The Ultimate Fighter: Live | |
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Genre | Reality, Sports |
Created by | Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White |
Starring | Dana White, Jon Anik, Dominick Cruz, and Urijah Faber |
Country of origin | United States |
Production | |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Release | |
Original network | FX |
Original release | March 9 – June 1, 2012 |
The Ultimate Fighter: Live [1] (also known as The Ultimate Fighter 15) was the fifteenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter . This season marked the show's debut on the FX network, the debut of Jon Anik as the show's host, [2] and featured Lightweight fighters.
As part of the deal with FX, the show was revamped. Prior seasons of the show were filmed in six weeks, edited and aired several months after filming was completed. This season the show was being filmed over thirteen weeks and was being edited "the week of" before being broadcast. In addition this season was the first to feature live fights. [3]
The UFC and FX held open tryouts on December 5, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The casting call went out for Lightweight and Welterweight fighters. [4] Some of the fighters that showed up for the tryouts included UFC veteran Jamie Yager, WEC veteran Blas Avena, and Bellator veterans Rudy Bears, Zak Cummings, and Jacob McClintock, and K-1 kickboxer Kultar Gill. [5]
On December 6, 2011, it was announced that the coaches for the season would be Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. [6] They were set to fight for the title, until Cruz's injury on May 7, 2012. The show debuted on March 9, 2012.
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The first episode earned a television rating consisting of 1.28 million viewers which was less than the 1.5 million viewers for The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller. [10] Following his win in the elimination round, Jeremy Larsen was medically suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) due to a cut on his head. His suspension is scheduled to last until April 9. However, Keith Kizer, the NSAC Executive Director, said the NSAC and its doctors will evaluate Larsen each week to determine if Larsen can be medically cleared sooner. [11] Other medical suspensions from the elimination round fights include Jeff Smith (Arachnoid cyst), James Krause (possible ankle injury), Cody Pfister (cut to right eye), Austin Lyons (due to knock out) and Erin Beach (due to technical knock out and cut on lower lip). [12]
Coach | 1st Pick | 2nd Pick | 3rd Pick | 4th Pick | 5th Pick | 6th Pick | 7th Pick | 8th Pick |
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Cruz | Justin Lawrence | Sam Sicilia | Myles Jury | Mike Rio | James Vick | Vinc Pichel | Chris Tickle | Jeremy Larsen |
Faber | Al Iaquinta | Cristiano Marcello | Daron Cruickshank | Joe Proctor | Michael Chiesa | John Cofer | Andy Ogle | Chris Saunders |
No. | Title | Viewers (thousands) | Broadcast date | Advancing fighter |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Live Premiere" | 1,300 [10] | March 9, 2012 | N/A (Elimination rounds) |
2 | "Embrace the War" | 1,100 [14] | March 16, 2012 | James Vick |
3 | "Old School vs. New School" | 1,200 [15] | March 23, 2012 | Justin Lawrence |
4 | "All the Pressure" | 1,100 [16] | March 30, 2012 | Al Iaquinta |
5 | "That Miserable Feeling" | 947 [17] | April 6, 2012 | Michael Chiesa |
6 | "Dog with no Bark" | 1,000 [18] | April 13, 2012 | Joe Proctor |
7 | "Weather the Storm" | 1,000 [19] | April 20, 2012 | Vinc Pichel |
8 | "The Lions Den" | 929 [20] | April 27, 2012 | Chris Saunders |
9 | "Become That Hero" | 954 [21] | May 4, 2012 | Andy Ogle |
10 | "So Real, It's Unreal" | 948 [22] | May 11, 2012 | James Vick & Michael Chiesa |
11 | "Like a Spartan" | 821 [23] | May 18, 2012 | Vinc Pichel & Al Iaquinta |
12 | "Reality Check" | 875 [24] | May 25, 2012 | Michael Chiesa & Al Iaquinta |
13 | "Live Finale" | TBA | June 1, 2012 | Michael Chiesa |
Preliminary Round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finale | |||||||||||
Joe Proctor | SUB | |||||||||||||
Chris Tickle | 1 | |||||||||||||
Joe Proctor | 2 | |||||||||||||
James Vick | UD | |||||||||||||
Daron Cruickshank | 1 | |||||||||||||
James Vick | KO | |||||||||||||
James Vick | 2 | |||||||||||||
Michael Chiesa | TKO | |||||||||||||
Michael Chiesa | UD | |||||||||||||
Jeremy Larsen | 2 | |||||||||||||
Michael Chiesa | TKO | |||||||||||||
Justin Lawrence | 3 | |||||||||||||
Cristiano Marcello | 2 | |||||||||||||
Justin Lawrence | KO | |||||||||||||
Michael Chiesa | SUB | |||||||||||||
Al Iaquinta | 1 | |||||||||||||
Chris Saunders | SD | |||||||||||||
Sam Sicilia | 2 | |||||||||||||
Chris Saunders | 2 | |||||||||||||
Vinc Pichel | MD | |||||||||||||
John Cofer | 3 | |||||||||||||
Vinc Pichel | SUB | |||||||||||||
Vinc Pichel | 2 | |||||||||||||
Al Iaquinta | UD | |||||||||||||
Al Iaquinta | SD | |||||||||||||
Myles Jury | 3 | |||||||||||||
Al Iaquinta | TKO | |||||||||||||
Andy Ogle | 1 | |||||||||||||
Andy Ogle | SUB | |||||||||||||
Mike Rio | 2 | |||||||||||||
Team Cruz | ||
Team Faber | ||
UD | Unanimous Decision | |
MD | Majority Decision | |
SD | Split Decision | |
SUB | Submission | |
(T) KO | (Technical) Knockout |
Fighters were awarded $25,000 bonuses. Fans chose the winners of the season bonuses. [25]
The Ultimate Fighter: Live Finale | ||||
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Information | ||||
Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
Date | June 1, 2012 | |||
Venue | Palms Casino Resort | |||
City | Las Vegas, Nevada | |||
Attendance | 1,628 [26] | |||
Total gate | $195,250 [26] | |||
Event chronology | ||||
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The Ultimate Fighter: Live Finale (also known as The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale) was a mixed martial arts event to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It took place on June 1, 2012 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. [27]
Featured were the finalists from The Ultimate Fighter: Live – Team Cruz vs Team Faber in the Lightweight division.
A rematch between Ian McCall and Demetrious Johnson for the first round of the tournament to crown the first UFC Flyweight Champion was initially reported for this event. [28] However, it was rescheduled for UFC on FX: Johnson vs. McCall. [29]
Byron Bloodworth was scheduled to face John Albert at the event. However, Bloodworth was forced out of the bout and replaced by promotional newcomer Érik Pérez. [30]
Main card (FX) | |||||||
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Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
Welterweight | Martin Kampmann | def. | Jake Ellenberger | KO (knees) | 2 | 1:40 | |
Lightweight | Michael Chiesa | def. | Al Iaquinta | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 2:47 | [lower-alpha 1] |
Featherweight | Charles Oliveira | def. | Jonathan Brookins | Submission (guillotine choke) | 2 | 2:42 | |
Featherweight | Max Holloway | def. | Pat Schilling | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Lightweight | Justin Lawrence | def. | John Cofer | KO (head kick) | 3 | 0:19 | |
Preliminary card (Fuel TV) | |||||||
Lightweight | Daron Cruickshank | def. | Chris Tickle | Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–27, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | [lower-alpha 2] |
Lightweight | Myles Jury | def. | Chris Saunders | Submission (guillotine choke) | 1 | 4:03 | [lower-alpha 3] |
Lightweight | Sam Sicilia | def. | Cristiano Marcello | TKO (punches) | 2 | 2:53 | |
Lightweight | Joe Proctor | def. | Jeremy Larsen | TKO (knee and punches) | 1 | 1:59 | [lower-alpha 4] |
Preliminary Card (Facebook) | |||||||
Bantamweight | Érik Pérez | def. | John Albert | Submission (armbar) | 1 | 4:18 |
Fighters were awarded $40,000 bonuses. [31]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses. [32]
^Although not reflected in the NSAC paperwork, both Pérez and Albert received win bonuses
The Ultimate Fighter is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen seasons on Spike TV. The show features professional MMA fighters living together in Las Vegas, Nevada, and follows them as they train and compete against each other for a prized six-figure contract with the UFC. The series debuted on January 17, 2005, with its first episode, "The Quest Begins". To date, there have been thirty seasons of the show, two per calendar year. Each season features either one or two weight classes in the tournament.
Martin Kampmann Frederiksen is a retired Danish professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former Cage Warriors World Middleweight Champion.
Cristiano Marcello da Silva is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist and former Chute Boxe BJJ head coach who formerly fought for the UFC. Cristiano competed in the Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 1998, 1999 and again in 2001. Marcello was also a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Live.
Rodrigo Damm is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Lightweight division of the UFC. A professional since 2004, he also competed for World Victory Road, Strikeforce, Jungle Fight, Shooto, and was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.
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James Vick is a retired American mixed martial artist and boxer who formerly competed in the welterweight and lightweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Vick was a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter: Live.
Justin Ray Lawrence is an American former professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Lawrence has also formerly competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, the RFA, and was a competitor on FX's The Ultimate Fighter: Live.
Al Iaquinta is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, having once challenged for the Lightweight championship belt. A professional MMA competitor since 2009, Iaquinta has been signed with the UFC since 2012.
Michael Keith Chiesa is an American professional mixed martial artist, and sports analyst who currently competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional mixed martial artist since 2008, Chiesa was the winner of FX's inaugural The Ultimate Fighter: Live. As of April 11, 2023, he is #12 in the UFC welterweight rankings.
Michael Alexander Rio is an American mixed martial artist who last competed in 2014. A professional since 2008, he has competed for the UFC and was a competitor on the 15th season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Joseph Edward Proctor is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2008, Proctor was also a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Live.
Andrew Richard Ogle is a retired English mixed martial artist, who formerly competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2009, Ogle has made a name for himself fighting for numerous promotions all over England. He was a competitor on FX's The Ultimate Fighter: Live.
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The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber is an installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter.
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