Fight Master: Bellator MMA

Fight Master: Bellator MMA was a mixed martial arts based reality television series.[1] It centered on the promotion Bellator Fighting Championships and aired on Spike TV. The series debuted on June 19, 2013.

Fight Master: Bellator MMA
GenreReality, Sports
StarringRandy Couture, Frank Shamrock, Greg Jackson, and Joe Warren
Country of originUnited States
Production
Running time60 minutes
Production companyProfiles Television Productions
Release
Original networkSpike TV
Original releaseJune 19 –
August 29, 2013
External links
Website

Background

The series was officially announced by Bellator and Spike TV at a press conference on February 5, 2013.[2] The coaches and trainers for the series, which will feature 32 welterweight fighters, will be Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock, Greg Jackson, and Joe Warren. The 32 fighters will be competing for a spot in Bellator's welterweight tournament. The weekly series will culminate in a live season finale on Spike TV with the winner advancing into the fall welterweight tournament. It debuted on Spike TV on June 19, 2013.[3]

The first seven shows aired on Wednesday nights at 10pm. However, due to declining ratings, Spike opted to move the show's final three episodes to Thursday at 11pm to follow Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.[4]

Cast

Coaches

Fighters
Fighters eliminated during the entry round
  • Chip Pollard, Christopher Curtis, Brendan Tierney, Darryl Cobb, Josh Quayhagen, Rob Mills, Tom Gallicchio, Brett Nakamura, Joe Williams, Steve Montgomery, Jacob Ortiz, Marcus Aurelio, Dom O'Grady, Artenas Young, Gareth Joseph, Frank Carrillo (due to injury; replaced by Rob Mills), Andy Uhrich (due to injury; replaced by Joe Williams)

Episodes
Episode 1: "Fight to Choose" (June 19, 2013)
  • An introduction video explained the Fight Master concept where fighters are allowed to pick their own coaches.
  • The introduction of the four coaches, Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock, Greg Jackson and Joe Warren.
  • The first five preliminary fights were shown:
Tim Welch defeated Chip Pollard via KO (punch) in the first round.
Welch chose Jackson as his coach.
Eric Scallan defeated Christopher Curtis by unanimous decision after two rounds.
Scallan chose Warren as his coach.
Nick Barnes defeated Brendan Tierney via submission (rear naked choke) in the first round.
Barnes chose Shamrock as his coach.
AJ Matthews defeated Darryl Cobb by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Matthews chose Couture as his coach.
Chris Lozano defeated Josh Quayhagen by unanimous decision after two rounds.
Lozano chose Shamrock as his coach.
Episode 2: "Which Camp Do You Choose?" (June 26, 2013)
  • The elimination round continued with six more fights:
Mike Dubois defeated Rob Mills via submission (guillotine choke) in the first round.
Dubois chose Shamrock as his coach.
Eric Bradley defeated Tom Gallicchio by unanimous decision after two rounds.
Bradley chose Jackson as his coach.
Evan Cutts defeated Brett Nakamura via submission (rear naked choke) in first round.
Cutts chose Joe Warren as his coach.
Cole Williams defeated Joe Williams by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Williams chose Couture as his coach.
Jason Norwood defeated Jacob Ortiz by unanimous decision after two rounds.
Norwood chose Warren as his coach.
Cristiano Souza defeated Steve Montgomery by KO (punches) in the first round.
Souza chose Couture as his coach.
Episode 3: "Last Shot for Spot" (July 10, 2013)
  • The elimination round continued with the final five fights:
Ismael Gonzalez defeated Marcus Aurelio via TKO (liver kick & punches) in the first round.
Gonzalez chose Warren as his coach.
Andy Uhrich defeated Dom O'Grady by unanimous decision after two rounds.
Due to a cut over his eye, Uhrich was disqualified from the competition.
Bryan Travers defeated Artenas Young by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Travers chose Jackson as his coach.
Mike Bronzoulis defeated Gareth Joseph by unanimous decision after two rounds.
Bronzoulis chose Couture as his coach.
  • The final fight was scheduled to be Frank Carrillo against Joe Riggs. However, Carrillo injured his left shoulder while warming up and was unable to fight. With the approval of the athletic commission, Mills was allowed to re-enter the tournament.
Joe Riggs defeated Rob Mills by submission (heel hook) in the first round.
Riggs chose Jackson as his coach.
Episode 4: "Training Day" (July 17, 2013)
  • The 15 advancing fighters move into the house and start training with the coaches.
  • Due to being one fighter short, Shamrock is allowed to bring back a fighter who lost; he chose Joe Williams.
  • The coaches rank the fighters in order of 1 through 16 and the fighters are randomly chosen in order to pick their fights
  • Two elimination fights were held.
Cole Williams defeated Mike Dubois by submission (rear naked choke) in the first round.
Chris Lozano defeated Bryan Travers by split decision after three rounds.
Episode 5: "Strikers and Wrestlers" (July 24, 2013)
  • Two more elimination fights were held.
  • Norwood chose Bronzoulis to be his opponent.
Mike Bronzoulis defeated Jason Norwood by KO (punches) in the third round.
  • Gonzalez chose Joe Williams to be his opponent.
Joe Williams defeated Ismael Gonzalez by submission (arm-triangle choke) in the second round.
Episode 6: "Old School, New School" (July 31, 2013)
  • Two more elimination fights were held.
  • Welch chose Barnes to be his opponent.
Nick Barnes defeated Tim Welch by submission (rear naked choke) in the first round.
  • Top seed Riggs chose Scallan to be his opponent.
Joe Riggs defeated Eric Scallan by unanimous decision after two rounds.
Episode 7: "Who is the Underdog Now?" (August 7, 2013)
  • The final two elimination fights were held.
  • Souza chose Cutts to be his opponent.
Evan Cutts defeated Cristiano Souza by submission (triangle choke) in the second round.
  • Matthews chose Bradley to be his opponent.
Eric Bradley defeated A.J. Matthews by unanimous decision after two rounds.
Episode 8: "Friend or Foe?" (August 15, 2013)
  • The coaches rank the remaining fighters; Joe Riggs is once again the top seed.
  • Cole Williams chose Barnes to be his opponent.
Cole Willams defeated Nick Barnes by TKO (punches) in the first round.
  • Bellator fighter Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal shows up to watch the next match.
  • Lozano chose Bronzoulis to be his opponent.
Mike Bronzoulis defeated Chris Lozano by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Episode 9: "Eyes on the Prize" (August 22, 2013)
  • The last two quarterfinal matches are held.
  • Bradley chose Joe Williams to be his opponent.
  • This was a match between two former collegians as Bradley wrestled for the Penn State Nittany Lions, while Williams wrestled for the Michigan State Spartans.
Eric Bradley defeated Joe Williams by unanimous decision after two rounds.
  • With Williams' loss, Team Shamrock has been eliminated from the tournament.
  • Riggs chose Cutts to be his opponent.
Joe Riggs defeated Evan Cutts by unanimous decision after two rounds.
  • With Cutts' loss, Team Warren has been eliminated from the tournament.
Episode 10: "It All Comes Down to This" (August 29, 2013)
  • The final four fighters are ranked by the coaches with Cole Williams superseding Joe Riggs as the new top seed.
  • Williams chose Riggs to be his opponent.
Joe Riggs defeated Cole Williams by split decision after three rounds.
  • Bradley and Bronzoulis were the final two contestants.
Mike Bronzoulis defeated Eric Bradley via TKO (punches) in the second round.
  • The two finalists, Riggs and Bronzoulis, faced off in the cage with their coaches Jackson and Couture, respectively.

Coach selections
Order Fighter Coaches
Joe Warren Greg Jackson Randy Couture Frank Shamrock
1 Tim Welch
—
—
—
2 Eric Scallan
—
—
—
3 Nick Barnes
—
—
—
4 AJ Matthews
—
—
—
5 Chris Lozano
—
—
—
6 Mike Dubois
—
—
—
7 Eric Bradley
—
—
—
8 Evan Cutts
—
—
—
9 Cole Williams
—
—
—
10 Jason Norwood
—
—
—
11 Cristiano Souza
—
—
—
12 Ismael Gonzalez
—
—
—
13 Andy Uhrich
—
—
—
—
14 Bryan Travers
—
—
—
15 Mike Bronzoulis
—
—
—
16 Joe Riggs
—
—
—

First Round Rankings
RankNameRankName
1st   Joe Riggs 9th   Nick Barnes
2nd   Cristiano Souza 10th   Mike Dubois
3rd   Chris Lozano 11th   Evan Cutts
4th   AJ Mathews 12th   Ismael Gonzalez
5th   Cole Williams 13th   Mike Bronzoulis
6th   Tim Welch 14th   Bryan Travers
7th   Eric Bradley 15th   Eric Scallan
8th   Jason Norwood 16th   Joe Williams

Second Round Rankings
RankNameRankName
1st   Joe Riggs 5th   Chris Lozano
2nd   Cole Williams 6th   Eric Bradley
3rd   Nick Barnes 7th   Joe Williams
4th   Evan Cutts 8th   Mike Bronzoulis

Tournament Bracket
 
Elimination RoundQuarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinale
 
              
 
 
 
 
  [12] Ismael Gonzalez SUB
 
 
 
  [16] Joe Williams 2
 
  [7] Joe Williams MD
 
 
 
  [6] Eric Bradley 2
 
  [7] Eric Bradley UD
 
 
 
  [4] AJ Matthews 2
 
  [3] Eric Bradley 2
 
 
 
  [4] Mike Bronzoulis TKO
 
  [8] Jason Norwood KO
 
 
 
  [13] Mike Bronzoulis 3
 
  [8] Mike Bronzoulis UD
 
 
 
  [5] Chris Lozano 3
 
  [14] Bryan Travers SD
 
 
 
  [3] Chris Lozano 3
 
  Mike Bronzoulis 3
 
 
 
  Joe Riggs UD
 
  [11] Evan Cutts SUB
 
 
 
  [2] Cristiano Souza 2
 
  [4] Evan Cutts UD
 
 
 
  [1] Joe Riggs 2
 
  [1] Joe RiggsUD
 
 
 
  [15] Eric Scallan2
 
  [2] Joe Riggs SD
 
 
 
  [1] Cole Williams 3
 
  [10] Mike DuboisSUB
 
 
 
  [5] Cole Williams 1
 
  [2] Cole Williams TKO
 
 
 
  [3] Nick Barnes 1
 
  [6] Tim Welch SUB
 
 
  [9] Nick Barnes1
 
Legend
  Team Couture (5-3)
  Team Jackson (5-3)
  Team Shamrock (3-4)
  Team Warren (1-4)
UD
   Unanimous Decision
MD
   Majority Decision
SD
   Split Decision
SUB
   Submission
(T) KO
   (Technical) Knockout

Finale
Main article: Bellator MMA: Season Nine

The finale between Joe Riggs and Mike Bronzoulis was expected to take place on September 7, 2013 at Bellator 98. However, on September 3, Riggs sustained a significant eye injury and the bout was postponed.[5] The finale took place at Bellator 106 on November 2, 2013.

  • Welterweight bout: Joe Riggs vs Mike Bronzoulis
Joe Riggs defeated Mike Bronzoulis unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds.

References
  1. "Fight Master: Bellator MMA". spike.com. May 6, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  2. "Bellator's 'Fight Master' reality series set for summer debut on Spike TV". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  3. "Bellator books June 19 summer series start with King Mo, reality show to debut next night". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  4. "Bellator MMA's 'Fight Master' moving to Thursdays at 11 p.m. ET/PT". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
  5. "Saturday's 'Fight Master' finale bout postponed". Archived from the original on 2013-11-04.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.