A Cooperstown Central School graduate is competing for the ultimate prize: a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization.

The first episode of the reality show "The Ultimate Fighter 2" aired Monday night on Spike TV and Cooperstown graduate and former wrestling star Tom Murphy is one of 18 contestants vying for one of two contracts. Although filming of the show has already completed, the winners won't be revealed until a final live episode airs Nov. 5.

"I've never been through anything like that before," Murphy said during a phone interview Tuesday. "They pushed you so hard. Seven days a week for six or seven hours a day. I think the first episode didn't do justice to the intensity of what everyone went through."

Although Murphy, who competed against nine guys in the heavyweight division, couldn't tell how he finished, he was able to speak about his time in Las Vegas during the 38-day competition.

"It was an amazing experience, I wouldn't trade it for anything," Murphy said. "But if you asked me 'Would I do it again?' I'd say no."

One reason that might be is because of an injury Murphy suffered during the competition.

"It's no secret, I came back on crutches," the 30-year-old said. "I had to have knee surgery. I tore the cartilage in my knee in half."

Murphy was selected for the program after filling out an application and sending in a video of himself fighting. He said he didn't really take it seriously and did it more because his sister had been pestering him to do it.

He was invited along with approximately 150 other applicants to compete during a week-long interviewing process for the 16 positions on the show.

"It was absolutely the worst experience of my life," he said about the interviewing process. He said they were locked in a room for most of the time and when he finally got a chance to interview with UFC president Dana White, White's cell phone rang and he missed most of the interview. He came back to Vermont thinking he didn't have a shot at it.

When he got a call two weeks later from the company, however, they offered him a spot on the show.

"I really, honestly was so certain that I didn't make the show, that I didn't tell work," he said. He spoke with his bosses and much to his surprise, they granted him a special leave of absence to participate.

More importantly, his wife wanted him to do it too.

"There's nothing more important in this world to me than her," he said. When she said he should do it too, he went for it. "Everything just lined up."

Murphy graduated from CCS in 1993, was a four-time All State wrestler and culminated his high school career with a second place finish at the state level in the 190 pound weight division.

"He was one of my boys," said CCS wrestling coach Jim Jordan. "He was just one of those scrappy little kids, who wouldn't give up. He worked hard, he trained hard and he maintained his training."

Jordan said he still kept in touch with Murphy and that he had spoken with him a few times recently after his return from the competition. Remembering his 1993 second-place finish, Jordan said "we knew he had his work cut out for him."

"He was an underdog all the way. It was real surprising for him to finish second," Jordan said.

After graduating from Cooperstown, Murphy went on to SUNY Brockport, where he wrestled in several weight classes for three years.

Murphy described his experience as "unique," citing his membership on the wrestling squad as the defining factor. He said his coach there, Don Murray, was extremely strict, calling each member of the team at 11 p.m. every night to make sure they were in their rooms for curfew.

"I didn't drink a single beer until my senior year," Murphy said. "It's not hard to see how you do well in school when you wrestle under Murray." Although he said he did deplorably in high school, Murphy graduated from SUNY Brockport summa cum laude with a 3.81 GPA and a degree in psychology.

Following college, he moved back to the Cooperstown area, where he worked for Walter Rich on the NYS&W railroad. After some time, he moved out to Vermont, where he currently resides with his wife and four kids ranging in age from almost two to seven.

While he found success there in his career, eventually ending up employed as a director for American Rail Dispatching service where he manages 15 people coordinating train traffic, Murphy was less than pleased with the athletics of the area.

"It's probably the worst wrestling state in the country," Murphy said. "I was completely crushed. My time as an athlete was done." He kept up his training though, working out at a local gym and keeping in shape. Eventually he met a kid at the gym who talked to him about jujitsu.

"I thought it was some crazy karate chop thing," Murphy recalls. He went to some of their training and found out differently however.

"These guys were half my size and they just choked me six ways to Sunday," Murphy said. He then spent several years learning the sport, which focuses more on grappling than hitting and teaches students to use the energy of an opponent to their advantage.

Murphy then spent some time entering into submission contests all across the northeast using his. He also participated in some amateur shows then some professional shows, competing at various levels across the region.

"Things just kept snowballing," Murphy said, his experience culminating with the reality show.

The show airs Monday nights at 11 p.m. on Spike TV. For more information, go to www.spiketv.com or www.theultimatefighter.tv.