Iron Ring was a reality television

Reality television

Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...

 series and mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

 (MMA) competition, originating from the United States, that aired on BET

Black Entertainment Television

Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...

.

Format

On this show, professional MMA fighters that have yet to make a big name for themselves were selected onto teams representing five different weight classes (Heavyweight, Middleweight, and Lightweight [which the show contested at 170lbs rather than 155lbs]).

Each team had a celebrity owner and MMA coach who evaluated the try outs and selected contestants. Team owners included boxing champ Floyd Mayweather and Rick Ross

Rick Ross (rapper)

William Leonard Roberts II , better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection...

 managing the Money Mayweather Boys; hip-hop artist Ludacris

Ludacris

Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...

 with Team Luda; Nelly

Nelly

Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. , better known by his stage name Nelly, is an Grammy Award winning American rapper and actor. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in 2000 with his debut album...

 representing Team Nelly; T.I.

T.I.

Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. , better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records....

 leading Team Grand Hustle; Juelz Santana

Juelz Santana

LaRon Louis James , better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper, producer, and actor. He appeared on Cam'ron's 2002 singles, "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma"...

 and Jim Jones

Jim Jones

James Warren "Jim" Jones was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 mass suicide of 909 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the killings of five other people at a nearby airstrip.Jones was born in Indiana and started the Temple in...

 heading Dipset; and Lil Jon

Lil Jon

Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...

 with the Head Busters. Featured MMA coaches included Shonie Carter

Shonie Carter

Mearion Shonie Bickhem III , better known as Shonie Carter, is an American mixed martial artist. He is a former World Extreme Cagefighting welterweight champion, an Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran, and a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 4 reality show...

 and Charles Bennett

Charles Bennett

Charles Bennett may refer to:* Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville, cricket pioneer, * Charles Bennett , British track and field athlete, most notable for 1500m events* Charles Bennett...

.

The respective teams then fought over the course of several weeks, building towards a finale that took place in New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

 in February 2008.

Winner

The winners of each weight class included:

• Heavyweight: Abongo Humphrey
  Abongo Humphrey
  Ron Humphrey is a Ghanaian American mixed martial artist who currently fights in the Strikeforce promotion in the Light Heavyweight Division.-Mixed martial arts career:...
  
  
• Middleweight: Jamie Yager
  Jamie Yager
  Jamie Yager is an American professional mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz. Besides appearing on The Ultimate Fighter, Yager was also on BET's Iron Ring in 2008.-Early life:Yager left home at age 14 due to differences with his...
  
  
• Lightweight (170lbs): Josh Gaskins

The ultimate team winner was Team Nelly.