Frank Lester the new Tommy Speer

Frank Lester used guts and sheer force of will during his stint on The Ultimate Fighter. Unfortunately for Frank he didn't bring much skill to the equation. 

While Lester made TUF history by being the first cast member to ever win a second fight after losing the first; he was unable to parlay that into a successful UFC run. Frank lost to Nick Osipczak during The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale and now the UFC has released the Team Quest fighter from his contract. 

Lester was very similar to another former TUF contestant, Tommy Speer. Both fighters made their money through sheer grit and determination. The only problem is that in today's conception of the UFC toughness will only carry you so far. Speer was knocked out in both of his fights in the UFC.

The existence of the "tough as nails" fighter is nothing new to the latest seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. Josh Haynes played this role to a tee in the third season of the reality show. Like Speer, Haynes was able to reach the final but lost to Michael Bisping and went 0-3 in his UFC career. 

The failures of these fighters demonstrates that it takes more than the will to become a successful fighter and that fact is often lost in the TUF "do you want to be a f#@king fighter!?" culture.