| The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality, Sports |
| Created by | Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White |
| Starring | Dana White, Ross Pearson, and George Sotiropoulos |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | FX Australia ESPN UK |
| Release | September 19, 2012 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes is the second foreign version of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter. Like The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, this version was filmed, in its entirety, outside Las Vegas, Nevada and consisted of 13 episodes with a live finale in Australia.[1] The season tournament finale, along with the coaches fight, took place on 14 December 2012 at UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson.[2]
The series was officially announced by the UFC in May 2012.[3] The name The Smashes is a play on the 130-year-old cricket rivalry between England and Australia called "The Ashes."[1] The UFC held open tryouts during June 2012. The casting call was for Lightweight and Welterweight fighters who are at least 21 years old and have a minimum of two wins in three professional fights.[4]
On 12 July 2012, Dana White announced that the coaches for the season would be Ross Pearson and George Sotiropoulos to represent the UK and Australia respectively.[5]