Sports

‘Ultimate Fighter’ loss fuels Philippou

PACKING A PUNCH: Bayside, Queens, resident Costa Philippou (right), striking Riki Fukuda in a July victory, has won four straight UFC fights. (Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Costa Philippou thought it was all over, as if everything he had worked for had gone up in a puff of smoke.

Given a chance to be a cast member on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show two years ago, Philippou lost on the very first episode of the season by submission to Joseph Henle. His chance for a UFC contract was seemingly crushed.

“I thought it was the end of the world and I wouldn’t get another shot in the UFC,” Philippou told The Post.

Philippou left his native Cyprus for the United States to pursue boxing, which eventually led to MMA. The UFC was his goal.

Instead of giving up, though, the Bayside, Queens, resident persevered. He returned to New Jersey-based Ring of Combat and knocked out Aung La Nsang in just 11 seconds in his second fight after “The Ultimate Fighter.”

In March 2011, he finally got his shot in the UFC as an injury replacement for Dan Miller. But Philippou was beaten by Nick Catone in a three-round decision.

Given a chance with a UFC contract, he has not lost since and Saturday he has the biggest fight of his life against top middleweight contender Tim Boetsch at UFC 155 in Las Vegas. Philippou has won four in a row in the UFC, including a decision victory in March over Court McGee — the man who won the “The Ultimate Fighter” tournament which Philippou was ousted from.

“I think I’m doing way better than anybody [who was on the show],” Philippou said. “I thought about it when I went to Australia to face [McGee] — I wasn’t good enough to make it then, so now I have to beat this guy.”

Like his first UFC fight, Philippou is an injury replacement Saturday. This time, the man he’s filling in for is Chris Weidman, his teammate with Serra-Longo Fight Team on Long Island.

“Either way somebody was gonna replace Chris,” Philippou said. “I figure it might as well be me, at least we keep it in the team.”

If he beats the durable Boetsch, Philippou, who was 3-0 as a professional boxer, will be hard to ignore. A victory would put his name among the top contenders in the 185-pound division. But Philippou is not thinking that far ahead.

“I don’t care if I’m [considered] top 20 or top 50, I just want to win,” he said.

The lessons Philippou learned losing in “The Ultimate Fighter” are indelible.

“I don’t even think about that anymore,” he said. “It happened and I got through it and I’m on top now.”