If you missed last week's episode of The Ultimate Fighter 5, you'll soon notice a glaring omission if you tune in tonight.

Everything was going exactly as Gabe Ruediger had planned for the television series on SpikeTV, but things suddenly took a turn for the worse.

Ruediger, a 29-year-old Grass Valley native who was one of 16 mixed martial arts fighters competing for the title of "Ultimate Fighter" in the reality TV show, was eliminated from the competition in last week's episode.

But he wasn't beaten in the octagon. In fact, Ruediger didn't get the chance to even show his skills in a fight, due to what he deemed as his own ill-conceived plan to grab the show's spotlight.

He never made the 155-pound weight to be eligible to fight his first-round opponent, Corey Hill of Brooksville, Fla.

"It was a very poor error of judgment on my part," said Ruediger, who now lives and trains out of Rancho Cucamonga. "I was trying to create a dramatic weight cut and I just lost track of the reason I was there."

Ruediger said his plan for the show, which was filmed in February, was to shock viewers with his ability to cut the weight and then emerge with a victory. He wanted to use the show to help promote himself, he said, and this was just one way to grab the attention.

He got plenty of attention, just not the type for which he had hoped.

Just days before his official fight weigh-in, Ruediger weighed in at 176 pounds. But, he says, he was actually around 172 pounds the day before he was to weigh in, meaning 17 pounds had to come off within 24 hours for him to be eligible to fight.

"I had cut that much weight before, so I really wasn't worried about it," Ruediger said. "What they didn't tell you on the show is that I was super-hydrated before I started to cut the weight and that makes the weight come off easier. "

By the following morning's training session, Ruediger weighed in at 163 pounds. With three hours till the official weigh-in, he put on a plastic suit and walked on a treadmill, before eventually sitting in a sauna to sweat off the extra pounds.

But after cutting his weight to within four pounds of the 155 weight-class limit, Ruediger passed out and was taken to the hospital by ambulance due to dehydration.

"It was a tactic and it was a poor tactic," Ruediger said. "I felt like this would make a dramatic entrance for me.

"I should have been focused on getting ready to fight."

After returning from the hospital, where he said he received six bags of fluid intravenously, Ruediger was ostracized by the rest of the fighters sharing the Las Vegas house during filming.

He drew criticism for not watching his weight throughout the first four weeks of the series - including rants over him eating cake prior to cutting his weight. Some of the fighters alluded to the 5-foot, 10-inch Ruediger being afraid to fight Hill, who stands 6-foot-5.

"I knew I'd be fighting Cory and I wasn't worried at all," Ruediger said. "I regret it. I wish I could have gone in there and fought. I should have been focused on the task at hand.

"In my heart of hearts, I know I could have beaten any single guy in that house."

Instead, however, UFC Dana White decided that Ruediger had blown the opportunity by not making weight and sent him home without ever stepping into the octagon.

"Reflecting on everything, what bothers me the most is I've always tried to portray myself as a role model for kids," Ruediger said. "I feel like I basically sold myself out.

"I would hope that kids would know cutting that much weight was ridiculous."

As for the experience of living with 15 other fighters in a house devoid of all media, including television, music and even books, Ruediger said he did not enjoy himself.

"It was horrible," he said. "I liked some of the guys and some of the guys were irritating. But for four weeks, you're essentially segregated from the world with 15 other super-egos."

Ruediger said his fighting career is still on track, although due to nondisclosure contracts with the Ultimate Fighter Championship series he could not comment on what's next until the show has fully aired.

He said that although his weight-loss tactic essentially cost him the chance to compete, his attempt to gain attention did actually work.

"I was in New Jersey at an appearance and everyone knew me and they didn't mock me," Ruediger said. "Look, to err is human. And if this is the biggest mistake I make, I'm not doing too bad."

The Ultimate Fighter 5 series is televised on SpikeTV at 7 p.m. Thursdays. For more information on the series, visit the Web site www.theultimatefighter.tv

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To contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton, e-mail brianh@theunion.com or call 477-4240.