(PRESS RELEASE) -- Las Vegas, Nevada – Episode 12 - “Semifinal Showdown” - of The Ultimate Fighter® Fridays reality series aired Friday night on FX and featured this season’s semifinal matchups, teammate vs. teammate.
The two victors, Smith and Ricci, will now face off in the much-anticipated Finale on December 15th to decide who will win the lucrative contract with the UFC® and be named the next Ultimate Fighter.
Here’s what this season’s winning finalists had to say after their bouts:
Ricci: “I won the fight and I was excited, but I couldn’t help it, I broke down and I started crying. Because, the truth is, I would’ve rather win by a decision than to do that to him, cause it hurt. You have a teammate and you eat every night with them and you pray with them and you go for swims and you talk and you share things and then you do that to somebody…and it was hard for me. I know what it’s like to be Neil; I’ve been knocked out before. That feeling where you wake up and you don’t know what happened and all your dreams are shattered, all the opportunity you thought you had was gone. But if I didn’t do it to him, he would’ve done it to me, so I had no choice.”
Smith: “Feels great, I’m top two now. It’s been a long road; 4 weigh-ins, 4 fights, 4-0 in the house. I might not have been the best fighter, I might not have been the most skilled or the prettiest fighter, but I guarantee you, I’m the best fighter at the end of the day in the house.”
Here’s what UFC President Dana White and the two finalists had to say heading into the Finale:
Ricci: “I don’t think that Colton Smith can hang with me to be honest with you. I mean anything can happen, right? He’s a dangerous man, but if my A game is on, I’ll be able to stop Colton for sure.”
Smith: “Mike Ricci is a tough, tough dude. He has power in his hands, power in his kicks, elbows. He’s a very versatile fighter, but I’m going to go in there and I’m going to take his head off, I’m going to ground and pound, I’m going to look for the submission. He’ll break before I will, that’s guaranteed.”
White: “I think Ricci vs. Smith is going to be a good fight. These guys have consistently fought well, they won, and I think we ended up with the two best guys here, I really do.”
After 12 weeks of non-stop action and 30 fights, it all comes down to this moment.
Tickets for 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 12:
Team Carwin (7-7)
Sam Alvey (0-1, lost to Joey Rivera by decision in episode 3)
Bristol Marunde (1-1, defeated Julian Lane by decision in episode 4, lost to Neil Magny by decision in episode 10)
Mike Ricci (3-0, defeated Dom Waters by decision in episode 9, defeated Mike Ricci by decision in episode 11, defeated Neil Magny by knockout in episode 12)
Neil Magny (2-1, defeated Cameron Diffley by decision in episode 2, defeated Bristol Marunde by decision in episode 10, lost via knockout to Mike Ricci in episode 12)
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 (1-1, defeated Nic Herron-Webb by majority decision in episode 5, lost to Colton Smith by decision in episode 10)
Matt Secor (0-1, lost to Michael Hill by split decision in episode 7)
Team Nelson (7-7)
Dom Waters (0-1, lost to Mike Ricci by decision in episode 9)
Michael Hill (1-1, defeated Matt Secor by split decision in episode 7, lost to Mike Ricci by decision in episode 11)
Cameron Diffley (0-1, lost to Neil Magny by decision in episode 2)
Colton Smith (3-0, defeated Eddy Ellis by majority decision in episode 6, defeated Igor Araujo by decision in episode 10, defeated Jon Manley by decision in episode 12)
Jon Manley (2-1, submitted James Chaney is episode 8, defeated Joey Rivera by decision in episode 11, lost to Colton Smith by decision in episode 12)
Nic Herron-Webb (0-1, lost to Igor Araujo by majority decision in episode 5)
Joey Rivera (1-1, defeated Sam Alvey by decision in episode 3, lost to Jon Manley by decision in episode 11)
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 two million followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best-selling DVDs, 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 Half Men and How I Met Your Mother, and live sports with college football and the UFC.