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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.

Contents 1 Cast 1.1 Coaches 1.2 Fighters 1.3 Hosts 2 Results 2.1 Finale 2.2 Light heavyweight bracket 2.3 Middleweight bracket 3 Footnotes

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

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

• Dana White
• Willa Ford

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 in 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 in 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 (highly controversial) split decision after 2 rounds. Many (including Liddell) felt that Southworth was a clear winner and was robbed of his victory. Even Rafferty conceded that, "... it could have gone either way."

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 chose 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 in 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 in the first round.

Episode 10

• In the first middleweight semifinal match, Kenny Florian defeats Chris Leben 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.
• Stephan Bonnar defeats Mike Swick.

The Ultimate Finale 1
Details
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	April 9, 2005
Venue	Cox Pavilion
City	Las Vegas, Nevada
Event chronology
	The Ultimate Finale 1	The Ultimate Finale 2

• Undercard
  • Alex Karalexis defeats Josh Raffety by TKO.
  • Mike Swick defeats Alex Schoenauer by KO.
  • Nathan Quarry defeats Lodune Sincaid by TKO.
  • Josh Koscheck defeats Chris Sanford by KO.
  • Chris Leben defeats Jason Thacker by TKO.
  • 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).
  • Main Event - 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 UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 53.

	Semifinals					Final
	Couture	Stephan Bonnar
	Couture	Mike Swick
						Couture	Stephan Bonnar
						Liddell	Forrest Griffin
	Liddell	Forrest Griffin
	Liddell	Sam Hoger

	Semifinals					Final
	Liddell	Diego Sanchez
	Liddell	Josh Koscheck
						Liddell	Diego Sanchez
						Couture	Kenny Florian
	Couture	Kenny Florian[1]
	Couture	Chris Leben[2]

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

The Ultimate Fighter - Season 1
Stephan Bonnar | Kenny Florian | Forrest Griffin | Sam Hoger | Alex Karalexis | Josh Koscheck | Chris Leben | Nathan Quarry | Josh Rafferty | Diego Sanchez | Christopher Sanford | Alex Schoenauer | Lodune Sincaid | Bobby Southworth | Mike Swick | Jason Thacker Coaches: Randy Couture | Chuck Liddell