5 TUF washouts who did surprisingly well in the UFC

#2. Thiago Santos – UFC light heavyweight contender

Thiago Santos has found success in the octagon after moving up in weight substantially

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos, who is set to headline this weekend’s Fight Night event against Magomed Ankalaev, was another product of TUF: Brazil, in this case the reality show’s second season in 2013.

However, to say that ‘Marreta’, who was able to knock out the likes of Jan Blachowicz and Jimi Manuwa, is a little different to the fighter who took part on the reality show would be a massive understatement.

Santos’ time on TUF saw him defeat Gil Freitas and Pedro Irie, but losses to William Macario and eventual winner Leonardo Santos meant that his hopes of becoming a TUF champion were swiftly over.

When ‘Marreta’ then lost to Cezar Ferreira in his full octagon debut, it looked like his stint with the promotion would be short. Instead, he’s picked up numerous big wins and even challenged Jon Jones for UFC gold in 2019.

In this case, there’s an obvious explanation for Santos’ TUF failings. He competed on the reality show as a welterweight, meaning he was likely cutting a huge amount of weight to even reach the 170-pound limit.

Quite how the now-hulking 205lber ever made that weight is anyone’s guess, but it’s clear that after washing out of TUF, his decision to move up in weight has been the right one.

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#1. Brandon Moreno – former UFC flyweight champion

TUF 24 washout Brandon Moreno stunned everyone by claiming flyweight gold in 2021

Despite TUF now running for well over 30 seasons all told, the reality show has still not actually produced that many UFC champions. Of those that have been able to claim gold in the octagon, the majority won their season of TUF, meaning they were usually marked for greatness from the start.

One major exception to that rule is former flyweight kingpin Brandon Moreno, who was recently edged out by the man he defeated for the title, Deiveson Figueiredo, in a fight largely considered an instant classic.

To say that nobody really expected Moreno to get that far would be a huge understatement. The native of Mexico competed in the 24th season of TUF, which saw 16 flyweight champions from various promotions matched up in order to find a challenger for then-UFC champ Demetrious Johnson.

Moreno, who held the World Fighting Federation title, was matched in the first round with a difficult opponent in the form of Alexandre Pantoja and ended up losing via rear-naked choke in the second round.

‘The Assassin Baby’ did then debut in the octagon with three straight wins, but two losses in 2017, including another to Pantoja, saw him wash out of the promotion entirely.

When he returned in 2019, then, nobody expected him to climb to the top of the division. However, after beating Kai Kara-France, Jussier Formiga and Brandon Royval, he was granted his shot at the title and took it with both hands.

In this case, it feels like Moreno’s failings on TUF all stemmed from a bad stylistic match against Pantoja. Had he faced someone else, he may well have gone all the way and won the season. He could even have claimed gold five years before he actually did.