitted fighters representing American Top Team against fighters representing the now-defunct Blackzilians gym. All of the fights took place in Florida, the home state of both gyms.
Unfortunately, despite some incredibly exciting fights and plenty of drama inside the house, the season wasn’t all that well-received and went largely ignored by most UFC fans. Of course, the season did produce a major success: reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
However, while Usman’s time on TUF 21 is well remembered as he was considered the de facto champion of the season, it seems that the fact that current welterweight contender Vicente Luque’s appearance on the same edition has been forgotten.
In a lot of ways, that’s surprising. ‘The Silent Assassin’ was involved in two of the season’s more memorable bouts alongside Nathan Coy and Hayder Hassan. Of course, as so few people were watching, they flew largely under the radar.
As it goes, Usman and Luque are now the only remaining fighters from TUF 21 on the roster. While the Brazilian hasn’t quite reached the level of success that ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has, he’s still one of the best welterweights on the planet right now, as he’s ranked at No.6 in the division and has a win over former champion Tyron Woodley.
With that in mind, the fact that nobody really remembers his time on The Ultimate Fighter honestly doesn’t matter.
#2. Paulo Costa – UFC middleweight (TUF Brazil 3)
When Paulo Costa debuted in the UFC in mid-2016, he was largely billed as a hot prospect from the Brazilian regional scene, with an impressive 8-0 record to his name. As far as most fans were aware, his fight with Garreth McLellan was his first trip to the big show.
However, that wasn’t strictly the case. He might’ve looked completely different, with his bulging muscles now being his most notable attribute rather than his perfectly-plucked eyebrows and bleached hair. However, ‘The Eraser’ actually competed on the third season of TUF Brazil some two years prior to his octagon debut.
Bizarrely, despite being billed as a heavy-handed striker upon his octagon debut – and quickly living up to that reputation with four TKO wins in a row – Costa was actually more renowned as a grappler in his run on the reality show.
He submitted Jose Roberto to earn himself a spot in the TUF house and then came close to submitting eventual finalist Marcio Alexandre too, only to gas out and fall prey to a split decision defeat.
However, ‘The Eraser’ was more widely renowned for his reputation as a preening pretty-boy who would spend a ludicrous amount of time in front of the mirror than he was for his fighting skills. How true this really was remains unknown, but it did make Costa the butt of many jokes during his time on the show.
Given that he’s now one of just three fighters to remain on the UFC’s roster from the season, though, and the only one to receive a shot at a title – although he came up short against Israel Adesanya – it’s safe to say that he’s had the last laugh.
#1. Marlon Vera – UFC bantamweight (TUF: Latin America)
Right now, there are few hotter fighters in the UFC’s bantamweight division than Marlon Vera. ‘Chito’ defeated Rob Font in pretty vicious fashion this weekend to extend his current winning run to three bouts. He now finds himself ranked at No.5 in the weight class.
The Ecuadorian’s stunning rise to the top of the UFC, as well as his memorable bouts with the likes of Sean O’Malley, Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo, has meant that many fans have completely forgotten that he first emerged into the promotion via the first season of TUF: Latin America.
Interestingly, had things gone slightly differently, Vera’s career in the octagon may have gone on an entirely different trajectory. ‘Chito’ was widely seen as his team’s best bantamweight fighter and he proved his worth by knocking out Henry Briones in his first bout on the show with a brutal upkick.
However, a skin infection then forced him out of the competition altogether. While Dana White made sure to guarantee him a spot on the finale show, it meant that Alejandro Perez went onto claim victory instead in the tournament instead.
The result of this was that ‘Chito’ was allowed to build himself up while flying largely under the radar, rather than being rushed into any big fights. It’s clearly an approach that’s worked for him. Nearly eight years after his stint on the reality show, he’s now one of the hottest contenders in the game.
