The Ultimate Fighter 3

Cast

Coaches and Trainers

• Team Ortiz
• *Tito Ortiz, head coach
• *Dean Lister, jiu jitsu coach
• *Saul Soliz, kickboxing coach
• *Wing Butler, sign language interpreter
• Team Shamrock
• *Ken Shamrock, head coach
• *Roman Pollock, boxing coach
• *Dan Freeman, nutrition/strength coach

  Fighters

• Middleweights
• *Team Ortiz: Mike Stine, Kendall Grove, Rory Singer, Danny Abbadi
• *Team Shamrock: Kalib Starnes, Solomon Hutcherson, Ed Herman, Ross Pointon
• Light Heavyweights
• *Team Ortiz: Matt Hamill, Michael Bisping, Noah Inhofer, Josh Haynes
• *Team Shamrock: Jesse Forbes, Kristian Rothaermel, Tait Fletcher, Mike Nickels

  Host

• Dana White

  Episodes

• Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock are introduced as the coaches.
• A coin is flipped and Ortiz wins, meaning he got to pick the first fighter

• Kalib Starnes defeated Mike Stine by KO at 2:09 of the first round.

• Noah Inhofer defeated Jesse Forbes by submission at 2:35 of the first round.
• Team Ortiz gains control of the matches.

• Grove and Solomon Hutcherson befriend each other and declare themselves "Team Dagger," despite being on different teams. They will try to share information with each other to make sure that they both make it to the finale.
• Kendall Grove defeated Ross Pointon by submission at 3:45 of the first round.
• Team Ortiz retains control of the match-ups.

• Michael Bisping defeated Kristian Rothaermel by TKO at 3:51 of the first round.
• Team Ortiz retains control of the matches.

• The fighters watch UFC 57. After Randy Couture makes a retirement announcement, Ed Herman declares he will make it to the finals and win for Couture's honor.
• Rory Singer defeated Solomon Hutcherson by KO after 0:21 of the second round.
• Team Ortiz retains control of the matches.

• There is no fight in the episode, although Team Ortiz selects Josh Haynes to fight Tait Fletcher.
• Noah Inhofer decides to quit the show and return to Yankton, South Dakota after receiving a letter informing him that his girlfriend back home believes he has cheated on her. It was never explained how it was possible for him to receive a letter when a strict policy denying all external communication was in place.
• A previously eliminated fighter returns to take Inhofer's place, but it is not disclosed during the episode who this fighter is.

• Jesse Forbes returns to Team Shamrock and takes Noah Inhofer's spot in the semifinals.
• Josh Haynes defeated Tait Fletcher via split decision after two rounds.
• Officially, Team Ortiz retains control of the match-ups. However, as only two middleweights who have not yet fought remain, the next match will be Danny Abbadi vs. Ed Herman.

• Ed Herman defeated Danny Abbadi by submission at 4:14 of the first round.
• Officially, Team Shamrock regains control of the matches. However, as only two light heavyweights who have not yet fought remain, the final first-round match will be Matt Hamill vs. Mike Nickels.

• Matt Hamill defeated Mike Nickels via unanimous decision after two rounds.
• Hamill is sent to the hospital after his victory, due to injury.
• The way matches are determined appears to be changing, although it is not revealed exactly how.

• Most of the first-round losers are brought back to live in the house and help train the semifinalists.
• White proposes that Ortiz and Shamrock play eight ball billiards for a US$10,000 prize. Shamrock wins 2 games to 0.
• Despite winning the last match, Matt Hamill is declared out of the competition due to injury. Mike Nickels is not an option to replace Hamill, as he was badly bruised and had a broken nose from his fight with Hamill.
• To the surprise of White and both coaches, both Tait Fletcher and Kristian Rothaermel turn down offers to replace Hamill in the semifinals.
• Ross Pointon agrees to replace Hamill and fight in the higher 205-pound light heavyweight class despite originally entering the competition as a middleweight.
• The semifinal matches are decided by White and the two coaches. Fighters on the same team are now eligible to face one another.
• The middleweight semifinal matches are Grove against Starnes and Ed Herman vs. Rory Singer.
• The light heavyweight semifinal matches are Josh Haynes vs. Jesse Forbes and Pointon matched up against Michael Bisping in a battle of the British.
• All semi-final matches will be three 5-minute rounds.
• Kendall Grove defeated Kalib Starnes by verbal submission at 0:30 of the third round..

• Kalib Starnes returns from the hospital and reveals that his ribs were dislocated during the previous fight.
• Singer finds his property defaced and blames Ed Herman and Jesse Forbes. Singer defaces their boxing gloves and lockers and rubs Herman's gloves against his naked buttocks.
• In retaliation, Herman hides Singer's boxing gloves and leg guards around the gym and urinates on his headgear.
• Singer finds his gear missing and goes outside to confront Herman. They get into an argument and Herman and Forbes reveal that it was Kendall Grove who had been defacing Singer's gear.
• Matt Hamill returns from the hospital and is surprised to find out that he is out of the competition due to medical suspension.
• Ed Herman defeated Rory Singer by submission at 2:31 of the second round.

• Josh Haynes defeated Jesse Forbes via submission at 0:18 of the second round.
• The fighters party wildly before the last semifinal fight and the house is trashed.
• Michael Bisping defeated Ross Pointon by submission with 2:47 left in the first round.

  Tournament Bracket

Middleweight Bracket

Light Heavyweight Bracket

The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale

Results

Bonus awards

• Fight of the Night: Kendall Grove vs. Ed Herman
• Knockout of the Night: Luigi Fioravanti
• '''Submission of the Night: Kenny Florian and Rory Singer'''

  Encyclopedia awards

• '''Knockout of the Night: Michael Bisping'''

  Reported payout