Las Vegas, Nevada – Episode nine – “Betrayal” – of The Ultimate Fighter® Fridays reality series aired Friday night on FX and saw Team Carwin’s Mike Ricci dominate Team Nelson’s number one pick, Dom Waters in the final preliminary fight of the series via unanimous decision. The teams are now even, with four fighters each moving on to the quarterfinal round.
Ricci, nicknamed “The Martian,” hails from Montreal, Quebec where he has trained with several Ultimate Fighting Championship® superstars such as Georges St-Pierre, Rashad Evans and Kenny Florian. Ricci, who is fluent in French and Italian, admitted to getting into fights quite frequently growing up and that’s what initially sparked his interest in Mixed Martial Arts. He began reading books and training himself on the art of combat until he eventually crossed paths with GSP and things took off from there. The technically skilled and savvy fighter boasts a professional record of 7-2-0, proving thus far to be a legitimate threat to his fellow welterweight contenders.
“Fighting three rounds against a guy like Dom Waters, with his skill and his size, was definitely a challenge and I had to dig deep. I did and it feelt great. That was the toughest fighter in the house and nobody wanted to fight him. I fought him for 15 minutes and I beat him.”
Dominic“Sho Nuff” Waters, a former Marine, is a relative new comer who’s already racked up five consecutive wins. The 23-year-old welterweight, 5-1 in his professional career, trains at the Nor-Cal Fighting Alliance with former UFC middleweight title contender David Terrell. A former high school football, track and wrestling star, “Sho Nuff’s” athleticism and dangerous 81-inch reach makes him a lethal fighter inside the Octagon®. Waters has neverbeen knocked-out; his only loss came via decision.
“I felt sad after the fight. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, but I knew I had given it my all and I had no regrets. I wish I would have stood up, but that’s easier said then done – hindsight’s 20/20. I remember every single one of my losses. You don’t lose for a day, you pretty much lose for the rest of your life.”
The tail end of the episode highlights the quarterfinal selections:
Bristol Marunde (Team Carwin) vs. Neil Magny (Team Carwin)
Igor Araujo (Team Carwin) vs. Colton Smith (Team Carwin)
Joey Rivera (Team Nelson) vs. Jon Manley (Team Nelson)
Mike Ricci (Team Nelson) vs. Michael Hill (Team Nelson)
The series resumes next Friday, Nov. 16, on FX at 10 p.m. ET/PT (check local listings for Central and Mountain Time). In that episode – “Coming For You” – The rift grows between Canadians Michael Hill and Mike Ricci. The quarterfinals kick off as Bristol Marunde faces Neil Magny. Then, after a near-brawl at the weigh-in, Colton Smith takes on Igor Araujo with a spot in the semis on the line.
Ticketsfor The Ultimate Fighter Finale on Dec. 15 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas are on sale and priced at $304, $254, $179, $154, $104 and $79. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit the Hard Rock Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com, www.thejointlasvegas.com or charge-by-phone at 800.745.3000.
Results after episode nine:
Team Carwin (4-4)
Sam Alvey (0-1, lost to Joey Rivera by decision in episode 3)
Bristol Marunde (1-0, defeated Julian Lane by decision in episode 4)
Mike Ricci (1-0, defeated Dom Waters by decision in episode 9)
Neil Magny (1-0, defeated Cameron Diffley by decision in episode 2)
James Chaney (0-1, submitted by Jon Manley in episode 8)
Eddy Ellis (0-1, lost to Colton Smith by majority decision in epsiode 6)
Igor Araujo (1-0, defeated Nic Herron-Webb by majority decision in episode 5)
Matt Secor (0-1, lost to Michael Hill by split decision in episode 7)
Team Nelson (4-4)
Dom Waters (0-1, lost to Mike Ricci by decision in episode 9)
Michael Hill (1-0, defeated Matt Secor by split decision in episode 7)
Cameron Diffley (0-1, lost to Neil Magny by decision in episode 2)
Colton Smith (1-0, defeated Eddy Ellis by majority decision in episode 6)
Jon Manley (1-0, submitted James Chaney is episode 8)
Nic Herron-Webb (0-1, lost to Igor Araujo by majority decision in episode 5
Joey Rivera (1-0, defeated Sam Alvey by decision in episode 3)
Julian Lane (0-1, lost to Bristol Marunde by decision in episode 4)
A full recap is available at ufc.com.
For more show information, bios, videos and photos, visit ultimatefighter.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter under our new name @TUFonFX or on Facebook.com/TUG
About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Universally recognized for its action-packed, can’t-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX.
In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website, UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with over twomillion followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best-sellingDVDs, an internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TV offering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, the best-selling UFC Undisputed® video game franchise distributed by THQ, and a new franchise in development with EA, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel and trading cards.
FX
FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from Fox. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in more than 98 million homes. The diverse schedule includes a growing roster of critically acclaimed and award-winning hit dramas series including Sons of Anarchy, Justified and American Horror Story, and acclaimed hit comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Louie, Archer and Wilfred. Its library of acquired box-office hit movies is unmatched by any ad-supported television network. The network’s other offerings include the acquired hit series Two and a HalfMen and How I Met Your Mother, and live sports with college football and the UFC.
