| The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality, Sports |
| Created by | Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White |
| Starring | Dana White, Ross Pearson, and George Sotiropoulos |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | FX Australia ESPN UK |
| Original release | September 19, 2012 |
The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes is the second foreign version of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter . Like The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, this version was filmed, in its entirety, outside Las Vegas, Nevada and consisted of 13 episodes with a live finale in Australia. [1] The season tournament finale, along with the coaches fight, took place on 14 December 2012 at UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson. [2]
The series was officially announced by the UFC in May 2012. [3] The name The Smashes is a play on the 130-year-old cricket rivalry between England and Australia called "The Ashes." [1] The UFC held open tryouts during June 2012. The casting call was for Lightweight and Welterweight fighters who are at least 21 years old and have a minimum of two wins in three professional fights. [4]
On 12 July 2012, Dana White announced that the coaches for the season would be Ross Pearson and George Sotiropoulos to represent the UK and Australia respectively. [5]
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Team Australia
Team UKEpisode 1: National Pride
Episode 2: Freak or Unique
Episode 3: Wasabi
Episode 4: Pick Me!
Episode 5: Fight for Your Family
Episode 6: True Warrior
Episode 7: Unwise Words
Episode 8: Phone Home
Episode 9: Easy Route
Episode 10: Smash it UP
Episode 11: Friendly Fire
Episode 12: Little and Large
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finale | ||||||||
| Robert Whittaker | KO | |||||||||
| Luke Newman | 1 | |||||||||
| Robert Whittaker | TKO | |||||||||
| Xavier Lucas** | 1 | |||||||||
| Manny Rodriguez* | SUB | |||||||||
| Bola Omoyele | 1 | |||||||||
| Robert Whittaker | UD | |||||||||
| Brad Scott | 3 | |||||||||
| Xavier Lucas | 2 | |||||||||
| Brad Scott | UD | |||||||||
| Brad Scott | SD | |||||||||
| Benny Alloway | 3 | |||||||||
| Benny Alloway | TKO | |||||||||
| Valentino Petrescu | 2 | |||||||||
*James Vainikolo was due to fight Xavier Lucas for a spot in the next round to replace the injured Manny Rodriguez. Vainikolo did not make the weight therefore Lucas advanced to the semi-finals.
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finale | ||||||||
| Richie Vaculik | 2 | |||||||||
| Norman Parke | UD | |||||||||
| Norman Parke | UD | |||||||||
| Brendan Loughnane | 3 | |||||||||
| Patrick Iodice | 2 | |||||||||
| Brendan Loughnane | UD | |||||||||
| Norman Parke | UD | |||||||||
| Colin Fletcher | 3 | |||||||||
| Ben Wall | 2 | |||||||||
| Colin Fletcher | UD | |||||||||
| Colin Fletcher | SUB | |||||||||
| Richie Vaculik | 2 | |||||||||
| Grant Blackler | 1 | |||||||||
| Mike Wilkinson* | SUB | |||||||||
*Mike Wilkinson was injured in training and was replaced by Australian Richie Vaculik.
| | Team Australia | |
| | Team UK | |
UD | Unanimous Decision | |
SD | Split Decision | |
SUB | Submission | |
(T)KO | (Technical)KO | |
The following $25,000 bonus were awarded to fights that took place during the TUF Smashes season: [6]
| UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson. | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | 15 December 2012 | |||
| Venue | Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre | |||
| City | Gold Coast, Australia | |||
| Attendance | 5,133 [7] | |||
| Total gate | $900,000 [7] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson (also known as UFC on FX 6) was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on 15 December 2012, at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in Gold Coast, Australia. [8] [9] Due to the time zone difference it aired live on 14 December in North America. [10]
The event featured the final bouts of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes. [11] [12] This was the first UFC event held in Queensland, and the first event in Australia to be held outside New South Wales. [13]
Joe Martinez was the ring announcer in what would be his UFC octagon debut. [14]
Australia's George Sotiropoulos and Britain's Ross Pearson headlined the card in a five-round main event. The pair had been coaching opposite one another on the hit reality TV series The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes. [9] [15]
Kyle Noke was expected to face Seth Baczynski at the event. However, Noke was forced out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by Mike Pierce. [16]
Anthony Perosh was expected to face Joey Beltran at the event. However, Perosh was forced from the bout with a toe injury and replaced by Igor Pokrajac. [17]
A bout between Ednaldo Oliveira and Krzysztof Soszynski was originally scheduled for this event. [18] However, Oliveira was forced out of the bout with an injury and Sosynski was pulled from the event as well. [19]
Eddie Mendez was expected to make his promotional debut at the event against Nick Penner. However, Mendez pulled out of the bout citing a shoulder injury and was replaced by fellow newcomer Cody Donovan. [20]
Hacran Dias was expected to face Chad Mendes at the event. However just days before the event, Dias pulled out of the bout citing a shoulder injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Yaotzin Meza. [21]
| Main Card (FX) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Lightweight | Ross Pearson | def. | George Sotiropoulos | TKO (punches) | 3 | 0:41 | |
| Welterweight | Robert Whittaker | def. | Brad Scott | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | [lower-alpha 1] |
| Lightweight | Norman Parke | def. | Colin Fletcher | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | [lower-alpha 2] |
| Middleweight | Héctor Lombard | def. | Rousimar Palhares | KO (punches) | 1 | 3:38 | |
| Preliminary Card (Fuel TV) | |||||||
| Featherweight | Chad Mendes | def. | Yaotzin Meza | KO (punches) | 1 | 1:55 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Joey Beltran | vs. | Igor Pokrajac | No Contest | 3 | 5:00 | [lower-alpha 3] |
| Welterweight | Mike Pierce | def. | Seth Baczynski | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Ben Alloway | def. | Manuel Rodriguez | KO (front kick and punches) | 1 | 4:57 | |
| Lightweight | Mike Wilkinson | def. | Brendan Loughnane | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Cody Donovan | def. | Nick Penner | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:35 | |
Fighters were awarded $40,000 bonuses. [22]
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.
Bradley Gray Maynard is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight and Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Between 2008 and 2011, he competed in a noted rivalry with former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar. Maynard competed in college wrestling at Michigan State University, and made his UFC debut in 2007.
George Sotiropoulos is an Australian former professional mixed martial artist who most notably fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in their Lightweight division. He is well known for appearing as a fighter on the TV show The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra, fighting on Team Serra and as the coach for Team Australia on The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes.
George H. Roop is a retired mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir, winning his preliminary and first round fights. He fought as a bantamweight in the UFC and most recently fought under the Road FC banner. He holds notable victories over former WEC Bantamweight champion Brian Bowles and UFC featherweight contender Chan Sung Jung.
Evan Neil Dunham is an American professional mixed martial artist competing in the lightweight division. He is perhaps best known for 21-fight tenure in the Ultimate Fighting Championship which spanned over a decade.
Kyle Noke is an Australian retired mixed martial artist who competed as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Noke has also fought for EliteXC.
Ross Pearson is a retired English mixed martial artist who last competed in 2019. A 26-fight veteran of the UFC, he was a three-time "Fight of the Night" winner and was the lightweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 9.
Jonathan Quinn Brookins is an American mixed martial artist who competed as a featherweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Brookins has mostly fought in Florida, as well as competing in The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck. On December 4, 2010, Brookins defeated Michael Johnson to become the Ultimate Fighter and earn a contract with the UFC. During his time at Lindenwood University he was also the college roommate of former fellow UFC fighter Mike Rio.
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos is the thirteenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter.
Zacharry "Zak" Michael Cummings is an American former professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2007, he has also formerly competed for Strikeforce, MFC, Titan FC, and Bellator.
Robert John Whittaker is an Australian professional mixed martial artist born in New Zealand. He currently competes in the Middleweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Middleweight Champion. A professional MMA competitor since 2009, Whittaker was a contestant on the first series of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes and won the welterweight tournament. Whittaker became interim middleweight champion after winning the title at UFC 213; he was promoted to undisputed champion after Georges St-Pierre vacated the UFC Middleweight Championship in 2017. As of November 15, 2022, he is #2 in the UFC middleweight rankings, and as of April 18, 2023, he is #15 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.
Norman Parke is a Northern Irish mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Parke has fought for the UFC, Absolute Championship Berkut, KSW, and BAMMA. He was also a competitor for Team UK on The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes in late 2012 and won the Lightweight Tournament.
Bradley Scott is a retired English mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, he has also competed for Cage Warriors and was a contestant The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes.
Mike Ricci is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and has also fought in Bellator MMA.
Ben Alloway is an Australian mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor since 2010, he was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes. Ben formerly fought for the UFC in the welterweight division.
The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia is an installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter. It is the fifth series produced outside the United States and the first filmed in Canada.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) has developed in Australia from a wide cross-section of sporting and martial arts disciplines to become the most popular combat sport in Australia.
UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping was a mixed martial arts event held at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia on November 8, 2014.
Richie Vaculik is a mixed martial artist and big wave surfer from Maroubra, Australia. Richie competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight division.
Mike Wilkinson is an English mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2009, he has competed for the UFC, Absolute Championship Berkut, and was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes.
