One of the top traditions in MMA is the airing of The Ultimate Fighter. The UFC-produced show, hosted by UFC President Dana White, has helped transcend the sport by crowning the future, while pitting everyone against one another in a reality TV format.
Living in a shared house, participants are picked into teams and fight to determine who makes it to the finals of a UFC card. The format results in chaotic and emotional moments. Several weight classes are involved, from strawweight to heavyweight. Depending on how many weight classes there are in a season, there can be one-two winners announced.
Along with the participants, the coaches fight one another at the end.
The first TUF, in 2005, featured Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar in a fight that seemingly saved the UFC, which was struggling at the time. This year, Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler coach TUF 31, featuring veterans against newcomers. All episodes will be broadcast on ESPN+ (in the U.S.) inside the UFC's APEX Center in Las Vegas. It is unknown when the two will face off, since McGregor still has not entered the USADA testing pool to be cleared to fight.
MORE: Sign up to watch The Ultimate Fighter 31: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler on ESPN+
Several winners have become champions with the UFC or other promotions. Forrest Griffin is a former UFC light heavyweight champion, while Ryan Bader has held gold in Bellator. Matt Serra scored the first biggest upset in UFC history when he beat the great Georges St-Pierre in 2007 to win the UFC welterweight title. Some have even become Hall of Famers.
The long history of The Ultimate Fighter has seen growth from all fronts, whether from the fighters, the UFC in general, and where it's been presented (the first TUF was on Spike TV).
Here's a full breakdown of the coaches on TUF, along with those to have won the format.
MORE: How to watch: 'Conor McGregor: Notorious' documentary
Who has won The Ultimate Fighter?
*Bold indicates which coach won when they faced off
| Coaches/Teams | Winner(s) | Show Year | Notes |
| Chuck Liddell & Randy Couture | Diego Sanchez, Forrest Griffin |
2005 |
|
| Matt Hughes & Rich Franklin | Joe Stevenson, Rashad Evans | 2005 | Hughes and Franklin were in different weight classes |
| Tito Ortiz & Ken Shamrock | Kendall Grove, Michael Bisping | 2006 | |
| Team Mojo & Team No Love | Matt Serra, Travis Lutter | 2006 | Various coaches were used for this season |
| Jens Pulver & B.J. Penn | Nate Diaz | 2007 | |
| Matt Hughes & Matt Serra | Mac Danzig | 2007 | |
| Quinton Jackson & Forrest Griffin | Amir Sadollah | 2008 | |
| Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira & Frank Mir | Efrain Escudero, Ryan Bader | 2008 | |
| Dan Henderson & Michael Bisping | Ross Pearson, James Wilks | 2009 | |
| Quinton Jackson & Rashad Evans | Roy Nelson | 2009 | |
| Chuck Liddell & Tito Ortiz | Court McGee | 2010 | Rich Franklin replaced Ortiz |
| Georges St-Pierre & Josh Koscheck | Jonathan Brookins | 2010 | |
| Brock Lesnar & Junior dos Santos | Tony Ferguson | 2011 | Lesnar was diagnosed with his second bout of diverticulitis |
| Michael Bisping & Jason Miller | John Dodson, Diego Brandao | 2011 | |
| Dominick Cruz & Urijah Faber | Michael Chiesa | 2012 | |
| Shane Carwin & Roy Nelson | Colton Smith | 2012 | Carwin suffered a knee injury before he fought Nelson |
| Jon Jones & Chael Sonnen | Kelvin Gastelum | 2013 | |
| Ronda Rousey & Miesha Tate | Chris Holdsworth, Julianna Pena | 2013 | |
| Frankie Edgar & B.J. Penn | Eddie Gordon, Corey Anderson | 2014 | |
| Anthony Pettis & Gilbert Melendez | Carla Esparza | 2014 | |
| American Top Team & Blackzilians | Kamaru Usman, American Top Team | 2015 | Gym vs. Gym |
| Conor McGregor & Urijah Faber | Ryan Hall | 2015 | McGregor was already set to face Jose Aldo |
| Joanna Jedrzejczyk & Claudia Gadelha | Andrew Sanchez, Tatiana Suarez | 2016 | |
| Joseph Benavidez & Henry Cejudo | Tim Elliott | 2016 | |
| Cody Garbrandt & T.J. Dillashaw | Jesse Taylor | 2017 | |
| Eddie Alvarez & Justin Gaethje | Nicco Montano | 2017 | |
| Stipe Miocic & Daniel Cormier | Brad Katona, Michael Trizano | 2018 | |
| Robert Whittaker & Kelvin Gastelum | Juan Espino, Macy Chiasson | 2018 | |
| Alexander Volkanovski & Brian Ortega | Ricky Turcios, Bryan Battle | 2021 | |
| Julianna Pena & Amanda Nunes | Mohammed Usman, Juliana Miller | 2022 | |
| Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler | TBA | 2023 |