David Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Has anyone seen this mentioned on recent UFC broadcasts? Good to see them finally making moves to freshen up the concept a little. Fight camps were one of the options a few of us on here had mentioned previously I'm sure? Anyway, winning fight camp gets $500,000 from what I hear, and the fighters representing each camp are; AMERICAN TOP TEAM Marcelo Alfaya (16-7, 1NC) Porto Alegre, Brazil Steve Carl (21-4), Belle Plain, Iowa Nathan Coy (14-5), Vallejo, Calif. Michael Graves (4-0), Toledo, Ohio Hayder Hassan (6-1), Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Sabah Homasi (8-4), New Brunswick, N.J. Uros Jurisic (5-0), Ljubljana, Slovenia Steve Montgomery (8-2), Florence, S.C. BLACKZILIANS Valdir Araujo (14-5), Gama, Federal District, Brazil Carrington Banks (3-0), Peoria, Ill. Luiz Buscape (16-5), Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil Jason Jackson (4-2), Kingston, Jamaica Vincente Luque (7-4-1), Westwood, NJ Andrews Nakahara (4-2-2), Mogi das Cruzes, Sao Paolo, Brazil Felipe Portela (8-2), Brasilia, Brazil Kamarudeen Usman (5-1), Auchi, Nigeria Apparently there's bad blood between these camps as well; On one side of the competition sits American Top Team -- a storied team of fighters first founded in 2001 and home to dozens of UFC competitors, including current UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. On the other side are the Blackzilians -- a gym founded by four former members of American Top Team, who defected from the gym to start their own team and now train alongside some of the best fighters on the planet, including top-ranked middleweight contender Vitor Belfort as well as former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans. Considering how the rivalry started and the fact that the two gyms sit just 20 minutes away from each other in South Florida, the intense rivalry between American Top Team and the Blackzilians will reach a tipping point with the upcoming season of the reality show. There's also another few changes being brought in for this show; The two teams comprised of eight rising welterweight contenders will share a house in South Florida, but in one of the many changes for this new season of the show, the fighters will still work, train and spar with the coaches and teams at their home gyms. The fights this season will take place in the two opposing gyms and not a neutral location so each week one of the fighters looking to get a win will be stepping into enemy territory. The winning team will retain control and home gym advantage as the series moves forward each week. The gyms and teams will select their own fighters for the matchups but in a major switch this season, opponents will not be revealed until the weigh-in begins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
textonly Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 The gyms and teams will select their own fighters for the matchups but in a major switch this season, opponents will not be revealed until the weigh-in begins. I'm looking forward to the season as a whole, and maybe this does add a new element of drama, but that is absolutely mental. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross18 Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Yeah definitely looking forward to this. They did another of those big press conferences at the weekend and they announced it there with a trailer too. Around the 27min mark. Pretty sure it aired on the PPV prelims too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 It should certainly add some life to the set-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJM Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 AMERICAN TOP TEAM Marcelo Alfaya (16-7, 1NC) Porto Alegre, Brazil Steve Carl (21-4), Belle Plain, Iowa Nathan Coy (14-5), Vallejo, Calif. Michael Graves (4-0), Toledo, Ohio Hayder Hassan (6-1), Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Sabah Homasi (8-4), New Brunswick, N.J. Uros Jurisic (5-0), Ljubljana, Slovenia Steve Montgomery (8-2), Florence, S.C. BLACKZILIANS Valdir Araujo (14-5), Gama, Federal District, Brazil Carrington Banks (3-0), Peoria, Ill. Luiz Buscape (16-5), Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil Jason Jackson (4-2), Kingston, Jamaica Vincente Luque (7-4-1), Westwood, NJ Andrews Nakahara (4-2-2), Mogi das Cruzes, Sao Paolo, Brazil Felipe Portela (8-2), Brasilia, Brazil Kamarudeen Usman (5-1), Auchi, Nigeria Anyone worth looking out for on that list? I recognize Carl and Coy from WSOF and Bellator, but none of the other names are too familiar to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 3, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted March 3, 2015 I only recognise the two above names plus Andrews Nakahara and Luiz Buscape. Nakahara fought in a few early DREAM events. Made his pro MMA debut against the legend known as Kazushi Sakuraba. Hasn't beat anyone that good. Buscape's record is more impressive. If it's the Buscape I'm thinking of, which I'm not sure about because his record above says 16-5 but elsewhere has him at 18-6. I think it's the same guy though, I'm sure he's at the Blackzilians camp. Anyway, he fought in Pride (mostly the Bushido shows) and DREAM. And he's coming off back-to-back wins over Jacob Volkmann and Tyson Griffin in WSOF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 Fuck, Christmas Volkmann. That's a blast from the past! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted March 4, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted March 4, 2015 The trailer for this is badass. As for names, yeah the guys i recognise are the same ones you guys recognise. Nakahara though, fuck. I forgot that guy existed. His debut in Japan was a pretty big deal when it happended, but i cant recall why? Steve Carl was the WSOF 170lb Champ until Palhares got hold of his leg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane O' Mac Version 2 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 It's going to be weird, a season of TUF with no coaches fight to get excited about before one coach gets injured. I thought maybe they could book a fight between two big name fighters from each gym, but ATT's biggest names are at welterweight (Lawler, Alves, Lombard, Woodley) and Blackzilians have the stars at LHW (Rashad, Rumble, and Vitor at a stretch). The best thing about this season is that everyone on the show have elite training facilities and spar with the best of the best all the time. So, the general skill level should be considerably higher than most recent TUFs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 Anyone watched this yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hounds Of Justice Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Watching it now, I like the concept, just hope the fights are exciting, I am rooting for the Blackzillians cos I can't stand the ATT coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 23, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted April 23, 2015 just watched it, i like the new concept. The core of it is basically the but the whole team dynamic adds substance to it, definitely. Not quite sure how i feel about the focus of the show being pointed largely on the owners of the gyms though, it just felt a bit like two listless guys posturing to make a bit of a name for themselves. The part where they both stand behind their fighters at the weigh-in was a bit weird, it made it feel like the show is about the gym owners more than the actual fighters competing. The fight within the team gyms is much better though, seeing all the fighters close to the cage, and with the noise generated, it creates a proper hostile atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 The fight within the team gyms is much better though, seeing all the fighters close to the cage, and with the noise generated, it creates a proper hostile atmosphere. I noticed that as well, it certainly added to the atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Really Big Shoe Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 New concept is good, but it does seem more about the rivalry between the team owners IMO and unlike when the TUF coaches fight, there's not going to be a pay-off unless the Blackzilians owner takes the ATT owner up on their offer of a fight. But that seems highly unlikely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 Is anyone else a bit lost with this new points system they've introduced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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