Season two was a great follow-up to the first. The rules were the same and the only thing the show was missing was the presence of Willa Ford. Zuffa again recruited a lot of the top American talent out there along with just a few head-scratchers. It aired 4 short months after the season 1 finale and had Matt Hughes coaching against Rich Franklin. It was an odd choice of coaches for sure.

Episode 1: Immediately Kerry Schall is gone due to injury.Eli Joslin leaves because he is camera shy. Kenny Stevens is the weak link and cannot make weight. Right away it looks like a weak cast.

Kerry Schall: Kerry was already 34 years old and had many battles in his career. In fact, he was Fedor's 7th professional fight in 2001. 18-8 was his record and he wasn't quite a pioneer of the sport, but he has been there since 1997. It's hard to criticize a veteran who took a shot at stardom in the late stages of his career when he was obviously unfit to fight. Surprisingly, he was asked back to the finale where he lost to Keith Jardine. Many thought that would be the end for Schall, however; he has proven to be a true fighter going 4-3 since the show ended. In 2008 he made his last push fighting in larger shows against good competition and is now fighting for smaller shows in the midwest. He is yet to have a bout in 2009. Record: 22-11.

Eli Joslin: This is an example of a raw fighter who made the show due to his football pedigree and brawling style. At 1-0 he was easily one of the least experienced members. The first day of practices he was overwhelmed by talented guys like Seth Petruzelli and Keith Jardine. His camera-shy excuse was weak since he came onto the show bragging about his previous KO win. He had one more win in 2006 and has not fought since. Record: 2-0

Kenny Stevens: It's normal for fighters to move UP in weight classes to join TUF. Stevens is one of the few who tried to move down and it was not pretty. Stevens was 8-2 and a decent prospect coming in with a "nock them out or be knocked out" fighting style. He has just never fought at 170 to my knowledge. He now fights at 205 and 185 and has gone 2-5 while losing to some bigger names. Kenny still trains with Rich Clementi in Louisiana and fights once or twice a year for Clementi's steelcagefighting promotions. Record: 9-7 (all wins by KO)

Episode 2: Teams are chosen and Josh Burkman steps up to fight Melvin Guillard. Burkman by UD.

Melvin Guillard: Guillard talked himself up quite a bit during the first two episodes. His physique, top notch wrestling, and heavy hands made him the #2 favorite to win the show behind Joe Stevenson. There's a lot of obvious things that could be said about his attitude and maturity and they are all spot on. At the same time, he is young and hams it up a bit for the show. 16-4-2 was his record before coming onto the show where he was embarrassed by Burkman exposing his weak ground game. Guillard came back to defeat Marcus Davis in the Finale via cuts and looked to have a bright future if he worked on his grappling. Since the show his career has been up and down. He tested positive for cocaine and had two embarrassing losses to Joe Stevenson and Rich Clementi. Melvin also accused Stevenson of HGH use. He is now 6-3 (5-3 UFC) and seems to have matured after spending 6 months in jail in late 2008. Record: 22-7-2

Episode 3: Burkman broke his arm and is out. Jason Von Flue replaces him. Brad Imes defeates Rob MacDonald.

Rob MacDonald: You could watch the entire season of TUF and never hear anyone mention his name. It seemed like he had no interviews or face time either. This is probably due to the fact that Imes submitted him quickly early in the season. For some reason the UFC still granted him a contract and used him for all three fights. His win came over Rotharmel who hasn't fought since. He was submitted early by Eric Schafer and Jason Lambert who both exposed his apparent weaknesses. Rob was 3-0 and a raw prospect coming in who just failed to devote all of his time to training. He has fought mostly good competition since the show and has gone 2-4 fighting about once a year. His latest fight was a 2009 loss in the WEC. Record: 5-4

Josh Burkman: 13-3 prior, 5-5 since (all UFC).
Burkman came into the house as the strongest wrestler of the bunch with a lot to learn. He quickly called out standout Melvin Guillard in the first episode which resulted in a very exciting fight. Burkman pulled out the victory and was instantly on the radar. However, Burkman broke his arm in the bout and was forced off the show. He defeated Sammy Morgan in the finale in devastating fashion and has fought top UFC competition ever since.Burkman is currently riding a 3 fight losing streak and is most likely no longer with the UFC as he seems to have peaked as a mid/lower-tier UFC fighter.

Episode 4: Joe Stevenson over Marcus Davis (submission due to elbows)

Marcus Davis: Everyone knows what has become of Davis since his time on the show. He was an older raw boxer who claimed he was retiring after this loss. It actually did not seem like that bad of an idea after being 32 year old man with a 3-2 record (split dec loss to Thiago Alves). Even after the Stevenson domination he was handled by Melvin Guillard. At that point, his career looked finished. Unlike many, Davis would evolve and dedicate himself and show his true spirit and character by joining Team Sityodtong. The next 5 months were the most important of his career as he trained hard to fight outside of the UFC again in April 2006. He tore through some weak competition and strung together 5 wins in 5 months to get invited back. The rest is history. Davis fought twice more in 2006 for the UFC and improved his record with 7 straight wins in 8 months. Since then he has become one of the UFC's most popular fighters overseas and is always extremely active. Record: 16-5 including 6 fight streak in UFC.

Episode 5: Rashad Evans beats Tom Murphy via unimpressive UD.

Tom Murphy: This is one of the strange cases of this TUF season. He is another guy you wouldn't know existed if you watched the season in its entirety. Rashad Evans' wrestling proved to be too much for him in their fight, but he was given a contract anyways with his 2-0 record. His first and only fight was an impressive win over Icho Larenas in early 2006. Ever since then Tom has been off the MMA map completely and has only competed once (2008 win). The UFC has offered him multiple fights, but he has turned them down to improve his overall MMA game. He is a highly talented Gracie-trained fighter and is a total fan of the sport. It would have been nice to see how he would have done - unfortunately, it may be too late. Murphy now runs St. Albans RailCity MMA in Vermont. At 35 it just seems unlikely. Record: 4-0.

Episode 6: Jason Von Flue defeats Jorge Gurgel.

Jorge Gurgel: Even back in the day it seems like Gurgel was prone to being a blackbelt brawler. He is actually the original creator of Andy Wang syndrome. At least it would make sense if he had KO power or a defensive counterstriking gameplan. However, that is not the case and leaves fans face-palming. At the same time, he wins enough to keep doing it and provides entertaining fights for the promoters/fans. He had a scary 9-1 (all by submission) record coming in and ran an already successful gym out of Cincinnati and looked to be a dangerous competitor. However, Gurgel has gone 4-4 since TUF and has let a lot of people down having never beaten anyone notable (except maybe Heun). Record: 13-5.

Episode 7: Seth Petruzelli beats Dan Christison

Dan Christison: An enormous heavyweight who made a lot of the smaller guys very nervous when he entered TUF. There were high hopes for Dan as he was one of the more well-known fighters this season coming in with a 7-3 record against some bigger names. For some reason his skills did not translate well and he had a pretty terrible fight. Christison unfortunately dropped his second UFC fight in an awful performance vs Frank Mir. After that he had an unsuccessful stint in the IFL, but hit a 7 fight win streak against weaker competition in smaller shows. Dan now works with Greg Jackson and is a very active fighter who just never quite cut it against the top tier fighters. Record: 16-7.

Episode 8: Luke Cummo defeats Anthony Torres

Anthony Torres: The Crush was another self-proclaimed up and comer at 4-0 who ultimately fell short. He was on the wrong end of a beating against Luke Cummo and was not invited back to the UFC until late 2006. After his first win he was not asked back until 13 months later only to lose in the first round to Jess Liaudin. He then tested positive for steroids and was cut from his UFC contract. He fought once more in early 2008 losing a split decision in a smaller org. According to wiki, he is now a federal corrections officer.

Episode 9: Rashad Evans beats Mike Whitehead

Mike Whitehead: Matt Hughes made Whitehead (9-4 against good competition) sound like the next Couture when he spoke about him on the show. However, in his fight against Rashad Evans the bright lights got to him and he froze in the octagon. It was a poor performance in which he spent most of the time on his back doing nothing. His first fight after the show was a loss to Keigh Jardine and he was then cut from his contract. The UFC gave up a bit too early on this 27 year old, though. He now trains at Xtreme Couture and is riding an impressive 11 fight win streak (4-0 IFL). Whitehead's streak ended at 13 when he faced Babalu at Affliction 1. Since then he is 2-0 with a notable win over Kevin Randleman and is viewed as one of the best LHW fighters outside of the UFC. Record: 24-6.

Episode 10: Luke Cummo over Sammy Morgan via KO

Sammy Morgan: Being another one of the more experienced fighters (16-6 with some huge wins) who seemed to think they had an advantage in every area, Morgan was in for a big letdown. During episode 10 he put on a very entertaining fight against Luke Cummo, but lost via a surprising KO in the second round. After losing to Burkman in the Finale he won 2 fights via submission and was invited back into the UFC only to lose another unimpressive bout to Forrest Petz. Morgan's game seems to have regressed to the Jorge Gurgel syndrome (except much uglier with less cardio) and is now used as a sacrificial lamb for Strikeforce. He has not fought in 2009 and is 3-6 since the show. Morgan now helps run a gym and makes clothing. Record: 19-12.

Episode 11: Rashad Evans over Keith Jardine

Keith Jardine: Jardine stayed under the radar during the entire season(8-1-1 prior) and did not get much face time at all. Evans took him to a decision late in the season, but Keith bounced back with a memorable TKO over Kerry Schall via leg kicks. Those same leg kicks led him to a victory over Chuck Liddell and three others in the UFC. He has had some disappointing losses, but was immediately elevated him to top 10 rankings everywhere. A win versus W. Silva likely would have led to a title shot as well. Keith now trains at Team Jackson and is known as a tough fighter who is just a bit inconsistent. Record: 14-5-1.

Episode 12: Joe Stevenson over Jason Von Flue and Brad Imes over Seth Petruzelli.

Jason Von Flue: Jason Von Flue was not an original cast member(and was 10-4-1 prior), but came into the house as an immediate underdog when Burkman injured his arm. He took out Gurgel in a decision and got mangled in the process. After being referred to as "Frankenstein" he went on to lose to Joe Stevenson in an extreme mismatch. Von Flue won his first fight in the UFC via submission but was soon after dominated by Luke Cummo and Joe Riggs. Strikeforce saw the same potential in Von Flue in which they saw in Sammy Morgan. He has now lost 5/8 to some notable up and comers. TUF has given him enough notoriety to be a popular name in which good fighters can beat down for credibility. Von FLue is still a journeyman fighter and an instructor at New Era JJ and Fresno Kickboxing Academy. Record: 14-11-1.

Seth Petruzelli: AKA many people's hero who is most well known for his KO over Kimbo Slice. I always liked Seth's karate-style striking and he was my darkhorse to win as he had a semi-impressive 8-2 record coming in. He defeated Dan Christison early in the season and barely lost to Brad Imes later. The UFC was unkind to Seth by giving him Hamill and Gouveia as his only two fights before cutting him.Seth was only 1-0 since leaving the UFC and was inactive for a year before the Kimbo fight. He was recently injured and has not fought since. Petruzelli remains an interesting free agent who still only fights part time. Record: 10-4.

Finale: Joe Stevenson over Luke Cummo and Rashad Evans over Brad Imes.

Luke Cummo: Every season has a guy who no one knows much about and ends up surprising everyone(3-2 prior). Cummo could strike with anyone on the show and also had superb submission defense. He upset Anthony Torres and Sammy Morgan on his way to the six-figure contract. Joe Stevenson stood in his way and Cummo ultimately lost a hard fought battle via decision and his weakness was exposed. Since then he has shown flashes of greatness, but has never improved his main weakness: takedown defense. Any strong wrestler who can hold an opponent down has an instant advantage over Cummo. Thus, he has gone 4-4 in the UFC since the show ended. Goulet, McCrory, and Fioravanti used this technique and won decisions over Luke. Cummo has disappeared from the MMA map as he is now more of a father and trainer than a full time MMA fighter. He may ake a comeback in 2010 and it may or may not be in the UFC at 170. Record: 6-6.

Brad Imes: When Brad Imes goes 3-0 on the show, you know it was a weak season for heavyweights. During the show he proved to be able to give lower-level competition fits with his size. Rob MacDonald went down easily, but Petruzelli gave Imes all he could handle. Brad went on to lose in the finale and put up a decent enough fight to excuse the loss. However, Imes put on awful performances against Herring and Christison and was let go. He is now most notable for his two back-to-back gogoplata victories over poor competition. Imes is now 9-4 since the show and is looking to improve his record and is hoping to make it back to a bigger promotion though he has not fought in 2009. Record: 12-5.

Joe Stevenson: Joe came in as one of the most experienced fighters and an early favorite to win the show(23-6 prior). Many of the fighters trash talked and were arrogant, but Joe worked hard and defeated Marcus Davis and Jason Von Flue before beating Luke Cummo via decision in the finale. After the impressive run of TUF Stevenson was arguably put up against the toughest fighter (Neer, aside from TUF 4) any winner has faced. After dropping a decision against Josh Neer, Stevenson dropped to 155 and went 4-0 and earned a title shot. Stevenson has recently joined Team Jackson since he lost to Penn, Florian, and Sanchez as he is making another run at the title. Record: 30-10.

Rashad Evans: Evans is the most successful alumni from season 2 Rashad was an early favorite to win the show even though he was incredibly undersized(5-0 prior). This class was noticeably weak as two heavyweights dropped out during the first episode. Rashad was one of the few up and comers in the division and proved to be a natural athlete who had the most potential in the house. Evans, a strong wrestler, decisioned his way through three opponents and earned the winning split decision in the finale against Brad Imes. Rashad has piled up many unimpressive decision victories over Bisping, Bonnar, and Hoger, but his KO over Salmon is burnt in the minds of MMA fans everywhere. Evans' KO over Liddell legitimized his progression as a mixed martial artist. Team Jackson has helped him evolve as a fighter and become one of the biggest names in the UFC. Record: 13-1-1.