Who was the best TUF Champion?

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kneeblock

kneeblock

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List courtesy of Wikipedia:

Winners of The Ultimate Fighter reality TV program

Women's Strawweight (115 lbs and under)
Carla Esparza - Season 20
Tatiana Suarez - Season 23

Flyweight (125 lbs and under)
Tim Elliott - Season 24

Bantamweight (126-135 lbs)
John Dodson - Season 14
Chris Holdsworth - Season 18
Alejandro Perez - TUF Latin America

Women's Bantamweight (126-135 lbs)
Julianna Pena - Season 18

Featherweight (136-145 lbs)
Diego Brandão - Season 14
Rony Jason - Brazil Season 1
Ning Guangyou - TUF China
Yair Rodriguez - TUF Latin America

Lightweight (146-155 lbs)
Nate Diaz - Season 5
Efrain Escudero - Season 8
Ross Pearson - Season 9
Jonathan Brookins - Season 12
Michael Chiesa - Season 15
Norman Parke - The Smashes
Ryan Hall - Season 22
Enrique Barzola - TUF Latin America 2



Welterweight (156-170 lbs)
Joe Stevenson - Season 2
Matt Serra - Season 4
Mac Danzig - Season 6
James Wilks - Season 9
Tony Ferguson - Season 13
Colton Smith - Season 16
Robert Whittaker - The Smashes
Leonardo Santos - Brazil Season 2
Kamaru Usman - Season 21
Zhiang Lipeng -TUF China
Enrique Marin - TUF Latin America 2

Middleweight (171-185 lbs)
Diego Sanchez - Season 1
Kendall Grove - Season 3
Travis Lutter - Season 4
Amir Sadollah - Season 7
Court McGee - Season 11
Cezar Ferreira - Brazil Season 1
Kelvin Gastelum - Season 17
Eddie Gordon - Season 19
Warlley Alves - Brazil Season 3




Light Heavyweight (186-205 lbs)
Forrest Griffin - Season 1
Michael Bisping - Season 3
Ryan Bader - Season 8
Corey Anderson - Season 19
Andrew Sanchez - Season 23

Heavyweight (206-265 lbs)
Rashad Evans - Season 2
Roy Nelson - Season 10
Antônio Cara de Sapato - Brazil Season 3

*Edited to add TUF China and Latin America
 
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tang

tang

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Oct 21, 2015
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anyone that can win the belt and keeps it. (defend it)


so no one at this moment.
 
Report

Report

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Relatively speaking dodson. Especially if u base the analysis off of how good the person was for his or her division at the time he or she won it

Ferguson has proven to be upper echelon as a result of pos-show improvements

In longevity terms, michael
 
La Paix

La Paix

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Splinty gives shit blowjobs said:
I think you have been on the cobra whiskey


Neither will ever get halfway close to count michael
Click to expand...
We talking win or lose column?

Tony and Melvin combined have 6
Mike has 7

Kelvin has wins over guys in the div above
Mike is calling out WWs

Tony is set to fight what some are calling the uncrowned champ.
Mike just got a favourable decision over a senior citizen.
 
sparkuri

sparkuri

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Bisping as far as career.
P4P has got to be El Cucuy, but if he loses and Kelvin beats Vitor, that could shake things up.
Diego, good career, Evans same.
Bader continues on, as does Whitaker.
Diaz getting even wealthier with notoriety.
Hard to argue Big Country's impact.

Tough call, I guess parameters should be set.
For instance, I'd take Roy over Julianna in Rizin.
 
nuraknu

nuraknu

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Jul 20, 2016
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I think it depends on what you're judging. Bisping was fun on the show, he's come back to coach on it multiple times, he's had a long career, he's a champ. I think he's really the TUF winner the company has gotten the most out of.

For people who like gruesome wars, I'm sure Diego Sanchez is one of the best.

If Tony beats Khabib, we can talk. But in the context of TUF, I remember feeling like he was not easy to like on the show. He is more likable now, but at the time, I wasn't thrilled that he won.

Holdsworth was the greatest TUF winner who was the greatest contestant, according to the show's editors anyway. Everyone else hanging out doing stupid stuff? Shot of Holdsworth meditating or finding some way to test himself physically, as though it were happening at the same time. He was so apart from everyone else and focused, not really shown to ever get involved in boring house drama, and handily beat all his opponents. Maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but my recollection is that it wasn't even much of a contest.

Nate Diaz was also fun to watch on the show, but he didn't really have to beat Manny, he just had to show up in better physical shape (which still counts). I like him, but as best TUF winner, no way he beats Bisping.

Roy Nelson, major career, but not quite enough to beat Bisping.
PLUS: When Nelson came back to coach TUF, it was pitiful. All I wanted to do was watch Shane Carwin talk the whole season, and the editors gave him about ten seconds of every episode. (I still have a Team Carwin shirt though.)
 
kneeblock

kneeblock

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Apr 18, 2015
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Michael Mcgregor said:
Who do you think kneeblock @Kneeblock ?
Click to expand...
One of the things that stands out to me upon reviewing this list is that very few of the most successful fighters from TUF stayed at the weight they won the tournament at. Bisping, Evans, Ferguson, and Dodson all changed classes to get near the top. So I'd split my answer in two:

Beat TUF winner to stay at the weight they won: Forrest Griffin

Best TUF winner overall: Michael Bisping

Forrest was a solid, tough fighter even coming into the show. His edging of Rampage, decimation of Shogun and multiple defeats of Tito earn him a place maybe in the top 15 of all time LHW. He was inconsistent and he definitely got clowned by Anderson, but in terms of really staking a claim at a weight from the moment he entered TUF and going after it all the way to the top, he was the best. Add to that the fact that he helped relaunch the sport in his finale with Bonnar and he deserves high accolades.

Michael Bisping edges out some others like Rashad Evans and John Dodson due to the fact that he has been fortunate enough not to have major injuries keep him inactive for extended periods and due to his latter day wins. Upsetting Rockhold and Silva, getting one back over Hendo, and also the win over Leites who was enjoyong a career resurgence put him over. Add in the fact that he's only lost to confirmed PED users or top of the food chain fighters for the most part and his accomplishments outstrip most of his TUF peers. The Count may be polarizing, but he's done work and for now is the best.
 
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Mix6APlix

Mix6APlix

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Diego. He made the exact mistake that Pulver did. He fell in love with his striking, and got away from being an absolute beast on the ground. If Diego had focused on getting opponents to the mat and submitting them, instead of just standing and banging, I believe he would have been a champion.
 
Zeph

Zeph

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Jan 22, 2015
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Kneeblock said:
One of the things that stands out to me upon reviewing this list is that very few of the most successful fighters from TUF stayed at the weight they won the tournament at. Bisping, Evans, Ferguson, and Dodson all changed classes to get near the top. So I'd split my answer in two:

Beat TUF winner to stay at the weight they won: Forrest Griffin

Best TUF winner overall: Michael Bisping

Forrest was a solid, tough fighter even coming into the show. His edging of Rampage, decimation of Shogun and multiple defeats of Tito earn him a place maybe in the top 15 of all time LHW. He was inconsistent and he definitely got clowned by Anderson, but in terms of really staking a claim at a weight from the moment he entered TUF and going after it all the way to the top, he was the best. Add to that the fact that he helped relaunch the sport in his finale with Bonnar and he deserves high accolades.

Michael Bisping edges out some others like Rashad Evans and John Dodson due to the fact that he has been fortunate enough not to have major injuries keep him inactive for extended periods and due to his latter day wins. Upsetting Rockhold and Silva, getting one back over Hendo, and also the win over Leites who was enjoyong a career resurgence put him over. Add in the fact that he's only lost to confirmed PED users or top of the food chain fighters for the most part and his accomplishments outstrip most of his TUF peers. The Count may be polarizing, but he's done work and for now is the best.
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Forrest didn't have to fight so many times in a space of 6 weeks, which is the major reason for people fighting up in TUF.
 
SongExotic2

SongExotic2

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BirdWatcher said:
We talking win or lose column?

Tony and Melvin combined have 6
Mike has 7

Kelvin has wins over guys in the div above
Mike is calling out WWs

Tony is set to fight what some are calling the uncrowned champ.
Mike just got a favourable decision over a senior citizen.
Click to expand...
Mike has the most wins in ufc history.


Who else can say that? Oh that's right nobody.

 
SongExotic2

SongExotic2

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BirdWatcher said:
Win/lose ratio?

His longest win streak in UFC is 5, who else can say that? Quite a few!
Click to expand...
His losses are against mainly drug addicts. They all fell to the wayside and mike remains at the top of the mountain.
 
Mix6APlix

Mix6APlix

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Mike has 1 title defense against some 63 year old man who cooks with propane.
 
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