How reality TV Show TUF helped UFC reach global domination

Season one of reality TV show TUF started with 16 fighters competing for two six-figure contracts. Mixed Martial Arts being a hyperbole sport and coupled with the wide reach and hype of reality TV in 2005, UFC was launched into the American mainstream from its financial ruins.

As noted by Betway, TUF has till now produced six Hall of Famers: Sanchez, Rashad Evans, Griffin, Matt Serra, Bonnar, and Michael Bisping. The impact TUF's first season had on the UFC is known to all. Three million people watched UFC's finale on 9th April 2005, and it turned the two winners, Diego Sanchez and Forrest Griffin, into overnight stars. The fight between Griffin and Bonnar was accepted as one of the greatest fights in UFC's history, but in the last 15 years through its 37 seasons, TUF has made a significant contribution in helping UFC become the world's most prominent MMA institution.

Let's understand this contribution with the help of numbers. As mentioned earlier, UFC has gained six Hall of Famers from TUF. It has also got 10 fighters from TUF who went on to win the UFC belt; these are Robert Whittaker, T.J. Dillashaw, Carla Esparza, Griffin, Evans, Bisping, Kamaru Usman, Serra, Nicco Montano and Rose Namajunas. Apart from UFC belt winners, TUF has also produced 22 title challengers. In addition to all this, TUF has also produced 105 UFC regulars (fighters with more than 10 fights). Now, you may remember only the winners, but UFC wouldn't have survived without these quality fighters, as it is these fighters who are filling the cards by fighting multiple times in a year.

Since the inception of TUF, UFC has sold over 90 million pay-per-views and has created seven UFC divisions. In 2016, UFC was sold for around $4 billion and its current estimated valuation is about $7 billion.

Like any other sport, MMA is also built upon iconic moments, and TUF has provided hundreds of them in the last 15 years. The alumnus from TUF have won 439 post-fight bonuses, which means 439 iconic moments in 15 years. Among those 439 bonuses, 212 won the Fights of the Night, and 227 were regarded as the Performance of the Night. One of the greatest moments among these was the biggest upset ever when TUF 4 winner Matt Serra knocked out Georges St-Pierre in UFC 69 to become a welterweight champion.

You can also understand the contribution of TUF by considering the fact that UFC 52, which was held immediately after TUF 1, generated 300,000 pay-per-views. UFC 49, 50, and 51 generated only 225,000 pay-per-views among them, as they were held prior to TUF 1. Before 2005, events were held only in the USA, UK, Brazil, and Japan. Now, UFC has conducted 475 events in 21 countries.

Thus, it is safe to say that without TUF, there may have been no McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, or Silva, at least not in the way we know them now. Without TUF, such a journey of UFC and MMA becoming a multi-billion dollar sport wouldn't have been possible.

Stats and infographic taken from Betway UFC Betting.