The Ultimate Fighter isn’t the only way into the UFC. Most fighters still ascend through the regional organizations to the big show.
So why does the show draw hundreds of applicants each season? Why have several fighters signed on for another trip to the TUF house in the “Redemption” season that starts airing Wednesday?
Let’s ask Chris Lytle, who was on the last “veterans” season of the show. That was TUF 4, and he had certainly noticed the exposure for upstarts like Forrest Griffin.
“It was kind of frustrating – I’d fought in the UFC several times,” Lytle says.