What does a guy got to do to get a fight around here?

That’s the question Jimmy Quinlan (3-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) stopped asking years ago when it seemed like just about every eligible middleweight dodged him.

It got so bad for “The Ultimate Fighter 17” contestant that he stopped telling friends he had a fight coming up. What was the point if it just fell through?

He and his training buddies called it the Google rule: As soon as a prospective opponent did an Internet search, usually within a week of initially agreeing to fight, he would suddenly find other places to be.

“One guy said he couldn’t get work off,” Quinlan told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “Another time, I weighed in, and my opponent was texting with the promoter. ‘I’m all set. I’m on my way.’ Never showed up. I’ve pretty much seen it all.”

Quinlan, who’s also a part-time cop in Moultonborough, N.H., isn’t a guy with a mile-long resume. He’s just 3-0. But in grappling, it’s a different story. A state wrestling champ and multi-time world champion in jiu-jitsu, his credentials deter weekend warriors.

And with training partners such as UFC vets Joe Lauzon, Tom Lawlor and Chuck O’Neil, word gets around.

“Nobody’s scared of a wrestler,” he said. “Nobody’s scared of a jiu-jitsu guy. But when you put them together, everyone’s afraid.”

Quinlan’s love of grappling kept him from the doldrums in the four years after he graduated in 2008. But when “TUF 17” tryouts approached, he realized his problem might keep him from a golden opportunity.

Competitors on the show need three professional fights to be considered for the cast. At the time, Quinlan had just two, so he and his team had to take extraordinary measures to qualify.

“It was a week before the tryouts, and I went through three opponents the week of the fight,” he said. “So we recalled this guy, Jerry Spiegel. He’ll fight anyone. So we called him and we were like, ‘Jerry, man, you are the toughest guy around. We know you’ll fight anyone. No one is like you.’ We had to gas up a little bit. We had two days until the fight, so it was down to the wire.”

It took Quinlan 64 seconds to submit Spiegel, and here he is.

There is no Google access on the set, so for the first time in his career, Quinlan could have the element of surprise in his corner. But after he dispatched his elimination-round opponent (Mike Persons) inside a round, maybe not.

Quinlan admits that grappling is just as much of a passion as MMA, so he’s not coming into the show with a do-or-die attitude. He enjoys a house and the slow roll of small-town policing in New Hampshire. But he’s decided that he wants to test his skills on a bigger stage.

“I want to make a run for it because where I’m from, everyone says, ‘Jimmy is the best,'” he said. “When I train with people, I don’t typically lose to people. Even when I’m training with Tom (Lawlor), I’m typically getting the better of him. I’m not even in the local rankings because I don’t have enough fights, and Tom will tell people he’s best 185-pounder in the Northeast. With all that, I want to make a push for it.”

Check out our other “TUF 17” cast profiles:

MMAjunkie.com interviewed all 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter 17” preliminary-round winners, each of whom was featured in the debut episode of “TUF 17: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen.” Two new interviews will be released each day until the season’s second episode airs on Jan. 29.