Spike inks Couture to development deal, sets two MMA-related projects
Spike TV is getting back into the ring with Randy “The Natural” Couture. The male-skewing cable network has inked the…
Spike TV is getting back into the ring with Randy “The Natural” Couture.
The male-skewing cable network has inked the Mixed Martial Arts and Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer to a two-year development deal and green-lighted two unscripted entries to series, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.
Under the pact, Couture — a multiple UFC Heavyweight (and Lightweight) champion and The Expendables actor — will serve as one of four coaches on a Voice-like series for the network called Fight Master: Bellator MMA and a Kitchen Nightmares-style series dubbed MMA Rescue
Fight Master will see Couture join fellow coaches Greg Jackson, Frank Shamrock and Joe Warren as they oversee 32 up-and-coming fighters looking to fight their way through a win-or-go-home format into the Bellator tournament and a six-figure cash prize.
MMA Rescue, meanwhile, will see Couture use his years of experience in the business of MMA to help turn failing gyms into successful businesses. The three-episode series is in the same vein as Spike’s Bar Rescue and Tattoo Rescue and will be produced by Couture, his manager (Samuel Spira) and Chris Coelen’s Kinetic Content (Betty White’s Off Their Rockers, Hardcore Pawn). Production on MMA Rescue will likely begin after Fight Master wraps.