The Ultimate Fighter is a reality TV series and MMA competition , created in the United States , and produced by Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship . On this show, professional mixed martial arts fighters that have yet to make a big name for themselves are situated in a house outside of Las Vegas , Nevada and compete against each other for the title of TUF , winning a six-figure, multi-fight contract with the UFC .
For the first four seasons, prospect UFC fighters were selected in two weight classes . The fighters are shared out into two teams, irrespective of weight category , each team coached by a current Ultimate Fighting Championship star . The teams then compete (in a manner which varies by season) to determine which team would have the right to pair one of their own fighters against an opposition of their calibre in the same weight category to an MMA fight , the loser being eliminated from tournament . At the end of a season, the last remaining fighters of each weight class are placed in a single-elimination tournament , where the title of Ultimate Fighter is awarded to the winner. Seasons five to seven, ten and eleven have only featured one weight class each.
The show features the ongoing preparations each fighter makes to train for match and the interactions they have with each other living under the same roof. Day-to-day events on the show are overseen by UFC president Dana White.
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With the exception of the season finales, fights on The Ultimate Fighter are sanctioned by the Nevada Athletic Commission as exhibition matches and do not count for or against a fighter’s professional record. This is done to keep the results from going public before the air date .
The winners of the first three seasons of The Ultimate Fighter competition, and certain runners-up depending on their performance in their competition finals, receive the touted “six-figure” contract to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship . These contracts are specifically three-year contracts with a guaranteed first year. Each year consists of three fights, the first year’s purse per fight consists of $12,000 guaranteed with a $12,000 win bonus (a maximum of $24,000 per fight), the second year’s purse per fight is $16,000 with a $16,000 win bonus (a maximum of $32,000 per fight) and the third year’s purse per fight is at $22,000 with a $22,000 win bonus (a maximum of $44,000 per fight). A TUF winner who goes 9-0 can earn $300,000 total on the contract, but only $150,000 is guaranteed for all three years if 9 fights are fought.1
Those that have not won the competition can still fight in the UFC . Their contracts however are not the same as the six-figure deal above.
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