Tracking the progress of The Ultimate Fighter 3 contestants – Part I

After a very busy summer for MMA fans, there has been a temporary lull in major events.  As the UFC and Spike TV are getting ready to launch the eighth season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ reality series (premiering on September 17th), it is a good time to take a look back at the contestants of Season 3 and see how their fighting careers have progressed after the show.

The third season of ‘TUF’ featured lightheavyweight & middleweight contestants, and was coached by Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock.  The show focused heavily on the ongoing feud between coaches, sometimes at the expense of screen time for fighters.    The talent level on this season was rather weak compared to seasons 1 and 2:  not a single fighter from season 3 is currently ranked in the Top 10 in any weight class.  I will examine the lightheavyweight class first, and look at the middleweights next week.

Fighters are listed in order of their current Fightmatrix.com ranking, regardless of the weight class. Fights that took place in the live finale are counted in the ‘After’ column.

[#16 MW] Michael Bisping

Undefeated and heavily favored to win the 205 lbs bracket, Bisping stopped Kristian Rothaermel and Ross Pointon to make his way into the finale, where he defeated Josh Haynes by TKO.  After a couple of lackluster performance – a split decision victory over cast-mate Matt Hamill that most fans felt Bisping should have lost, and a decision loss to Season 2 winner Rashad Evans – Bisping decided to drop down to 185 lbs, where he has shown a renewed intensity.  Bisping has been an instrumental part of the UFC’s recent expansion into the United Kingom, and will face Chris Leben in the main event of the UFC’s next UK outing.

[#27 LHW] Matt Hamill

Though Matt Hamill had no professional MMA experience prior to the show, the accomplished wrestler proved to be a quick learner.  After defeating Mike Nickels, Hamill was forced to withdraw from competition due to an injury.  Since then he has racked up a 4-1 record in the UFC, his only loss a very controversial decison to Bisping.  With greatly improved striking and a solid chin, Hamill is becoming a real threat to UFC’s lightheavyweight division.  He will face the biggest challenge of his young career at UFC 88, when the former middleweight champion Rich Franklin moves up a weight class to test his skills against the deaf wrestler.

[#84 LHW] Mike Nickels

The heavily tattooed Mike Nickels didn’t have much luck on TUF, losing an uneventful decision to Hamill in his elimination bout.  He defeated Wes Combs in the finale, but was subsequently submitted by Stephan Bonnar in his next UFC fight, and hasn’t fought in nearly a year before making a successful return to action in a recent Ring of Fire event.

[#95 MW] Jesse Forbes

Jesse Forbes had only a single professional bout prior to the show, and he paid for his inexperience, losing via submission to Noah Inhofer.  When Inhofer withdrew from competition, Forbes received a second chance at the Ultimate Fighter crown, but was submitted again – this time by Josh Haynes.  Forbes was stopped by Matt Hamill in the finale, and since then has mostly fought in smaller shows, winning four fights but losing by TKO in his WEC debut against Brian Baker.

[NR] Josh Haynes

Though Haynes made it to the finals after a split decision victory over Tait Fletcher and a submission over Jesse Forbes, he did not present much of a challenge to Michael Bisping.  Haynes began his MMA career as as heavyweight, and has been steadily dropping in weight, however he lost all three of his UFC bouts – at 205, 185, and 170 lbs.  Recently Haynes has been competing in smaller MMA leagues, with a 3-2 record in his post-UFC career.

[NR] Noah Inhofer

Noah Inhofer won his elimination bout with an armbar submission over Jesse Forbes, but left the show after receiving news from home that his girlfriend believed he was cheating on her.  Inhofer was subsequently blackballed from the UFC but remains active in smaller shows.

[NR] Tait Fletcher

Tait Fletcher is known to many MMA fans as a long time friend, training partner, and former body guard of the UFC commentator Joe Rogan. Fletcher lost a split decision in his only TUF bout to Josh Haynes. Like Rothaermel, Fletcher was also given a chance to face Michael Bisping in place of the injured Matt Hamill; he too declined, and was never brought back into the UFC. Fletcher fought only twice since the show, losing his most recent bout to Chad Herrick in KOTC.

[NR] Kristian Rothaermel

After suffering a loss to Michael Bisping in his first bout on the show, the New Orleans native Rothaermel was given a chance to redeem himself by stepping in for the injured Matt Hamill.  Kristian turned down the opportunity to fight Bisping for the second time, and after a submission loss to Rob MacDonald at a subsequent UFC fight night, Rothaermel no longer competes in MMA. 

If you missed our previous articles tracking the progress of the former Ultimate Fighter contestants, check them out here:

Season 1: Part I – Light Heavyweights    Part II – Middleweights

Season 2: Part I – Heavyweights    Part II – Welterweights