The first season of Spike TV’s Fight Master: Bellator MMA debuts next month, and the network has officially announced the cast of 32 welterweight fighters who will be competing for the $100,000 prize and a slot in a future Bellator tournament.

Bellator announcer Jimmy Smith will host the show, and each fighter will get to pick one of four coaches to work with on the show – former UFC champion and Hall of Famer Randy Couture, former UFC and Strikeforce champ Frank Shamrock, former Bellator champ Joe Warren or famed coach Greg Jackson. Surprisingly, the fighters will also have the power to choose which opponents they face on the show.

 Notable names on the fighter cast list include former UFC welterweight title contender Joe Riggs, five time Bellator fighter Chris Lozano, and American Top Team prospect Steve Montgomery, who beat Ultimate Fighter season 16 winner Colton Smith via knockout eight seconds into the fight.

Here’s the full cast list of Fight Master: Bellator MMA season one:

Marcus Aurelio

  • Age: 26
  • Record: 6-2-0
  • Vancouver, British Columbia

Nick Barnes

  • Age: 22
  • Record: 5-0-0
  • San Diego, CA

Eric Bradley

  • Age: 31
  • Record: 5-1-0
  • Las Vegas, NV

Mike Bronzoulis

  • Age: 34
  • Record: 15-5-1
  • Houston, TX

Frank Carrillo

  • Age: 29
  • Record: 6-3-0
  • Miami, FL

Darryl Cobb

  • Age: 32
  • Record: 6-6-0
  • East St. Louis, IL

Christopher Curtis

  • Age: 25
  • Record: 7-2-0
  • Cincinnati, OH

Evan Cutts

  • Age: 22
  • Record: 5-1-0
  • Dallas, TX

Mike Dubois

  • Age: 30
  • Record: 3-0-0
  • Thomasville, GA

Tom Gallicchio

  • Age: 26
  • Record: 16-8-0
  • Howell, NJ

Ismael Gonzalez

  • Age: 32
  • Record: 11-10-0
  • Los Angeles, CA

Gareth Joseph

  • Age: 28
  • Record: 9-5-0
  • San Diego, CA

Chris Lozano

  • Age: 30
  • Record: 9-3-0
  • Cleveland, OH

AJ Matthews

  • Age: 24
  • Record: 5-2-0
  • Carlsbad, CA

Rob Mills

  • Age: 35
  • Record: 8-2-0
  • Newcastle, United Kingdom

Steve Montgomery

  • Age: 22
  • Record: 3-1-0
  • Florence, SC

Chip Moraza-Pollard

  • Age: 24
  • Record: 7-4-0
  • Plymouth, MA

Brett Nakamura

  • Age: 30
  • Record: 6-1-0
  • Maui, HI

Jason Norwood

  • Age: 28
  • Record: 12-3-0
  • Fort Hood, TX

Dom O’Grady

  • Age: 31
  • Record: 15-5-1
  • Detroit, MI

Jacob Ortiz

  • Age: 31
  • Record: 8-4-0
  • San Manuel, AZ

Josh Quayhagen

  • Age: 26
  • Record: 6-1-0
  • Lake Charles, LA

Joe Riggs

  • Age: 30
  • Record: 39-14-0
  • Phoenix, AZ

Eric Scallan

  • Age: 27
  • Record: 11-4-0
  • Lafayette, LA

Cristiano Souza

  • Age: 30
  • Record: 5-0-0
  • Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Brendan Tierney

  • Age: 37
  • Record: 10-5-0
  • Queens, NY

Bryan Travers

  • Age: 29
  • Record: 13-3-0
  • Bakersfield, CA

Andy Uhrich

  • Age: 27
  • Record: 8-3-0
  • Gering, NE

Tim Welch

  • Age: 22
  • Record: 8-4-0
  • Great Falls, MT

Cole Williams

  • Age: 30
  • Record: 5-1-0
  • Darian, WI

Joe Williams

  • Age: 27
  • Record: 7-1-0
  • Tustin, CA

Artenas Young

  • Age: 32
  • Record: 9-5-0
  • Houston, TX

The series launches on Wednesday, June 19 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, and consists of 10 one-hour episodes.

 

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Sara McMann worked for her entire life to be an Olympic wrestling champion, and nine years ago, she fell just short of her goal, earning the Athens silver medal. Now, she’s begun a new quest – to become a UFC  women’s bantamweight champion. And so far, things are going exactly as she’d hoped.

When she failed to make the U.S. Olympics team for the 2008 Games, McMann took up jiu-jitsu and, not long after, prepared to compete in MMA.

“I started picking things up pretty quickly and I started excelling because I was having fun learning a completely new combative sport,” she said.

McMann made her amateur MMA debut in June 2010, stopping Jasmine Reed in 1:45. And now, in her UFC 159 prelim bout against Sheila Gaff, McMann proved that she’s a definite contender. When action stalled on the ground after her first takedown of Gaff, the pair restarted and the silver medalist took Gaff down again. She trapped the 10-5-1 fighter in a mounted crucifix and hammered her right hand down repeatedly from the top position, forcing the fight to end 4:06 into the first round, via technical knockout.

McMann’s name is now being thrown out there as a legitimate potential challenge for champion Ronda Rousey, who is a former judo Olympic medalist herself. The win improved McMann’s record to 7-0, with four wins by stoppage.

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Renowned kickboxer Tyrone Spong knocked out Travis Bartlett in his MMA debut last November, and is finally set for his highly-anticipated second fight. WSOF president Ray Sefo confirmed this week that Spong will take on Angel DeAnda, who has won his last four fights in a row and boasts an 11-2 record, in the co-main event of WSOF3 on June 14 in Las Vegas!

“We are coming off a spectacular event showcasing some of the world’s greatest mixed martial arts athletes and up-and-coming talent of the sport and are looking forward to returning to Las Vegas with another outstanding night of world-class competition in the World Series of Fighting cage on NBC Sports Network,” said Sefo.

The event will air live on NBC Sports Network, and will be headlined by the welterweight bout between Jon Fitch and Josh Burkman. Also at WSOF3, Rolles Gracie will meet Dave Huckaba, the undefeated Justin Gaethje will fight Brian Cobb, John Gunderson will take on Dan Gunderson, and Krasimir Mladenov will meet Kendrick Miree.

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Rory MacDonald vs. Jake Ellenberger Welterweight Bout Confirmed For ‘UFC On FOX 8′

April 17, 2013

According to an official announcement by the world’s top MMA promotion, UFC on FOX 8 will feature an important welterweight bout between two contenders riding impressive winning streaks – Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger. MacDonald was last seen taking down former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion B.J. Penn at UFC on Fox 5 via unanimous decision last December, granting him a four-fight winning [...]

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Alexis Davis vs. Rosi Sexton Bantamweight Bout Confirmed For UFC 161

April 10, 2013

The UFC announced last week that the fourth women’s fight in the promotion’s history will officially take place at UFC 161 in Winnipeg this June 15, with bantamweight fighters Alexis Davis and Rosi Sexton making their Octagon debut. Davis is considered one of the top bantamweight fighters in the world, having gone 2-1 in Strikeforce and [...]

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