On April 9, 2005, the Ultimate Fighting Championship changed forever. The UFC was being broadcast live on Spike TV when future light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar stepped into the Octagon to determine the 205-pound tournament winner of season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter reality competition.
Griffin and Bonnar went back and forth for three rounds in a thrilling slugfest that would eventually be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame Fight Wing.
Ultimately, Griffin earned a unanimous decision win and a six-figure UFC contract. But because of how incredible the fight was, Bonnar was also rewarded a deal by UFC president Dana White. It was a fight that continues to be referenced today as a turning point for mixed martial arts as the sport then was catapulted into the mainstream with more eyeballs than ever before.
Now, more than 14 years later, it’s time to look back at the incredible fight that helped open the door for mixed martial arts to develop what it has turned into today.
The full results from The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale can be seen below.
‘The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale’ Results
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | ||||
| Light Heavyweight | Rich Franklin | def. | Ken Shamrock | TKO (punches) | 1 | 2:42 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Forrest Griffin | def. | Stephan Bonnar | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Diego Sanchez | def. | Kenny Florian | TKO (punches) | 1 | 2:49 | |
| Preliminary card | |||||||
| Light Heavyweight | Sam Hoger | def. | Bobby Southworth | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Chris Leben | def. | Jason Thacker | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:35 | |
| Middleweight | Josh Koscheck | def. | Chris Sanford | KO (punch) | 1 | 4:21 | |
| Middleweight | Nate Quarry | def. | Lodune Sincaid | TKO (punches) | 1 | 3:17 | |
| Middleweight | Mike Swick | def. | Alex Schoenauer | KO (punch) | 1 | 0:20 | |
| Welterweight | Alex Karalexis | def. | Josh Rafferty | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:40 | |