Bully Beatdown

Bully Beatdown
Starring Jason "Mayhem" Miller
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 24 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Mark Burnett, Eric Van Wagenen, James Rowley
Running time 30 minutes
(including commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel MTV
Original run March 22, 2009 – January 1, 2012
External links
Website

Bully Beatdown is an American reality television series created by Mark Burnett which aired on MTV. In each episode, show host Jason "Mayhem" Miller challenged bullies to fight against a professional mixed martial artist for a chance to win $10,000. The money they got depended on their performance against their opponent, with any money they didn't win going to the bully's victims. If the bully managed to submit or knock out the martial artist at any time, he/she won a $5000 bonus.[1][2]

Format

Episodes in the first season were broken into four segments. In the first segment Mayhem shows a tape victims have sent to him asking for help with a bully. This was followed by Mayhem meeting with the victims and briefly discussing their problems. Mayhem and the victims would then confront the bully, and Mayhem would offer the bully $10,000 to fight a professional MMA fighter. In all of the episodes that aired, the bully accepted. The next segment consisted of Mayhem bringing the bully into his gym to see how the bully fights in order to help him determine who to put in the cage against him. During this segment, Mayhem introduced the bullies to their corner man, and usually discussed the fight with the bullies a little. This segment would end with the victims meeting the fighter who would be fighting their bully and some clips of the bully preparing in the locker room. The next segment began with Mayhem standing in the ring with the victims and introducing them to the crowd. After a brief introduction, the bully would then be brought out to boos from the crowd. Mayhem would then let the bullies and victims have a few last words before bringing out the fighter. The cage was then handed over to Big John, who would begin the first round of each fight after a short segment explaining the rules. Round 1 is a 3-minute grappling only round. The bully starts the round with $5,000 but loses $1,000 every time he is forced to tap out. The next segment began with an explanation of the rules for Round 2. Round 2 is a 3-minute kickboxing round. The bully wins $5,000 if they can survive the entire 3 minutes, but does not get any money if he quits or gets KO'd or the referee stops the fight. After the round ends, Mayhem deals out the money, and asks the bully if there is anything they want to say to their victim(s) once the fight ended, in which is almost always an apology.

In Season 2, the format of the first half of the show was changed significantly. The show starts with Mayhem in the cage. He first presents the victims' tape, and after that he is joined by the victims in the cage. This is then followed by a tape from the bully, with them explaining why they pick on their victims, often overcut with footage of them at work, playing a sport, or working out. The next segment would begin with the bully already having agreed to fight. Mayhem would interview the bully and the show would then cut to fight night. This would begin with Mayhem introducing his victims to their fighter, and leaving them to tell their story to him. Meanwhile, Mayhem would head over to the bully's locker room and briefly discuss the upcoming fight with them. This is followed by a shot of side by side stats showing the heights and weights of the bully and the fighter. This was occasionally accompanied by another piece of information, often as a joke, such as the unconfirmed fighting records of the bullies. After this the bully would be brought in to the cage and the rest of the episode would proceed in the same manner as in the previous season.

Season 3 followed the same format as Season 2 except that the fight rounds were extended from three minutes to five minutes. In this season's first episode, Mayhem fought the bully himself in addition to serving as the host.

Controversy

It has been suggested that Bully Beatdown is largely staged and that in most cases "the bully/victim combo had never even met prior to the taping of each episode".[3] One of the "bullies" depicted had included his appearance on the show in his acting resume. Another bully is a professional stuntman who had previously appeared in other TV shows.[4]

In response, Jason Miller wrote what he labeled a "troll post" in which he called the show "completely fake" to mock those who call the show fake. Miller later stated on his blog that the physical beatings depicted on the show could not be faked. He referred to the bullies as "douchebags" who actually believe that they can beat professional fighters. Miller maintained that the show is "legit".[5]

Cast

*Miller Also served as the fighter in the first episode of Season 3.

Episodes

EpisodeBullyVictim(s)Mixed Martial artistMoney earned by bullyMoney earned by victim(s)
Season 1 Episode 1 Ryan Alan Tony Bonello $2,000 $8,000
Season 1 Episode 2 Vince Josh & Adam Michael Westbrook $1,000 $9,000
Season 1 Episode 3 Christian Brian & Cameron Conor Heun $0 $10,000
Season 1 Episode 4 Jonathan Sergio & Jason Jake Shields $2,000 $8,000
Season 1 Episode 5 Eriq Linda Jon Murphy $0 $10,000
Season 1 Episode 6 Dennis Stan & Andrey Thomas Denny $10,000 $0
Season 1 Episode 7 Garrett Kyle & Robert Jake Shields $0 $10,000
Season 1 Episode 8 James Sean Ben Lagman $7,000 $3,000
Season 2 Episode 1 Brandon Sean & Alex Eddie Alvarez $0 $10,000
Season 2 Episode 2 Jason Josh & Brett Jon Murphy $2,000 $8,000
Season 2 Episode 3 Randall Jefferson Jake Shields $5,000 $5,000
Season 2 Episode 4 Nathan Martin & Adesh Andrei Arlovski $0 $10,000
Season 2 Episode 5 Wes Chris Tony Bonello $1,000* $9,000*
Season 2 Episode 6 Colt Timmy Tony Lopez $1,000 $9,000
Season 2 Episode 7 Garrett Nicholas & Eric Michael Westbrook $3,000 $7,000
Season 2 Episode 8 Emil Anthony & Mo Nick Gaston $0 $10,000
Season 2 Episode 9 Marquez Richard & Edward Quinn Mulhern $6,000 $4,000
Season 2 Episode 10 Harley Lewis Ricky Legere $9,000 $1,000
Season 3 Episode 1 Andy Steven & Taylor Jason "Mayhem" Miller $0 $10,000
Season 3 Episode 2 Nick Chris & Blair Jeremy Horn $0 $10,000
Season 3 Episode 3 Amanda Keiko Michelle Waterson $0 $10,000
Season 3 Episode 4 Evermont Jesse & Colton Bobby "King" Green $0 $10,000
Season 3 Episode 5 Kevin Anthony & Sam Tyron Woodley $1,000 $9,000
Season 3 Episode 6 Mike Lorenzo & Joey Eddie Alvarez $0 $10,000
Season 3 Episode 7 Jordan Austin & Micah Joe Riggs $0 $10,000
Season 3 Episode 8 Tayfun Chucky & Yunas Nick Gaston $0 $10,000
Season 3 Episode 9 Brett Zack Abel Cullum $1,000 $9,000
Season 3 Episode 10 David Keith & Alex Sam Oropeza $0 $10,000
Season 3 Episode 11 Tyler Joe & Dylan Daniel Cormier $0 $10,000
Season 3 Episode 12 Michael William Daron Cruickshank $0 $10,000

References

External links