The Ultimate Fighter 3

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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 champions Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz as coaches. The finale aired on June 24, 2006 and tied the UFC's all-time record with a 2.0 overall rating.[1].

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 of North America had participated (Michael Bisping, Liverpool, 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, which Ortiz won.

Contents

[edit] Cast

[edit] Coaches and Trainers

  • Team Ortiz (Punishment)
  • Team Shamrock
    • Ken Shamrock, Head coach
    • Roman Pollock, Boxing coach
    • Dan Freeman, Nutrition/strength coach

[edit] Fighters

[edit] Results

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Episode 1: Fresh Meat

Episode 2: The Basketball

Episode 3: Team Dagger

Episode 4: Introduction: Hitting it Hard

Episode 5: The Truce Is Over

  • Rory Singer of Team Ortiz defeats Solomon Hutcherson in Round 2 by TKO (referee stoppage).
  • Team Ortiz retains control of the match-ups.

Episode 6: The Letter

  • There is no fight in the episode, although Team Ortiz selects Josh Haynes to fight Tait Fletcher.
  • Noah Inhofer decides to quit the show and return to Yankton, South Dakota after receiving a letter informing him that his girlfriend back home believes he has cheated on her.
  • A previously eliminated fighter returns to take Inhofer's place, but it is not disclosed during the episode who this fighter is.

Episode 7: Mohawk

  • Jesse Forbes returns to Team Shamrock and takes Noah Inhofer's spot in the semi-finals.
  • Josh Haynes of Team Ortiz defeats Tait Fletcher by split decision after 2 rounds.
  • Officially, Team Ortiz retains control of the match-ups. However, as only two middleweights who have not yet fought remain, the next match will be Danny Abaddi (Team Ortiz) vs. Ed Herman (Team Shamrock).

Episode 8: The Fuse Is Lit

Episode 9 :The Golden Boy

Episode 10: Full House

  • Most of the first-round losers are brought back to live in the house and help train the semi-finalists.
  • Dana White proposes coaches Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock play eight ball billiards (best 2 out of 3 games) for a US$10,000 prize. Shamrock wins 2 games to 0.
  • Despite winning the last match, Matt Hamill is declared out of the competition due to injury. Due to a broken nose sustained in the same fight, Mike Nickels is not an option to replace Hamill.
  • To the surprise of Dana White and both coaches, both Tait Fletcher and Kristian Rothaermel turn down offers to replace Hamill in the semi-finals.
  • Ross Pointon agrees to replace Hamill and fight in the higher 205-pound light heavyweight class despite originally entering the competition as a middleweight.
  • The semi-final match-ups are decided by Dana White and the two coaches. Fighters on the same team are now eligible to face one another.
  • The middleweight semi-final match-ups are Kendall Grove vs. Kalib Starnes and Ed Herman vs. Rory Singer.
  • The light heavyweight semi-final match-ups are Jesse Forbes vs. Josh Haynes and Michael Bisping vs. Ross Pointon.
  • All semi-final matches will be three 5-minute rounds.
  • Kendall Grove defeats Kalib Starnes in Round 3 by Verbal Submission (rib injury). Grove advances to the Middleweight Finals.
  • The next semi-final match will be Ed Herman vs. Rory Singer.

Episode 11: The Jungle

  • Kalib Starnes returns from the hospital and reveals his ribs were dislocated during the previous fight.
  • Rory Singer finds his property defaced and blames Ed Herman and Jesse Forbes. Singer defaces their boxing gloves and lockers and rubs Herman's gloves against his naked buttocks. In retaliation, Herman hides Singer's boxing gloves and leg guards around the gym and urinates on his headgear. Singer finds his gear missing and goes outside to confront Herman. They get into an argument and Herman and Forbes reveal that it was Kendall Grove who had been defacing Singer's gear.
  • Matt Hamill returns and is surprised to find out that he is out of the competition due to medical suspension.
  • Ed Herman defeats Rory Singer in Round 2 by Rear Naked Choke. Herman advances to the Middleweight Finals.

Episode 12: Bangin

[edit] Finale

The Ultimate Finale 3
Details
Promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date June 24, 2006
Venue Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
City Las Vegas, Nevada
Event chronology
The Ultimate Finale 2 The Ultimate Finale 3 The Ultimate Finale 4
  • Undercard
    • Mike Nickels defeats Wes Combs by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:20 of the first round.
    • Matt Hamill defeats Jesse Forbes by TKO at 4:47 of the first round. (This match was televised following the main event, in order to fill extra time left in the broadcast.)
    • Luigi Fioravanti defeats Solomon Hutcherson by knockout at 4:15 of the first round.
    • Kalib Starnes defeats Danny Abbadi by submission (rear naked choke) at 2:56 of the first round.
    • Rory Singer defeats Ross Pointon by submission (triangle choke) at :44 of the first round.
  • Main card
    • Keith Jardine defeats Wilson Gouveia by unanimous decision.
    • Middleweight Final: Kendall Grove defeats Ed Herman by a close but unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28. Grove wins the TUF championship in the Middleweight division, but Dana White grants both fighters the six-figure contract.
    • Light Heavyweight Final: Michael Bisping defeats Josh Haynes by TKO (strikes) at 4:14 of the second round. Bisping wins the TUF championship in the Light Heavyweight division and the six-figure contract.
    • Main Event: Kenny Florian defeats Sam Stout by submission (rear naked choke) at 1:46 in the first round.
  • Randy Couture was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
  • Jens Pulver, the only Lightweight champion in UFC history, was introduced back into the UFC.

[edit] Middleweight Bracket

  Eliminations Semifinals Final
                           
  Ortiz  Mike Stine  
Shamrock  Kalib Starnes  
  Shamrock  Kalib Starnes  
  Ortiz  Kendall Grove  
Ortiz  Kendall Grove
  Shamrock  Ross Pointon  
    Ortiz  Kendall Grove
  Shamrock  Ed Herman
  Ortiz  Danny Abaddi  
Shamrock  Ed Herman  
  Shamrock  Ed Herman
  Ortiz  Rory Singer  
Ortiz  Rory Singer
  Shamrock  Solomon Hutcherson  

[edit] Light Heavyweight Bracket

  Eliminations Semifinals Final
                           
  Ortiz  Noah Inhofer  
Shamrock  Jesse Forbes  
  Shamrock  Jesse Forbes[2]  
  Ortiz  Josh Haynes  
Ortiz  Josh Haynes
  Shamrock  Tait Fletcher  
    Ortiz  Josh Haynes
  Ortiz  Michael Bisping
  Ortiz  Matt Hamill  
Shamrock  Mike Nickels  
  Shamrock  Ross Pointon[3]
  Ortiz  Michael Bisping  
Ortiz  Michael Bisping
  Shamrock  Kristian Rothaermel  
Spoilers end here.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Later fights at Light Heavyweight as an injury substitution
  2. ^ Replaces Noah Inhofer.
  3. ^ Replaces Matt Hamill.


The Ultimate Fighter - Season 3
Michael Bisping | Tait Fletcher | Jesse Forbes | Matt Hamill | Josh Haynes | Noah Inhofer | Mike Nickels | Kristian Rothaermel | Danny Abbadi | Kendall Grove | Ed Herman | Solomon Hutcherson | Ross Pointon | Rory Singer | Kalib Starnes | Mike Stine

Coaches: Tito Ortiz | Ken Shamrock
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