The Ultimate Fighter 1

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The Ultimate Fighter 1
Genre	Reality, Sports
Created by	Craig Piligian, Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White
Starring	Dana White, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Spike TV
Original run	January 18, 2005 – April 9, 2005
Chronology
Preceded by	Premiere
Followed by	The Ultimate Fighter 2

The debut season of The Ultimate Fighter (later designated The Ultimate Fighter 1) premiered on January 18, 2005. Sixteen mixed martial arts fighters (eight Light Heavyweights weighing from 186 to 205 lbs and eight Middleweights weighing from 171 to 185 lbs) were invited to participate in the show where they would reside together and train in two separate teams coached by UFC Light Heavyweight fighters Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture. The teams would compete in physical challenges, segments hosted by singer Willa Ford, 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, with the loser being eliminated.

The finale was broadcast live on April 9, 2005, where the two finalists in each weight class faced off for a contract with the UFC. It was the first ever live UFC broadcast on non-pay-per-view television, and it drew a very impressive 1.9 overall rating. The series was also broadcast in the UK in the spring of 2005 on Bravo. A 5-disc DVD set of "The Ultimate Fighter" was released on November 1, 2005.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Coaches

• Randy Couture, Team Couture coach
• Chuck Liddell, Team Liddell coach

[edit] Fighters

Listed as originally assigned.

• Light Heavyweights
  • Team Liddell: Bobby Southworth, Sam Hoger, Forrest Griffin, Alex Schoenauer
  • Team Couture: Stephan Bonnar, Mike Swick, Lodune Sincaid, Jason Thacker

• Middleweights
  • Team Liddell: Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck, Kenny Florian, Josh Rafferty
  • Team Couture: Nathan Quarry, Chris Leben, Alex Karalexis, Chris Sanford

[edit] Others

• Hosts: Dana White, Willa Ford
• Narrator: Mike Rowe

[edit] Results

Episode 1

• Light Heavyweight and Middleweight teams are chosen by coaches Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture

Episode 2

• Team Liddell wins the first Light Heavyweight Challenge.
• Jason Thacker is sent home by Randy Couture.
• Team Liddell wins the first Middleweight Challenge.
• Chris Sanford is sent home by Randy Couture.

Episode 3

• Alex Schoenauer wins the Light Heavyweight challenge. Bobby Southworth comes in last and will be forced to fight in the elimination bout.
• Bobby Southworth defeats Lodune Sincaid by knockout at 0:12 of the second round.

Episode 4

• Alex Schoenauer is traded to Team Couture as part of a team re-balance.
• Team Liddell wins the Middleweight challenge and the opportunity to schedule the next fight.
• Diego Sanchez defeats Alex Karalexis with a rear naked choke submission at 1:47 of the first round.

Episode 5

• There was no challenge or fight in this episode. The show featured Nate Quarry’s injury and the fight and pranks between Bobby Southworth, Josh Koscheck and Chris Leben.

Episode 6

• As fallout from the previous episode, there is no challenge and Dana White schedules the Middleweight fight between Chris Leben and Josh Koscheck.
• Josh Koscheck defeats Chris Leben by unanimous decision after two rounds.

Episode 7

• Josh Rafferty is traded to Team Couture in another team reshuffle.
• Team Couture wins the Light Heavyweight challenge.
• Stephan Bonnar defeats Bobby Southworth in a close split decision after 2 rounds.

Episode 8

• Nate Quarry is eliminated from the show due to his ankle injury. Dana White asks Quarry to stay on as an assistant coach, and he agrees.
• Quarry gets to choose what fighter from the loser’s lounge gets to come back and he chooses Chris Leben.
• Team Couture wins the middleweight challenge.
• Diego Sanchez defeats Josh Rafferty at 1:48 of the first round.

Episode 9

• Team Liddell wins the light heavyweight challenge.
• Sam Hoger is accused of stealing from the other competitors.
• Forrest Griffin defeats Alex Schoenauer by tap out due to strikes on the ground at 1:20 of the first round.

Episode 10

• In the first middleweight semifinal match, Kenny Florian defeats Chris Leben at 3:11 of the second round after doctor stoppage due to opening up a cut above Chris’ eye.

Episode 11

• In the second middleweight semifinal match, Diego Sanchez wins a split decision over Josh Koscheck after three rounds.

Episode 12

• Forrest Griffin defeats Sam Hoger by TKO at 1:05 of the second round.
• Stephan Bonnar defeats Mike Swick by armbar at 4:55 of the first round.

[edit] Finale

• Undercard
  • Middleweight Bout: Alex Karalexis defeats Josh Rafferty by TKO at 1:40 of the first round.
  • Light Heavyweight Bout: Mike Swick defeats Alex Schoenauer by KO at 0:20 of the first round.
  • Light Heavyweight Bout: Nathan Quarry defeats Lodune Sincaid by TKO at 3:17 of the first round.
  • Middleweight Bout: Josh Koscheck defeats Chris Sanford by KO at 4:21 of the first round.
  • Middleweight Bout: Chris Leben defeats Jason Thacker by TKO at 1:35 of the first round.
  • Light Heavyweight Bout: Sam Hoger defeats Bobby Southworth by unanimous decision.
• Main card
  • Middleweight Final: Diego Sanchez defeats Kenny Florian by TKO at 2:49 of the first round, winning the TUF championship in the middleweight division.
  • Light Heavyweight Final: Forrest Griffin defeats Stephan Bonnar by a very close but unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in what is described as one of the best fights in the history of the UFC. He wins the TUF championship in the light heavyweight division, but Dana White grants Bonnar a UFC contract as well after his performance (see Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar).
  • Light Heavyweight Bout: Rich Franklin defeats Ken Shamrock by TKO at 2:42 of the first round. After the fight, Franklin stated his intentions to move to the middleweight division; he went on to win the World Middleweight title at UFC 53.

[edit] Light heavyweight bracket

[edit] Middleweight bracket

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ Never fought in eliminations
2. ^ Replaces Nate "The Rock" Quarry