Season 14 of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ reality series came to a close this past weekend. This was the first season of ‘TUF’ to feature featherweight and bantamweight fighters, and the last season to be aired on Spike TV; future seasons will be broadcast on Fx network as UFC makes a transition to the FOX family of channels.
Over the fourteen seasons, TUF proved to be a formidable tool for building up UFC rosters and creating stars. While winning the TUF tournaments carried certain accolades, a number of other contestants from every season turned their appearance in the Ultimate Fighter house into a successful and lasting career in the UFC.
For example, Season 1 rivals Josh Koscheck and Chris Leben didn’t make it to the finals of the middleweight tournament. Nevertheless, both fighters received a UFC contract (with Koscheck dropping to welterweight following the season finale) and made the best of it, becoming two of the most active fighters in history of the organization.
With 19 bouts in the Octagon a piece, Leben and Koscheck share the #5 slot on the list of fighters with most UFC bouts. For a point of reference, that’s one fight ahead of the UFC veterans George St. Pierre, Rich Franklin, and Frank Mir! The only fighters with more Octagon experience than Koscheck and Leben are Matt Hughes, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, BJ Penn, and Chris Lytle. With most of these names either retired or on the verge or retirement, it’s very conceivable that in a couple of years Koscheck and Leben may top the list.
While Leben’s record is on hold as he begins serving a year-long suspension due to testing positive for banned painkillers after his most recent fight, Josh Koscheck’s upcoming bout with Carlos Condit will have him tied with Chris Lytle at 20 UFC appearances each.
Not only is Josh one of the most active UFC fighters in history, he is also one of the winningest: with 14 victories in the Octagon, he shares the #4 slot with Anderson Silva, and is only trailing behind Matt Hughes, George St. Pierre, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, and Tito Ortiz. A win over Condit will see Koscheck bypass ‘The Spider’ with 15 wins, only 3 behind Matt Hughes’ record of 18 Octagon victories!