''Fight Girls'' is an

Oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

original

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series that spun off from a 2006 special which documented seven female fighters' attempts at winning a championship. The initial special aired on August 7, 2006 and the series premiered June 12, 2007. Fight Girls is produced by Scott Messick and Tom Weber. Similar in spirit to

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was o ...

The Ultimate Fighter ''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 s ...

, ten female fighters live together and train with a

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

instructor in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

for six weeks in an effort to fight for a

championship in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. The group of women is narrowed down to five via a three-round fight between house mates set up by the head trainer. The losing fighter is eliminated from the house and the winner will go to

at the end of the season. The theme song for Fight Girls is "Fingerprints" by

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

Cast

Head Trainer

Master Toddy Thohsaphol Sitiwatjana ( th, ทศพร สิทธิวัจน์; born May 4, 1953) is a Thai martial artist and Muay Thai instructor. He is known as Master Toddy because after moving to the UK, people were unable to pronounce his name ...

Fighters

* Ardra Hernandez * Dawn Boyd *

Felice Herrig Felice Nicole Herrig (born September 18, 1984) is an American retired kickboxing, kickboxer, Muay Thai, Muay Thai fighter, and Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the strawweight div ...

* Gina Reyes *

Kerry Vera Kerry Cathleen Kasik (born 1975) is a former American professional mixed martial artist. She competed in two professional fights, once for Strikeforce and once for Bellator Fighting Championships. Kasik rose to fame as the winner of the Muay ...

*Jeanine Jackson *

Jennifer Tate Jennifer Rose Tate (born September 2, 1985) is an American female mixed martial artist. Tate started training in Taekwondo at the age of 13, and she earned her Black belt. She was the Northern California Golden Gloves champion in 2007 and 2008. S ...

* Lisa Mills *

Michelle Waterson Michelle Eileen Waterson (born January 6, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist and model who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is the former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion. Between 2013 and 2014, she was ranked the ...

Miriam Nakamoto Miriam Herbie Nakamoto (born August 5, 1976) is an American professional female Muay Thai fighter and mixed martial artist fighting at Bantamweight (135 pounds). Early life Nakamoto was born in the U.S. state of Hawaii and began training in Muay ...

Mentors

Gina Carano Gina Joy Carano (born April 16, 1982) is an American actress and former mixed martial artist. She competed in EliteXC and Strikeforce from 2006 to 2009, where she compiled a 7–1 record. Her popularity led to her being called the "face of women ...

* Lisa King

Results

Episode 1 - Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Air date June 12, 2007) *Master Toddy chose Felice Herrig vs. Gina Reyes for the first fight. *

mentored Felice and Lisa King mentored Gina. *Felice defeated Gina by unanimous decision after three rounds. Episode 2 - Hungry Like The Wolf (Air date June 19, 2007) *Master Toddy chose Dawn Boyd vs. Jeanine Jackson for the second fight. *

mentored Jeanine and Lisa King mentored Dawn. *Dawn defeated Jeanine by unanimous decision after three rounds. Episode 3 - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Air date June 26, 2007) *Master Toddy chose Kerry Vera vs. Lisa Mills for the third fight. *

mentored Lisa and Lisa King mentored Kerry. *Kerry's husband

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

fighter

Brandon Vera Brandon Michael Vera (born October 10, 1977), or also known by his ring name as The Truth, is a Filipino-American (of Italian heritage) retired mixed martial artist where he was the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Champion and the 2005 WEC Heavyweigh ...

stops by the house to help her train. *Kerry defeated Lisa by unanimous decision after three rounds. Episode 4 - Breaking Us In Two (Air date July 10, 2007) *The result of a training exercise paired Ardra Fernandez Vs. Michelle Waterson as the fourth fight. *

mentored Ardra and Lisa King mentored Michelle. *Ardra defeated Michelle by unanimous decision after three rounds. Episode 5 - Another One Bites The Dust (Air date July 17, 2007) *The final fight between housemates by default is Jennifer Tate Vs.

mentored Jennifer and Lisa King mentored Miriam *Miriam defeated Jennifer by split decision after three rounds Episode 6 - Revenge (Air date July 24, 2007) *The 5 finalists train for their fight in Thailand *Featured fights are Lisa King, Ariana Ramirez, and Kourtney *Lisa and Ariana defeated their opponents. *Felice and Ardra were chosen as the two to fight in Bangkok first Episode 7 - Hurts So Good (Air date July 31, 2007) *The 5 finalists, Lisa, Gina, & Master Toddy travel to Thailand. *The girls are troubled with the target weight they were assigned. *Felice, Ardra .K.O Kerry y K.O & Miriam y T.K.Owon their fights. *Dawn lost her fight. After The Show *Ardra shared her victory with her daughter. *Gina Reyes continues to teach Muay Thai to women at her gy
American Boxing
in San Diego. *Felice participated on season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter and currently fights in the strawweight division of the UFC. *Dawn continues to train with Master Toddy in Las Vegas. *Kerry continues to train with her husband in San Diego. *Miriam is traveling back to Thailand to defend her world title. *Michelle is a contender in the strawweight division of the UFC.

Critical response

Critical reaction to the show is mixed. Randee Dawn of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' says of the show, "A documentary s opposed to a reality TV programmight have even explored the whiff of dilettantism hanging over the amateurs: To Thai women with limited career opportunities, Muay Thai is a way of life. For Americans, it's a means to opening a gym.

Gail Pennington of the ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-Dem ...

'' claims ''Fight Girls'' the pick of the night for Monday (the program originally airing on Monday, August 7, 2006), but notes, "Summer can't last forever," indicating that ''Fight Girls'' is merely the best of a lackluster evening

References

External links

Official Website (via Internet Archive)
* {{IMDb title, id=0893074, title=Fight Girls 2000s American reality television series English-language television shows 2007 American television series debuts 2007 American television series endings American sports television series Oxygen (TV channel) original programming Kickboxing television series Martial arts television series Muay Thai television series