MMA is a sport that sees stars rise and fall, often in the blink an eye. A flashy finish can award a fighter the title of “future of the sport” or “the next Anderson Silva”… a single loss and that same fighter can find themselves relegated to backyard brawls for the rest of their careers! The Ultimate Fighter is a breeding ground for such fighters, and we have seen many with rising stars go supernova before they really had a chance to shine. A few weeks ago we looked at where some of the trailblazers of the sport are today, now we will take a look at some of the big names from over the years from “The Ultimate Fighter” (TUF).
Kimbo Slice: Arguably the biggest name to go nowhere within the UFC from TUF was Kimbo Slice. Best known for his YouTube backyard brawls, Dana White initially said you never see this circus sideshow in the UFC – EVER. White, however, softened his stance saying he would bring Slice into the UFC on the condition he worked his way up through the TUF ranks. In the highest rated episode of TUF ever, we watched Slice become exposed by a true mixed martial artist in Roy Nelson. After a few, sad fights, in the UFC, Slice was cut never to be heard from on the big stage again. So, where is he today? In 2009, Slice starred in an online series called “Junkyard Training”, which featured Kimbo showing off his training moves in his backyard. In 2011, Kimbo debuted inside the boxing ring knocking out his opponent in the first round – a 39-year old James Wade (0-1); in all fairness Slice would lock down another 3 wins inside the ring. Slice returned to the camera getting some air time on the BET series “The Iron Ring” and a part in the kids holiday program “Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh”.
Phillipe Nover: Before Uriah Hall was being dubbed as the next Anderson Silva, there was Phillipe Nover. Nover worked his way onto the finale of “Mir vs. Nogueira” where it was thought he would make short work of Efrain Escudero – however, it was not meant to be! Losing to Escudero via unanimous decision, many thought that maybe thought Phillipe was having an off night and would perform better once on the big stage of the UFC. Nover lost his first match against Kyle Bradley, and then after returning from injury lost to fellow TUF alumni Rob Emerson. At 0-3 in the UFC, Nover was released. Nover continued to work on his MMA and nursing career post-UFC. Fighting at Hoosier Fight Club 8, Nover won his match-up. He then moved on to Bellator, losing at Bellator 59, but returning to victory at Bellator 74 in late 2012. Nover continues to train for a return to the UFC, but has never regained the devastating composure he showed us on TUF.
Bobby Southworth: Part of that original cast from TUF that helped launched the UFC to where it is today, Southworth was best known for his massive weight-cut on the show and for calling Chris Leben a “fatherless bastard”. Eventually losing on the show to future star, Stephan Bonnar, Southworth never really emerged with the same MMA star power as some of his fellow TUF season 1 alumnus. So, what happened to Southworth? Southworth went on to Strikeforce, where he fought the likes of James Irvin and Vernon White. It was against White that Southworth would reach the height of his MMA career, winning the vacant Strikeforce light heavyweight title… albeit, eventually losing it shortly thereafter to Renato “Babalu” Sobral”. After Strikeforce, Southworth would return to his roots, trying out for season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter – but, was denied participation on the show as the season’s weight class was determined to be middleweight.
Kendall Grove: Was known as the tall and lanky middleweight, who came onto TUF as a relative unknown and went on to win the season. Grove did find some success in the UFC, but in terms of consistency, he could never really get it together. Grove would become the first winner of TUF to be cut from the UFC after back-t0-back losses to Damien Maia and Tim Boetsch. Grove’s MMA career would not end there, however, and he has remained fairly active since. Winning two matches in ProElite after a loss to Jay Silva at Superior Cage Combat, Grove would go on to win 4 straight across a number of different promotions – he seemed well on his way back to the UFC. However, after two recent losses – one to another TUF alumnus in Jesse Taylor – that road suddenly seems to be crumbling beneath his feet. With an 18-12 record Grove is going to continue schlocking his fame across low level promotions for some time to come still.
Jorge Gurgel: Jorge Gurgel was positioned to be the winner of season 2 of TUF before he had even competed in a fight. Alleged “Best Friend” of UFC staple, Rich Franklin, Gurgel never made it past his first fight on the show. Gurgel would go on to fight in the UFC and was a mainstay trainer for a lot of fighters on the UFC roster… although black-belts from Jorge Gurgel started to earn about as much credibility as something you could find in a discount bin a K-Mart. Going 3-4 in the UFC, Grugel was eventually cut. Gurgel returned to MMA in Strikeforce racking up an impressive 2-4 record, going down in flames on the last Strikeforce card to Adriano Martins. Gurgel continues to train at his school, and hopes to return to the big stage one day, but after going 3-7 in his last 10, he’s got a bit of a way to go.
Jesse Taylor: Taylor was known on season 7 for being a grinder. His technique went on to get him a spot on the finale for the seasons crown… but that moment of glory was short lived. Taylor was best known for his partying lifestyle that would get him bumped from the finale – the first, and only fighter, this has ever happened to. Taylor would earn a reprieve from Dana White, and was granted re-admission into the promotion – a fight against CB Dolloway that he would lose in convincing fashion. After the loss to Dolloway, Taylor was again given the boot from the promotion – but, his MMA career didn’t end there. Taylor has been bouncing all over a number of promotions, with up until more recently, very mixed results. Going 6-0 more recently it may not long before we see Taylor tipping his hat back in the UFC again.
While there have been almost too many fighters within the TUF circuit to mention, I just selected some of my personal favorites in this list. There will of course be many more in the future, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a second part to this particular article. Let me know if there is anyone else you would like hear about in the comments below.
You can follow me on Twitter: @lastwordmark, the guys from Hammer MMA Radio @stevejeffery, and the site @lastwordonsport
Interested in writing for LastWordOnSports? Find more info at our “Join Our Team” page and be heard.
Photo Credit: Esther Lin • all elbows via photopin cc
