Fight Master: Bellator MMA was a mixed martial arts based reality television series. It centered on the promotion Bellator Fighting Championships and aired on Spike TV. The series debuted on June 19, 2013.
Background
The series was officially announced by Bellator and Spike TV at a press conference on February 5, 2013. 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.
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.
Cast
Coaches
Randy Couture, head coach of black team
Frank Shamrock, head coach of green team
Greg Jackson, head coach of red team
Joe Warren, head coach of blue team
Fighters
Team Jackson
Tim Welch, Eric Bradley, Bryan Travers, Joe Riggs
Team Couture
AJ Matthews, Cole Williams, Cristiano Souza, Mike Bronzoulis
Team Shamrock
Nick Barnes, Chris Lozano, Mike Dubois, Joe Williams
Team Warren
Eric Scallan, Evan Cutts, Jason Norwood, Ismael Gonzalez
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.