Ultimate Women’s Combat Reality TV Series Set for NBC Debut

MMA fighter Kerry Vera hopes Ultimate Women’s Combat succeeds where Fight Girls failed.

May 28, 2009

Fight Girls, an Oxygen channel series that featured the training and fights of seven female fighters, documented their attempts at winning a championship.

Ten female fighters lived and trained with a Muay Thai instructor in Las Vegas for six weeks in an effort to fight for a Muay Thai championship in Thailand.

The Fight Girls series was a sort of Ultimate Fighter for women MMA artists.

And women’s MMA fighter Kerry Vera thought the show sucked, and she should know, she was in the cast.

Vera, who recently won her initial bout in The Bellator Fighting Championships at the Aragon Entertainment Center in Chicago against Leslie Smith in a unanimous decision, was a part of the Fight Girls lineup - and she wasn’t too thrilled with the outcome of the series. Vera has been boxing since she was 18 (she’s now 28) and her participation in Fight Girls left her with a bad taste in her mouth.

In a recent interview with Squabbles, Vera talked about her first experience with reality television.

“I actually did not like (Fight Girls),” Vera said.”I didn’t like it at all. I think it portrayed women fighters poorly. They focused more on the drama (out of the ring) and less on the fighting.”

Even with her less-than satisfactory feelings about the Fight Girls experience, Vera is taking part in a new television show to be broadcast over NBC stations and affiliates called Ultimate Women’s Combat.

The new show focuses on 16 female Mixed Martial Arts fighters as they attempt to make their mark in professional cage fighting. Many of these combatants have been connected to male fighters and trainers their entire careers.  Vera herself is the wife of UFC  fighter Brandon Vera. Brandon last fought at UFC 96 carding a victory over Mike Pratt.

At the end of the season the winners of the tournament will receive a major contract from a “partnered fighting promotion.”

Sebastiaan “Bas” Rutten, a retired mixed martial artist and kickboxer, was the UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak. Rutten and model Joanna Krupa will act as hosts to the show.

Also featured as coaches are #1 ranked fighter Tara LaRosa, U.K. fighter Rosi Sexton, StrikeForce contender Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and Jiu-jitsu legend Cesar Gracie.

The 16 female fighters include Felice Herrig, Angela Magana, Angela Hayes, Melissa Steele, Roxy Richardson, Lauren Sugahara, Kerry Vera, her sister Michelle Vera, Moroeles Coenen, Casey Noland, Molly Helsel, Vanessa Mariscal, Jessica Aguilar, Martha Benavides, and Kate McGray.

Ultimate Women’s Combat, currently set to air in 2009 or 2010, says it will focus “on weekly challenges (which) will have the girls working closely with nationally recognized organizations to make the public aware of issues that have impacted our communities and the women themselves.”

Source:  Squabbles.com