The Ultimate Fighter 3

Last updated

The Ultimate Fighter 3
Season 3
StarringDana White, Tito Ortiz, and Ken Shamrock
Release
Original network Spike TV
Original releaseApril 6 (2006-04-06) 
June 24, 2006 (2006-06-24)
Season chronology
 Previous
The Ultimate Fighter 2

The Ultimate Fighter 3 was the third season of the mixed martial arts reality television series The Ultimate Fighter . It premiered on April 6, 2006, immediately after the conclusion of Ultimate Fight Night 4 . The season featured sixteen fighters (eight light heavyweights and eight middleweights) with still-feuding former champion Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock as coaches. The finale aired on June 24, 2006 and tied the UFC's all-time record with a 2.0 overall rating. [1]

Contents

There were several rule changes from the previous Ultimate Fighter seasons. There were to be no team challenges. All fighters would have to win a preliminary match before advancing to the semi-finals—which in practice started the single-elimination tournament at the beginning of the series instead of near the end. The first preliminary match was set by the team who won a coin toss. All subsequent first-round match-ups were set by the team that won the previous match. Each fight was set for two rounds instead of the normal three. If there was a draw after two rounds, the match would go to a final, five-minute tiebreaker round. In such a case, the judges' final decision on the match would be based solely on the third round (unless the fight was stopped by the referee before the end of the round). Coaches were allowed to bring two other assistant coaches to assist with training, whereas in previous seasons, assistant trainers hired by the UFC worked for both camps!

This series of The Ultimate Fighter was also the first in which fighters who reside outside North America had participated (Michael Bisping, Clitheroe, England; Ross Pointon, Stoke-on-Trent, England).

As a part of their agreement to work as coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 3, Shamrock and Ortiz had a rematch of their UFC 40 fight at UFC 61

A 5 disc DVD set of the entire season, full finale, and auditions was released in stores entitled The Ultimate Fighter 3: The Ultimate Grudge.

Cast

Coaches and Trainers

Fighters

Host

Episodes

Episode 1: Fresh Meat (Original Air Date: 6 April 2006)

Coach1st Pick2nd Pick3rd Pick4th Pick5th Pick6th Pick7th Pick8th Pick
OrtizMatt HamillRory SingerMichael BispingKendall GroveNoah InhoferMike StineJosh HaynesDanny Abbadi
ShamrockJesse ForbesKalib StarnesKristian RothaermelSolomon HutchersonMike NickelsEd HermanRoss PointonTait Fletcher

Episode 2: The Basketball (Original Air Date: 13 April 2006)

Episode 3: Team Dagger (Original Air Date: 20 April 2006)

Episode 4: Hitting it Hard (Original Air Date: 27 April 2006)

Episode 5: The Truce Is Over (Original Air Date: 4 May 2006)

Episode 6: The Letter (Original Air Date: 11 May 2006)

Episode 7: Mohawk (Original Air Date: 18 May 2006)

Episode 8: The Fuse Is Lit (Original Air Date: 25 May 2006)

Episode 9 :The Golden Boy (Original Air Date: 1 June 2006)

Episode 10: Full House (Original Air Date: 8 June 2006)

Episode 11: The Jungle (Original Air Date: 15 June 2006)

Episode 12: Bangin' (Original Air Date: 15 June 2006)

Tournament Bracket

Middleweight Bracket

 
Elimination RoundSemi-finalsFinale
 
          
 
 
 
 
 Kalib StarnesKO
 
 
 
  Mike Stine1
 
  Kalib Starnes3
 
 
 
 Kendall GroveSUB
 
  Ross Pointon1
 
 
 
 Kendall GroveSUB
 
 Kendall GroveUD
 
 
 
  Ed Herman3
 
  Solomon Hutcherson2
 
 
 
 Rory SingerKO
 
  Rory Singer2
 
 
 
 Ed HermanSUB
 
 Ed HermanSUB
 
 
  Danny Abbadi1
 

Light Heavyweight Bracket

 
Elimination RoundSemi-finalsFinale
 
          
 
 
 
 
  Jesse Forbes1
 
 
 
 Noah InhoferSUB
 
  Jesse Forbes *2
 
 
 
 Josh HaynesSUB
 
  Tait Fletcher2
 
 
 
 Josh HaynesSD
 
  Josh Haynes2
 
 
 
 Michael BispingTKO
 
  Mike Nickels2
 
 
 
 Matt HamillUD
 
  Ross Pointon *1
 
 
 
 Michael BispingTKO
 
  Kristian Rothaermel1
 
 
 Michael BispingTKO
 

* Inhofer decided to quit the show. His semi-finals spot was then replaced by Forbes.

* Hamill was injured after his fight. Pointon stepped up one weight class to replace him.

Legend
 Team Ortiz
 Team Shamrock
UD Unanimous Decision
SD Split Decision
SUB Submission
(T) KO (Technical) Knockout

The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Ortiz vs. Team Shamrock Finale
UFC - The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale (June 24, 2006).jpg
The poster for The Ultimate Fighter: Team Ortiz vs. Team Shamrock Finale
Information
Promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship
DateJune 24, 2006
Venue Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
City Las Vegas, Nevada
Event chronology
UFC 60: Hughes vs Gracie The Ultimate Fighter: Team Ortiz vs. Team Shamrock Finale Ultimate Fight Night 5

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Ortiz vs. Team Shamrock Finale (also known as The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale) was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on June 24, 2006. [2] Featured were the finals from The Ultimate Fighter 3 in both the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight divisions as well as a main event between Kenny Florian and Sam Stout.

This event also marked the debut of future Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping

During the event Randy Couture was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and the return of Jens Pulver was announced.

Results

Main Card
Weight classMethodRoundTimeNotes
Lightweight Kenny Florian def. Sam Stout Submission (rear naked choke)11:46
Light Heavyweight Michael Bisping def. Josh Haynes TKO (punches)24:14 [lower-alpha 1]
Middleweight Kendall Grove def. Ed Herman Decision (unanimous)35:00 [lower-alpha 2]
Light Heavyweight Keith Jardine def. Wilson Gouveia Decision (unanimous)35:00
Preliminary Card
Middleweight Rory Singer def.Ross PointonSubmission (triangle choke)10:44
Middleweight Kalib Starnes def.Danny AbbadiSubmission (rear naked choke)12:56
Middleweight Luigi Fioravanti def. Solomon Hutcherson KO (punch)14:15
Light Heavyweight Matt Hamill def. Jesse Forbes TKO (punches)14:47 [lower-alpha 3]
Light HeavyweightMike Nickelsdef.Wes CombsSubmission (rear naked choke)13:10
  1. Bisping wins by TKO (strikes) at 4:14 of the second round to become the Season 3 Light Heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter.
  2. Grove wins by unanimous decision with all three judges scored the fight 29–28 to become the Season 3 Middleweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter. Dana White grants both fighters the six-figure contract.
  3. This match was televised following the main event.

Bonus awards

Reported payout

Michael Bisping: $10,000

Kendall Grove: $10,000

Rory Singer: $10,000

Mike Nickels: $10,000

Matt Hamill: $10,000

Kalib Starnes: $10,000

Keith Jardine: $10,000

Solomon Hutcherson: $5,000

Josh Haynes: $5,000

Ed Herman: $5,000

Ross Pointon: $5,000

Jesse Forbes: $5,000

Danny Abaddi: $5,000

Luigi Fioravanti: $4,000

Sam Stout: $4,000

Wes Combs: $2,000

Wilson Gouveia: $2,000

Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $124,000 [ citation needed ]

Coaches' Fight

UFC 61: Bitter Rivals was held on July 8, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Tito Ortiz defeated Ken Shamrock via TKO (punches) at 1:18 of the first round.

See also

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References

  1. "Ivan's Blog--- Ivan Trembow's Self-Important, Random Rants on Mixed Martial Arts, Video Games, Pro Wrestling, Television, Politics, Sports, and High-Quality Wool Socks". www.ivansblog.com.
  2. "Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale". Ufc.com. Retrieved March 5, 2009.