Tapout (TV series)
Episode number Title Original airdate Fighter Summary
1 Diamond in the Rough June 3 , 2007 Damacio Page The Tapout crew pick up Damacio Page from his home gym in Albuquerque , New Mexico , where he trains with Greg Jackson . They drive with him to Iowa , where they meet his opponent , Rod Montoya , who trains with Pat Miletich . Page and Montoya face off at Extreme Challenge . Damacio dominates the fight , knocking out Montoya in the first round
2 Little Fireball June 6 , 2007 Antonio Banuelos Banuelos , roommate and training partner of Chuck Liddell , is training for WEC 26 . He 's facing Charlie Valencia to determine the number-one contender for the WEC Bantamweight title . Valencia catches Banuelos with an uppercut three minutes into the first round , knocking him out
3 Hot Head June 13 , 2007 Matt Major The crew meets Major at his home gym , American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose , California , where he 's living in an office above the gym . They drive with him to Decatur , Illinois for Courage Fighting Championship 8 for his professional MMA debut . After Major works to cut weight , his opponent Adrian Hopson weighs in 11 pounds over and shows up to the fight 13 pounds over . After struggling in round 1 , Major comes back in the final two rounds and wins a unanimous decision
4 The Search Continues August 1 , 2007 Donald Cerrone Tapout scouts several talented fighters on a cross-country trip . They decide on Donald Cowboy Cerrone , who has an undefeated record . They stop in at Matt Hughes ' farm before heading out to the Ring of Fire , a mixed martial arts event in Colorado . Cowboy wins his match in the first round by submission with a triangle choke
5 Charuto August 8 , 2007 Renato Verissimo The Tapout crew travels to Hawaii to sign up B. J. Penn 's Brazilian Jiu-jitsu trainer , Renato Charuto Verissimo . After a tour of the island , the boys return to California to attend to some business , then travel back to Hawaii to support Charuto in his ICON Sport -Epic fight against Lars Havens . After an initial flurry by Havens , Charuto takes him to the mat and ends the fight with his ground and pound
6 Sergio August 15 , 2007 Sergio Gomez Mask , Punkass and SkySkrape travel to Kenosha , Wisconsin , to scout Sergio before his fight with Marcus Hicks at WEC 27 in Las Vegas . In the week leading up to the fight , the crew works to coordinate Las Vegas publicity activities . On fight night , Sergio closes Hicks ' right eye with strikes in round one and has Hicks on his back for much of round two before getting caught in a sudden guillotine choke and being forced to tap out
7 Sunshine August 22 , 2007 Matt Fiordirosa The crew meets fighter and coach Jeff Curran in Crystal Lake , Illinois , who introduces them to Matt Sunshine Fiordirosa . After watching Matt train and coach some young kids in wrestling , the crew overcomes RV trouble and rain delays to get to New Jersey for his bout with Khristian Geraci . Geraci catches Matt with a big shot to the face in round one but Matt rallies in round two to take Geraci to the ground and force a referee stoppage
8 Rob Roy August 29 , 2007 Sherron Leggett The Tapout crew return to Kenosha and meet Sherron Rob Roy Leggett , who 's angling to become Tapout 's first superhero . They travel to Davenport , Iowa , for his fight at Extreme Challenge 79 against Chris McDaniel . Sherron 's coach and cornerman ca n't make the fight so Punkass and Spencer Fisher step in . Leggett submits McDaniel in the first round after catching him in a kimura lock
9 Einstein December 5 , 2007 Scott Epstein The crew meets Scott Einstein Epstein in Los Angeles through his coach , Eddie Bravo . They agree to sponsor him and immediately put him in a photo shoot for some new Tapout gear . Epstein is set to face Sergio Quinones at Xcess Fighting 's inaugural Havoc in Hollywood event and on fight day the crew is worried that Epstein is too casual . Quinones gets the better of Epstein through much of the first two rounds but Epstein is able to use his jiu jitsu skills to choke him out in round two
10 May 28 , 2008 The crew revisits past fighters and previews the upcoming season
Season 1
Tapout is an American reality television series that focuses on the world of mixed martial arts. The series premiered on Versus, which is now NBC Sports Network, on June 3, 2007, before moving to its regular Wednesday night timeslot beginning June 6. The series follows Charles Lewis, Jr. - Mask, Dan Caldwell - Punkass, and Tim Katz SkySkrape of the Tapout clothing and gear line, as they travel around the country in search of promising MMA fighters to develop and possibly sponsor. Each episode follows the training and development of one fighter, culminating in a fight at a professional MMA event. As the series progressed the focus broadened to encompass not just the scouting of new talent but also the efforts of the Tapout crew to build their business, including day-to-day operations and the inter-relationships between the crew members and other Tapout employees. On March 11, 2009, Charles Mask Lewis was killed in an automobile accident in Newport Beach, California. A female companion was ejected from the car and taken for medical treatment but Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of a second car, believed to have been traveling alongside Lewis's car, was arrested on charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.