Iron Ring premiers on BET this Tuesday night at 11PM EST. The format is basically The Ultimate Fighter meets the IFL with a twist, hip hop celebrity owners. The vehicle appears to be designed as something of an introduction to MMA for BET's primarily African-American audience. The lack of diversity in the MMA demographic has been a topic of concern for some in and out of the industry.
The one hour premier episode (two thirty minute episodes combined) focuses largely on the celebrity owners and their coaches. The show has a gritty feel provided by low key production and locations as well as a strong hip hop influence. The opening scenes looks more like the rawness of fight club than the spectacle of major MMA. Whether this will be the case once the actual competition begins remains to be seen, but the product definitely has a distinctive feel, unlike any other MMA production. Street Certified may be a more appropriate title for the series than it was for EliteXC's previous offering.
The competition features six teams and takes place in three weight classes, Lightweight (170lbs for purposes of the show), Middleweight , and Heavyweight. There was no sign of a cage in week one with all the action taking place in a ring. Rashon Kahn plays the Dana White role as "arbitrator" of the competition and motivational speaker, although I seriously doubt Kahn can live up to Dana's "do you want to be a fighter" speech.
The first thirty minutes offer no fights or fighters, focusing exclusively on the owners and coaches of the teams. The only two coaches familiar to MMA fans are Krazy Horse Bennett and Shonie Carter. The second half of the premier episode focuses on the tryout process, one TUF style workout followed by a win and you're in type exhibition tryout.
Team Luda and Dipset are announced on the show with the tease for the following week built around a cut fighter trying to fight his way back onto the show. The complete team rosters are:
- MONEY MAYWEATHER BOYS
- Owner - Floyd Mayweather
- Coach - Roberto Traven
- LW - Andy Roberts
- MW - Dymond Jones
- HW - Abdelaziz Essafoul
- TEAM LUDA
- Owner - Ludacris
- Coach - Abdul Mutakabbir
- LW - Joe Comacho
- MW - John Fields
- MW - Franz Mendez
- HW - Joe McCall
- TEAM NELLY
- Owner - Nelly
- Coach - Jermaine Andre
- LW - Eric Marriott
- MW - Darryl Cobb
- HW - Mike Cook
- TEAM GRAND HUSTLE
- Owner - T.I.
- Coach - Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett
- LW - Josh Gaskins
- MW - Primus Moore
- MW - Jamie Yager
- HW - Joe Thomas
- TEAM DIPSET
- Owner - Dipset (Julez Santana & Jim Jones)
- Coach - Novell G. Bell
- LW - Josh Key
- MW - Daniel Akinyemi
- HW - Carlos Moreno
- HEAD BUSTERS
- Owner - Lil John
- Coach - Shonie Carter
- LW - Macrus Brimmage
- MW - Brian Rodgers
- HW - Abongo Humphrey
