“Fight Master: Bellator MMA” Nabs Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock, Greg Jackson, and Joe Warren...

At a Viacom press conference in Santa Monica, Calif. on Tuesday, Bellator MMA announced the details of its upcoming reality show that will air on Spike TV.

The reality show is dubbed “Fight Master: Bellator MMA” and will feature four coaches: Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock, Greg Jackson, and Joe Warren.

The reality show will be similar to “The Ultimate Fighter” that aired on Spike TV through 14 seasons. It will feature 32 aspiring welterweights competing in a tournament format for a six-figure payday and a slot into a future Bellator tournament.

The fighters themselves will select their coach and will decide whom they’ll face in elimination bouts.

“This was a fantastic opportunity for me moving forward and for the sport of mixed martial arts,” said Couture.

“The cornerstone of this show is really about the people behind it,” said Bellator president Bjorn Rebney. ”The Amazing Race” creators Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri are the executive producers of the show.

The reality show’s filming is “immediately imminent” and is scheduled to debut this summer on Spike.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/fight-master-bellator-mma-nabs-randy-couture-frank-shamrock-greg-jackson-and-joe-warren

Couture thanks White for making switch to Spike easy...

UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture recently announced he had signed a deal with Spike TV to participate in a variety of efforts in the MMA space. Spike is the new home to Bellator MMA; each is owned by the media conglomerate Viacom.

An irate UFC president Dana White said that Couture was no longer welcome at the promotion's events.

In a media call today, Couture discussed the development, and much more. Highlights of the Q&A included:

•Couture is asked about the decision to leave the UFC. Says that he is honored to come home to Spike, because they helped change the landscape for MMA, and helped make it what it is today.

•"This is a chance to create more opportunities for more athletes in mixed martial arts."

•As far as his son Ryan staying with UFC, Randy says his son is his own man, and that it has almost been a burden for him to carry the Couture name. Says he is very excited for son, notes they certainly had some heart to heart conversations about it. Says Ryan was fine with him taking this job.

•Randy doesn't have answer to whether or not he'll be able to corner son. Says it's an athletic commission issue.

•Couture says "In a lot ways, I have to thank Dana White for making this transition easy," citing extra media attention.

•Randy Couture says this deal didn't come together as fast as people think. Took time to decide, especially considering the Zuffa fall out.

http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/news/435745/Couture-thanks-White-for-making-switch-to-Spike-easy/

Spike Inks Randy Couture to Overall Deal, Sets Two MMA-Themed Series (Exclusive)


he network has picked up 10 episodes of competition series "Fight Master: Bellator MMA" and three of "MMA Rescue," both featuring the Hall of Famer.

Spike TV is getting back into the ring with Randy "The Natural" Couture.
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The male-skewing cable network has inked the Mixed Martial Arts and Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer to a two-year development deal and greenlighted two unscripted entries to series, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.

Under the pact, Couture -- a multiple UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion and The Expendables actor -- will serve as one of four coaches on a Voice-like series for the network called Fight Master: Bellator MMA and a Kitchen Nightmares-style series dubbed MMA Rescue.

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"He has an adventurous spirit and is a well-intentioned human being that when we thought of what else we were going to do on Spike, his name was the only thing that came to my mind as someone we had to be in business with," Spike executive vp original programming Sharon Levy tells THR. "At Spike, all our talent are experts in their field, and Randy is at the top of his game."

Fight Master will see Couture join fellow coaches Greg Jackson, Frank Shamrock and Joe Warren as they oversee 32 up-and-coming fighters looking to brawl their way through a win-or-go-home format into the Bellator tournament and a six-figure cash prize.

The Amazing Race creators Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, via their Profiles Television Productions banner, are on board to executive produce the series. Spike has ordered 10 hourlong episodes of Fight Master, which likely will bow in the summer.

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MMA Rescue, meanwhile, will see Couture use his years of experience in the business of MMA to help turn failing gyms into successful businesses. The three-episode series is in the same vein as Spike's Bar Rescue and Tattoo Rescue and will be produced by Couture, his manager Samuel Spira and Chris Coelen's Kinetic Content (Betty White's Off Their Rockers, Hardcore Pawn). Production on MMA Rescue likely will begin after Fight Master wraps.

Couture's deal also includes a first look at new projects in a number of content categories, with Spike open to nonsports efforts and Levy not ruling out a scripted venture. "We're looking at everything we can do with him," she said. "Some will be sports related, and some won't -- because Randy is a movie star."
The news continues Spike's relationship with Couture, who did an episode of the network's reality competition series Pros vs. Joes, pitting amateur athletes against pros, and served as a co-host early on the network's The Ultimate Fighter.

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"I'm excited to be back at Spike," Couture tells THR. "I had an amazing experience on Ultimate Fighter when it started, and Spike is a tremendous platform for MMA. It feels like I'm coming home."
Couture, meanwhile, will continue to explore his acting career. He appears next in The Expendables 3, due out later this year. His acting credits also include The Set Up and CBS' The Unit. He's also a best-selling author who owns a chain of gyms, an MMA clothing line and a nutritional supplement company and served as a commentator on Fox's UFC fights.

For Spike, the deal puts the cabler back in the ring after its Ultimate Fighter franchise moved to FX after 14 seasons on the network.
Couture is repped by Gersh and manager Spira.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/spike-randy-couture-deal-mma-series-bellator-417508

Would be sweet if we got a randy-frank legends/superfight.

Sweet! I said a few times here that it would be nice to have Franck Shamrock in it. Real nice one. I expected to be two coaches and two teams, but four and to work like a Bellator tournament sounds good.

I wonder if Baldy will blacklist Greg Jackson for his involvement with this?

This show will not be anything like Zuffa's crap. I recorded the audio of the press conference. At it, Sharon Levy, Executive Vice President, Original Series, Spike TV, said it was for both diehard and new MMA fans:

"Strategy, technique, when these guys size up these fighters and really pinpoint what's missing in their game, and what they can bring to improve their game. It's not going to be a bunch of drunk guys running around and acting like idiots. That's not how we're looking at the show."

I think I'm going to have to put up the entire unedited audio since the 'media' zombies seem to be ignoring this quote and focusing on the reaction that may come from Bellator's competitor.

That's good to hear. This may be the first (and only) "reality" show I may watch. Zoofa's flogging the dead horse at this point.

Definitely sounds interesting, I don't know about the choice of welterweights though since there is a certain lack of depth in that division, especially when they have to field 32 of them. I feel as if Lightweight would've been a more appropriate choice.

That being said, i'm certainly looking forward to it.

Hope they put on a solid show. TUF is really putting on a solid show this season with great production improvements. Hopefully Bellator does as well.

Greg Jackson = Meh lol but everything else I'm pretty interested in.