''Iron Ring'' is an American
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 and
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
(MMA) competition that aired on
BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
.
Format
On this show, professional MMA fighters that have yet to make a big name for themselves were selected onto teams representing five different weight classes (Heavyweight, Middleweight, and Lightweight
hich the show contested at 170lbs rather than 155lbs.
Each team had a celebrity owner and MMA coach who evaluated the try outs and selected contestants. Team owners included boxing champ
Floyd Mayweather
Floyd may refer to:
As a name
* Floyd (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Floyd (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
Places in the United States
* Floyd, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Floyd, Iow ...
and
Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper.
Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...
managing the Money Mayweather Boys; hip-hop artist
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive.
Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...
with Team Luda;
Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...
representing Team Nelly;
T.I. leading Team Grand Hustle;
Juelz Santana
LaRon Louis James (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of East Coast hip hop group The Diplomats, also known as Dipset. He is best known for his appearances on Cam'ron's 2002 si ...
and
Jim Jones
James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide", ...
heading Dipset; and
Lil Jon
Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cru ...
with the Head Busters. Featured MMA coaches included
Shonie Carter
Mearion Shonie Bickhem III (born May 3, 1972), better known as Shonie Carter, is an American mixed martial artist. He is a former WEC Welterweight Champion, a UFC veteran, and a contestant on ''The Ultimate Fighter 4'' reality show. He has also ...
and
Charles Bennett.
The respective teams then fought over the course of several weeks, building towards a finale that took place in
in February 2008.
Winner
The winners of each weight class included:
* Heavyweight: Abongo Humphrey
* Middleweight: Jamie Yager
* Lightweight (170lbs): Josh Gaskins
The ultimate team winner was Team Nelly.
References
External links
*
{{BET
2000s American reality television series
2008 American television series debuts
2008 American television series endings
Mixed martial arts television shows
BET original programming