The best of MMA will face the best of Team Bella tonight on Celebrity Family Feud when some of MMA’s elite step up against the former WWE stars and their family.
Team MMA is going to be represented by former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell, former two division UFC champion Randy Couture, former UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley, Bellator MMA Women’s Flyweight Champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and two division Bellator MMA champion Ryan Bader. While Team Bella is going to be represented by Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Lauren Jennifer Garcia, JJ Garcia and Kathy Laurinaitis.
Here is a press release detailing tonight’s event:
BELLATOR MMA CHAMPIONS RYAN BADER AND ILIMA-LEI MACFARLANE COMPETE ON ABC’S CELEBRITY FAMILY FEUD THIS SUNDAY, AUG. 18
LOS ANGELES – Current Bellator Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion Ryan Bader (27-5), as well as the undefeated inaugural Bellator Women’s Flyweight World Champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (10-0), will both take part in a special episode of ABC’s Celebrity Family Feud this Sunday, Aug. 18.
The pair of Bellator champions make up two of the five contestants on “Team MMA” and are joined by former MMA champions Tyron Woodley, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture. They face-off against “Team Nikki and Brie Bella,” which features twin athletes and top divas Nikki and Brie Bella, stars of Total Bellas. The teams compete in the second half of the episode airing this Sunday, Aug. 18 from 8-9 p.m. EST on ABC. The episode can also be viewed the next day onABC.com, the ABC app and Hulu.
Ryan Bader, one of Bellator’s two-division champions, will make his first heavyweight title defense next month when he meets Cheick Kongo in the main event ofBellator 226 at SAP Center at San Jose on Saturday, September 7 – an event streamed exclusively on DAZN.
Fighting out of Chandler, Ariz., the former two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler from Arizona State University began his professional career by winning season eight of The Ultimate Fighter and went on to sign with Bellator in 2017. Bader continued his path of dominance by collecting victories over some of the sport’s top talent, including wins over former world champions Fedor Emelianenko, “Rampage” Jackson, “King Mo” Lawal, Rashad Evans, Phil Davis (x2) and Rafael “Feijão” Cavalcante.
A native of Honolulu, inaugural Bellator women’s flyweight champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane made her pro debut in 2015 with a KO victory that went viral and has not looked back since, remaining undefeated in her career to this point. A proud graduate of Honolulu’s Punahou High School in 2009, Macfarlane later attended San Diego State University, where she would go on to earn her Master’s degree in liberal arts and science with a focus on indigenous issues – a subject she remains passionate about, launching “The Ilimanator Scholarship” for indigenous girls last year. Most recently, Macfarlane was the focal point of Bellator’s debut in Hawaii, a successful back-to-back weekend that culminated in Ilima-Lei defending her title in front of a sold-out arena just minutes from where she grew up.
Hosted by the highly popular stand-up comedian, actor, author and Emmy Award-winner Steve Harvey, Celebrity Family Feud returns for its fifth season, kicking off ABC’s popular and expanded “Summer Fun & Games.” Once again, celebrities, along with their families, go head-to-head in a contest to name the most popular responses to survey-type questions posed to 100 people for a chance to win money for a charity of their choice.
The celebrity teams who will try to guess what the “survey said” are the following:
Team MMA; playing for Andy Vargas Foundation
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane – inaugural and current Bellator Women’s Flyweight World Champion
Ryan Bader – current Bellator Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion
Tyron Woodley – MMA fighter
Chuck Liddell – MMA Fighter
Randy Couture – MMA Fighter
Team Nikki and Brie Bella – stars of Total Bellas; playing for The V Foundation/Connor’s Cure
Lauren Jennifer Garcia – cousin
JJ Garcia – brother
Kathy Laurinaitis – mom
Celebrity Family Feud is produced by Fremantle and is taped in front of a live audience in Los Angeles, California. Gaby Johnston and Jennifer Mullin are executive producers.
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About Bellator:
Bellator is a leading global mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, Bellator events take place in major cities worldwide and can be seen on television in over 160 countries to an available audience of over one billion people. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on both Paramount Network and DAZN, the world’s first truly dedicated LIVE sports streaming service. Bellator is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is based in Hollywood, Calif. and owned by entertainment giant Viacom, home to the world's premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.
About Fremantle:
Fremantle is one of the largest and most successful creators, producers and distributors of scripted and unscripted content in the world. A global entertainment powerhouse, Fremantle has an outstanding international network of production teams, companies, and labels in over 30 countries. Fremantle produces more than 12,000 hours of original programming, roll out more than 60 formats and air 450 programs a year worldwide. The group distributes over 20,000 hours of content in more than 200 territories. Fremantle is also a world leader in digital and branded entertainment, with more than 300 million subscribers across 1,400 social channels and over 100 billion views across all platforms.
Fremantle is part of RTL Group, a global leader across broadcast, content, and digital, itself a division of the international media giant Bertelsmann.
For more information, visit fremantle.com, follow us @FremantleUS or visit our Facebook and Linkedin pages.
