Jeff Creighton won The Ultimate Fighter 33, and the bout was even more remarkable because of an unusual pre-fight deal. Andreeas Binder, who is on coach Chael Sonnen's side, was his opponent. He didn't make weight for their quarterfinal match, weighing in at 176 pounds, which is five pounds over the limit even with a one-pound allowance for a non-title fight. This left Binder, Sonnen, and the show in a tough spot: What would happen to the bout that week? Sonnen called Daniel Cormier's organization and offered to pay Creighton $1,000 for every pound he weighs to make the fight happen. Sonnen agreed to $2,500 per pound, and the fight went ahead as planned. People who watched thought Creighton was a cold, calculated negotiator, but the fighter told MMA Fighting that it didn't go down that way. Creighton stated, "The way they shot it made it look like I had the number in my head, like I made the call." "That's not how it happened, really. I placed the phone down to my leg so that Chael couldn't hear when I got the call and we were sitting there. I was looking up at everyone and Cormier's boxing coach, Rosendo Sanchez, was the first one to speak up. He said, "F*ck that." Because Chael works at ESPN now, ask for $2,500 a pound. He can pay for it. "So I just took what he said at face value, and they believed it completely. I thought, "This is amazing." I want to give Rosendo credit because the episode made it sound like I had that figure right on top of my head and I was the best negotiator. I'm a fairly decent negotiator, but I'm not sure I would be that excellent. I'm pleased Rosendo said anything. Fighters have missed weight on TUF previously and still been able to fight, but Binder's huge mistake and the punishment that followed are new for the long-running reality TV show that started in 2005 (TUF 33 is the show's 20th anniversary). Creighton, who indicated that the $12,500 came from Sonnen's own wallet, added that the commission was only worried about Binder being at a reasonable weight on fight day. If he had been more than 10 pounds over, the fight would have probably been called off. Creighton got nothing but praise from UFC CEO Dana White when they talked. Creighton replied, "I think Dana knew this was a good idea." The show has never seen anything like this before. So he was like, "Yes, let's do it." After that, all Creighton had to do was take care of business in the cage. Creighton and his corner were sure that Binder's weight-cutting problems would catch up to him in Round 2 after a tough opening round in which Binder hit Creighton with numerous strong blows. Creighton's persistent pressure did indeed get to Binder, and he ended up beating him up and making him bleed for most of that round. In the two-round contest, judges gave Creighton a 10-8 score, which meant he won. Creighton, who is 29 years old and has a record of 11 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw, is one step closer to realizing his ambition of competing in the UFC. Creighton's management had basically instructed him to be ready for a UFC chance before he signed up for TUF, so the road has not been straight. Creighton stated, "There wasn't really a deal, it was more like, 'Hey, you might get on Contender [Series] or it might be short notice, so you just need to stay ready.'" "That's all I heard for two years." So I just kept training and doing what I was doing, and the chance never really came. I was really upset with where I was because I'm getting older. I have a wife. We wanted to have kids and live in a house, so I just became tired of the process. "[My boss] called and said, 'Hey, they're doing 170 for The Ultimate Fighter. Would you be interested?' I said, 'Hell yeah, I'd be interested,'" he said. "It was just the chance you don't expect." Creighton was Team Cormier's third choice at welterweight and the fifth choice overall. He takes responsibility for his late choice and says that he didn't do his best in the workouts before the choice. But after he was chosen, Creighton was sure he could win the show. He didn't expect the emotional roller coaster that would come with his first fight in the TUF house. "It was really exciting," Creighton remarked about the talks before the battle. "Living it was just crazy." You have a lot on your mind right now, and you're trying to figure out what to do. I think we made the proper choice. That was the best it could have gone.