Brief Synopsis:
The Ultimate Fighter 2 was the second season of the mixed martial arts reality television series The Ultimate Fighter. The season featured a heavyweight and a welterweight division, with 9 fighters initially in each division. The UFC coaches for this season were welterweight and middleweight champions Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin. Season 1 coach and former UFC champion Randy Couture hosted and designed the team challenge segments, which if won would allow the winning team to pair a fighter from their team against another in elimination matches. The finale aired on November 5, 2005, and it set a ratings record for the UFC with a 2.0 overall rating. Although released on DVD in 2005, it was re-released on September 18, 2007.
Coaches and Trainers:
Matt Hughes, Team Hughes coach
Rich Franklin, Team Franklin coach
Fighters (as originally assigned):
Welterweights
A. Team Hughes: Joe Stevenson, Luke Cummo, Josh Burkman, Sammy Morgan
B. Team Franklin: Marcus Davis, Jorge Gurgel, Anthony Torres, Melvin Guillard
C. Unassigned: Kenny Stevens
Heavyweights
A. Team Hughes: Mike Whitehead, Dan Christison, Rob MacDonald, Tom Murphy
B. Team Franklin: Keith Jardine, Seth Petruzelli, Rashad Evans, Brad Imes
C. Unassigned: Kerry Schall, Eli Joslin
Others:
Dana White, Randy Couture (Hosts)
Mike Rowe (Narrator)
Episodes:
Episode 1: A New Crop (Original Air Date: August 22, 2005)
- Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin are introduced as the new coaches.
- Heavyweight Kerry Schall is eliminated due to a knee injury.
- Eli Joslin chooses to leave the show, citing his reasons as not being able to handle the camera environment at the house.
- Kenny Stevens is chosen as the weakest Welterweight and calls out Sammy Morgan to fight.
- Stevens forfeits his match saying he will not be able to make weight for the fight.
Episode 2: The Teams Are Picked (Original Air Date: August 29, 2005)
- Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin choose their teams.
- Team Hughes wins the Welterweight challenge.
- Josh Burkman defeats Melvin Guillard by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Episode 3: No Pain, No Grain (Original Air Date: September 5, 2005)
- Josh Burkman is forced to leave the competition after breaking his arm in the match with Melvin Guillard.
- Jason Von Flue joins the show to replace Burkman.
- Team Hughes wins the Heavyweight challenge.
- Brad Imes defeats Rob MacDonald with a submission by triangle choke at 4:07 of the first round.
Episode 4: Strategy (Original Air Date: September 12, 2005)
- Team Franklin wins the Welterweight challenge.
- Joe Stevenson defeats Marcus Davis when Marcus taps out from elbow strikes at 4:10 of the first round.
Episode 5: Leave It in the Octagon (Original Air Date: September 19, 2005)
- Team Hughes wins the Heavyweight challenge.
- Rashad Evans defeats Tom Murphy by unanimous decision after three rounds; Rashad causes controversy by “showboating” (dancing around in the octagon) at various stages of the fight, much to the chagrin of opposing coach Matt Hughes.
- Dana White states that this was one of the more boring fights he has seen.
Episode 6: Slugfest (Original Air Date: September 26, 2005)
- Matt Hughes expresses disgust at Rashad’s actions in the octagon during the previous episode.
- Team Hughes wins the Welterweight scarecrow challenge after Team Franklin forfeits to save their fighters.
- Jason Von Flue defeats Jorge Gurgel by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Episode 7: No Respect (Original Air Date: October 3, 2005)
- Team Franklin wins the Heavyweight mud wrestling challenge.
- Hughes sends Von Flue over to team Franklin for rebalancing.
- Seth Petruzelli wins a unanimous decision over Dan Christison.
Episode 8: Knees and Elbows (Original Air Date: October 10, 2005)
- Team Hughes wins the Welterweight “Randy Says” challenge after Von Flue and
- Anthony Torres fails to obey Randy Couture’s directions.
- Franklin sends Imes to team Hughes for rebalancing.
- Luke Cummo wins a unanimous decision over Anthony Torres.
Episode 9: Mental Game (Original Air Date: October 17, 2005)
- Team Hughes wins the Heavyweight challenge resoundingly.
- Brad Imes is passed over for a fight due to a cut over his eye received in training; Mike Whitehead is chosen to fight instead.
- Rashad Evans defeats Mike Whitehead by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Episode 10: Killer Instinct (Original Air Date: October 24, 2005)
- Jason Von Flue sustains a cut between the eyes in practice; Marcus Davis is brought back as an alternate in the case of Jason being unable to fight.
- The rest of the matches are set up by Dana White, Rich Franklin, and Matt Hughes with input from fighters; the matches are: Luke Cummo v. Sammy Morgan, Joe Stevenson v. Jason Von Flue, Seth Petruzelli v. Brad Imes, and Rashad Evans v. Keith Jardine.
- Luke Cummo defeats Sammy Morgan at 2:05 of the second round by knockout with a knee.
Episode 11: Heavyweight Semi-Final (Original Air Date: October 31, 2005)
- Rashad Evans defeats Keith Jardine by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Episode 12: Semi-Finals Countdown (Original Air Date: November 1, 2005)
- Jason Von Flue is cleared by the doctors to fight.
- Joe Stevenson defeats Jason Von Flue at 4:46 of Round 1 with an armbar submission. Luke Cummo and Joe Stevenson will face each other in the final for the UFC contract.
- In the second Heavyweight semi-final, Brad Imes defeats Seth Petruzelli by split decision after three rounds; Petruzelli suffers extensive damage to his right ear.
Episode 13: The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale (Original Air Date: November 5, 2005)
- Welterweight fight: Joe Stevenson vs. Luke Cummo. Stevenson wins by unanimous decision, winning the TUF championship in the Welterweight division.
- Heavyweight fight: Rashad Evans vs. Brad Imes. Evans wins by a split decision and wins a six figure contract, winning the TUF championship in the Heavyweight division.
Disclaimer: All season recaps of The Ultimate Fighter are re-formatted copies of content from Wikipedia.