‘The Ultimate Fighter’: The 10 Best UFC Fighters in TUF History

The Best of The Ultimate Fighter: No. 9 – Nate Diaz. Diaz's 10-5 record in the UFC includes a 2-2 mark at welterweight. But since returning to lightweight last year, he's 2-0 and on the verge of a title shot. Most impressive, though, is his whopping eight fight night bonus awards.

The Best of The Ultimate Fighter: No. 8 – Gray Maynard. Maynard started his UFC career 8-0 (with a no contest in his TUF 5 Finale debut), including wins over Kenny Florian, Nate Diaz, Jim Miller and Frankie Edgar. His pair of title fights against Edgar are already legendary, even though he lost his second chance at the 155-pound belt last fall, suffering the first official loss of his career.

The Best of The Ultimate Fighter: No. 7 – Chris Leben. Chris Leben's troubles outside the Octagon have been well documented. But the TUF 1 contestant has gone 12-7 in the UFC with five bonus awards and is one of the promotion's most battle-tested veterans.

The Best of The Ultimate Fighter: No. 6 – Michael Bisping. Michael Bisping, the TUF 3 winner, is one of the promotion's most polarizing fighters. But no one can deny the brash Brit's success. At 12-4 in the UFC, he has been knocked out just once and his decision losses have come to Rashad Evans, Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen. It's hard to fault him for those.

The Best of The Ultimate Fighter: No. 5 – Diego Sanchez. Diego Sanchez, the Season 1 middleweight winner, has also fought at welterweight and lightweight in the UFC – including a 155-pound title fight against then-champ BJ Penn at UFC 107. Sanchez is known for his gritty performances, as evidenced by his five Fight of the Night wins – including three straight, currently.

The Best of The Ultimate Fighter: No. 4 – Josh Koscheck. Josh Koscheck may be the biggest villain in TUF history. The Season 1 standout has been called one of the most hated men in the sport by Dana White. But his 15-5 mark in the UFC, welterweight title shot at UFC 124 and four bonus awards have made him a mainstay in the upper tier of the 170-pound division.

The Best of The Ultimate Fighter: No. 3 – Kenny Florian. Kenny Florian reached the TUF 1 middleweight finals against Diego Sanchez, and all he's done since then is go 12-5, fighting at middleweight, welterweight, lightweight and featherweight, with three title shots in two different divisions. Injuries have him contemplating retirement as he focuses on broadcasting as part of the UFC on Fuel TV team, but "KenFlo" has cemented a big place in UFC history.

The Best of The Ultimate Fighter: No. 2 – Forrest Griffin. What more can be said about Forrest Griffin beyond his TUF 1 light heavyweight battle with Stephan Bonnar that has been given credit for launching the UFC and MMA to the next level? How about a 9-5 mark in the UFC, including winning the light heavyweight title against Rampage Jackson?

The Best of The Ultimate Fighter: No. 1 – Rashad Evans. It would be almost impossible to keep Rahad Evans out of the No. 1 spot for TUF alums. The Season 2 heavyweight winner dropped to light heavyweight after the show and went on a tear, going 12-1-1, the only loss coming to Lyoto Machida, surrending the title he took from Forrest Griffin. Evans next gets a shot at the belt again when he faces former friend and training partner Jon Jones at UFC 145 in Atlanta next month. The next season of TUF debuts Friday night on FX with a two-and-a-half-hour season premiere in an all-new live format. Will this season's eventual winner one day see his name on a list like this? Tune in Friday at 9 p.m. Eastern on FX and start making your predictions.