Bulldog Breed

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog"

- Tony Somerfield

Bulldog Breed was a roughly wedge shaped robot that competed in Series 3 through 7 of Robot Wars, plus both series of Extreme. The first Bulldog Breed took 12 weeks to build and featured 325RPM steel circular saws with tungsten carbide body cutters at the teeth, capable of cutting through 2mm material and were capable of lifting as well, and could pull a car with two passengers, but was quite sluggish and dropped out in the first round due to problems with steering prior to battle. After this, Bulldog Breed was fitted with a powerful pneumatic flipper powered by three CO2 cylinders, and all the following incarnations featured this weapon, developing in set-up and power over time.

For Series 4, the robot was known as Bulldog Breed 2 and for Series 5 and Extreme Series 1, it was known as Bulldog Breed 3. The former was tested on a 2.5 ton forklift which was pushed at 5 mph and two work colleagues who were thrown 8 ft into the air. The latter was quick at 15 mph and featured aluminium dural-plate armour and rear twin-tail hardened spikes and both versions had rear polycarbonate armour housing the electronics, similar to Chaos 2. Then from Series 6 onwards, it reverted to its original name and was considerably more durable, harder-hitting and featured cast-nylon which reacts to impact and gets stronger. The final version also had a full pressure flipper, 10 mph speeds and a 1 cm ground clearance. Bulldog Breed's best performance in the main competition was in Series 7 when it reached the semi-finals and was beaten by X-Terminator. It also won the third Tag Team Terror competition in Extreme Series 2 with Robochicken.

Series 3
Bulldog Breed was very sluggish and didn't last long in this opening battle. It waited by the starting spot until its opponent Robopig came towards them. It then finally moved, attempting to saw into Robopig's wheels but Robopig got away before any damage was sustained. It then appeared that Bulldog Breed had broken down as Robopig pushed it around near Shunt's CPZ. The disc was spinning but the robot itself was not moving. Robopig then pushed Bulldog Breed into the CPZ. Shunt then attempted to lift Bulldog Breed and axed a few holes into the top of the robot. Bulldog Breed then came back to life but Robopig slammed them again towards Shunt and again Shunt lifted and axed Bulldog Breed a couple of times. The arena spike then started spiking the under-body of Bulldog Breed. Matilda and Dead Metal closed in on the now immobile Bulldog Breed. Matilda attacked with her chainsaw and Dead Metal attempted to saw it but missed. Cease was called shortly after a few more axe blows from Shunt and a disappointing start for Bulldog Breed's Robot Wars career.

Series 4
The Somerfield boys were ready for another try as they returned for the Fourth Wars with a completely new machine in Bulldog Breed 2. In its first round melee, Bulldog Breed 2 was drawn up against newcomers Spikasaurus and the number 30 seeds Stinger. It began with a promising flips on Spikasaurus, before lifting Stinger. However, both robots' shapes made them immune to flips. Stinger and Spikasaurus clashed, with Spikasaurus' rollcage taking damage. This damage allowed another flip from Bulldog Breed to land Spikasaurus on its back. However, the time ran out before Spikasaurus was officially immobilised, and the judges had to make a decision, the decision put Bulldog Breed 2 through to the next round of the heat along with the seeded Stinger, eliminating Spikasaurus. In the second round, Bulldog Breed 2 had an unfortunate draw as it was drawn up against the fourteenth seed, Bigger Brother. In this battle, Bulldog Breed 2 dodged the flipper of Bigger Brother, with the latter leaking CO2 gas as it tried to flip. Finally, Bulldog Breed 2 flipped Bigger Brother on its back, with the seeded machine unable to activate its flipper. With another seed crashing out of the competition early, Bulldog Breed 2 fought Stinger again. Stinger spun up to speed, striking hard blows to Bulldog Breed. Damage was dealt to Bulldog Breed's armour. Bulldog Breed attempted to flip Stinger, but as it had been earlier, the flipper had no effect on Stinger. Stinger drove over Bulldog Breed, before it spun up again, hitting the insides of Bulldog Breed 2. One of these blows hit a CO2 canister, causing Bulldog Breed's flipper to jam open. Bulldog Breed was attacked by the house robots after it broke down, before placing it on the floor flipper, and throwing it across the arena.

Extreme 1
Bulldog Breed 3's only appearance in the first series of Extreme saw it compete in a Mayhem qualifier battle where it went against Judge Shred 2½ and Spirit of Knightmare, this was for a right to fight in the second annihilator of the series. Bulldog Breed 3 was the most aggressive of the three robots, getting a few flips in on each opponent, until Spirit of Knightmare stopped completely. Just as it was being counted out, Bulldog Breed tossed Judge Shred who was unable to self-right. Judge Shred too was counted out and put down into the pit of oblivion by the house robots, just as Spirit of Knightmare was flipped by the arena floor flipper. Cease was then called and Bulldog Breed 3 was declared the winner, allowing it to go through to the annihilator, this was an outcome similar to that of Atomic 2's mayhem.

However, Bulldog Breed 3 was forced to pull out of the second annihilator after suffering damage from its heat final battle with Hypno-Disc in Heat B of Series 5, just like Atomic 2 had, so Spirit of Knightmare was allowed to qualify for the annihilator.

Series 5
Bulldog Breed 3 returned for the Fifth Wars, surprisingly unseeded, as it reached the heat final of the previous series. Bulldog Breed 3's first round battle in Heat B of the Fifth Wars saw it go up against newcomers to the wars in Juggernot 2. Both robots started quite slowly, with the two of them circling each other for a brief period. This was until Bulldog Breed 3 charged and flipped the decidedly top-heavy Juggernot 2 onto its side, which dislodged a part of its rear armour. Bulldog Breed then flipped it onto its back and then onto its wheels. Juggernot 2 drove towards Bulldog Breed, but was flipped again. Bulldog Breed then pushed the pit release button, ripping it from the wall in the process. It then flipped Juggernot 2 towards the pit, but it couldn't push its opponent in. Meanwhile Juggernot 2's flipper had broken off. Shunt then pushed the defeated Juggernot 2 into the pit. The next round saw the Bulldog against the Lamb, in the form of Lambsy. This battle started slowly as well, as Lambsy dodged Bulldog Breed and drove straight into the pit release button. As the pit descended, Bulldog Breed flipped Lambsy and the toy sheep flew off the top of it. Then as Lambsy was reversing, Bulldog Breed drove up Lambsy's wedge and got stuck, but with a helpful nudge from Refbot and using its flipper, it managed to escape. Bulldog Breed then flipped Lambsy a few more times, one of which put Lambsy onto the flame pit, but Lambsy escaped. Bulldog Breed then charged at Lambsy again and bounced off the wedge of Lambsy. Bulldog Breed attempted to flip Lambsy again, but the power of its flipper seemed to be waning. However it then pushed Lambsy into the house robots and Shunt axed numerous holes into Lambsy's top armour. The battle then went to the judges who put Bulldog Breed through to the heat final, where Bulldog Breed faced the heat favourite and number 3 seed Hypno-Disc. Unlike Bulldog Breed's previous two battles, this one started quickly with Hypno-Disc getting an early glancing blow to Bulldog Breed. Bulldog Breed managed to get its flipper under Hypno-Disc and flipped it onto its side, but Hypno-Disc recovered and slammed its disc into Bulldog Breed more times, but doing little damage, until it attacked Bulldog Breed's rear. This attack ripped out Bulldog Breed's safety link, which instantly immobilised Bulldog Breed. Hypno-Disc was merciful though and instead of destroying Bulldog Breed, it merely activated the pit and pushed Bulldog Breed down. However this damage meant that Bulldog Breed couldn't take its place in its Annihilator in Extreme Series 1, which was filmed at the same time as Series 5. "...before sending the Bulldog to the doghouse!"

- Jonathan Pearce on Hypno-Disc's defeat of Bulldog Breed 3

Series 6
A new and improved Bulldog Breed returned for the Sixth Wars, unseeded. It was drawn up against former heat-finalists Kat 3, veterans Revenge of Trouble & Strife and newcomers Spin Doctor in its first round melee in the penultimate heat for the series. Bulldog Breed went straight into the fighting as it flipped Spin Doctor into Sir Killalot's crushing claw, but the impact with the house robot kept Spin Doctor on its wheels. Bulldog Breed then drove around Kat 3 and flipped Revenge of Trouble & Strife over, using Kat 3's jammed axe as a chock. Driving around Spin Doctor for a couple of seconds, Bulldog Breed went back to Revenge of Trouble & Strife and gave it a nudge as it had not self-righted. Bulldog Breed seemed like it was trying to flip Revenge of Trouble & Strife on to its wheels again but gave up and looked on as Refbot was about to count out the round robot out. Then, it slammed into Spin Doctor and flipped it into the Corner Patrol Zone and left it there at the peril of Sergeant Bash. The bulldog then flipped Kat 3 near the pit, nearly changing who was going to go out. After Revenge of Trouble & Strife was pitted and Spin Doctor was counted out, Bulldog Breed flicked Kat 3 into the pit. In the second round, its luck was gone, as it had an unfortunate draw up against the number 4 seeds Hypno-Disc, for the second time in two series. At the start of the battle, Bulldog Breed managed to flip Hypno-Disc. Hypno-Disc managed to retaliate with 2 hits, both hit the front. A couple more hits and Bulldog Breed was driving in circles. Dead Metal started to attack Bulldog Breed because it was near the Corner Patrol Zone but the Bulldog managed to flick Dead Metal off. There was an evident rip in the side of Bulldog Breed which possibly caused it to be immobilised. Hypno-Disc hit it again and Dead Metal tried to slice into the bulldog but again it flicked Dead Metal. Bulldog Breed was counted out from lack of mobility and "Cease" was called, eliminating Bulldog Breed from the competition, at such an early stage, considering its capability as a machine.

Extreme 2
Bulldog Breed was the star of the Extreme Series 2 Tag Team Terror competition, where it was teamed up with Robochicken. In the first round, they had an unfortunate draw as they were drawn up against the reigning Tag Team Terror champions, Pussycat and Diotoir. The battle started with a huge shock, Bulldog Breed flipped Pussycat several times in the air before soon sending it flying out of the arena. Diotoir then sluggishly came out of the corner, before being flipped right over itself by Bulldog Breed. Bulldog Breed then flipped Diotoir onto its back right by the flame pit, only then did Bulldog Breed retreat to the corner to let Robochicken to position the immobilised Diotoir onto the flame pit, to burn just one last time. This was then when the Refbot came in to count out Diotoir. This easily put Bulldog Breed and Robochicken through to the second round of the competition. In the Semi-Final round, Bulldog Breed and Robochicken were drawn up against newcomers to the televised show Lightning and previous Tag Team Terror finalists The Steel Avenger. Bulldog Breed had yet another bright start to a battle, as it threw Lightning over onto its back against the arena side wall, where Lightning could not self-right from. Bulldog Breed continued to flip it, propping it on the arena side wall, doing no more damage. The Steel Avenger ran in to free its team-mate, before Bulldog Breed attack Lightning again, leaving it on its back. Soon after, Growler ran up Bulldog Breed, who came very close to toppling the House Robot on several occasions. Bulldog Breed then flipped The Steel Avenger over onto the arena wall. Bulldog Breed continued to flip The Steel Avenger, whilst Lightning was counted out. However, it was Robochicken who ended the battle by immobilising The Steel Avenger by flipping it over right onto its back, from which The Steel Avenger couldn't self-right. The Steel Avenger was then counted out and Robochicken and Bulldog Breed were through to the Tag Team Terror Final. "And we look for hints in events like the Tag Team Terror for future UK and World Champions, and I'll tell you what, Bulldog Breed may go close in the future! They look terrific to me!"

- Jonathan Pearce

In the Grand Final, Bulldog Breed and Robochicken went up against what was considered as the best team for the competition, Hydra and Barbaric Response, although Bulldog Breed was still considered the best individual robot. Immediately, Bulldog Breed threw Hydra up and over, leaving Barbaric Response to come in and help its team-mate. However, Barbaric Response broke down, and Bulldog Breed flipped over Hydra once again to win the fight. Bulldog Breed had won the Tag Team Terror, alongside Robochicken, whom Bulldog Breed flipped over for amusement at the end.

Series 7
For the Seventh Wars, Bulldog Breed was seeded number 12 for the main competition, mainly due to its Tag Team Champion status as well as reaching two previous heat finals. In its first round battle, it was drawn up against University Challenge Semi-Finalists Infernal Contraption, and two newcomers in Mantis and Jabber. In this battle, the seeded machine started off very well, Bulldog Breed immediately targeted Infernal Contraption, and nearly got it out the arena, twice, after charging it into an unoccupied CPZ. Bulldog Breed then ran away and went for Mantis as Sergeant Bash closed in. Bulldog Breed tried to shunt Mantis around but got stuck underneath Mantis' lifting mechanism as Mantis was also lifting Jabber. Mantis then let go of Jabber and then engaged battle with Bulldog Breed. At one point, it reversed away after shoving Mantis into the pit release and what looked like a mesh-like piece of material fell out from underneath its flipper. It looked like Bulldog Breed were going to be disqualified from the wars for using a prohibited piece of material as it can get caught on spinners. The battle went to a judges' decision and the judges were given a while to decide about who had won and it was revealed that the mesh was not a weapon, it was used to protect Bulldog Breed's rams so it was given the benefit of the doubt allowing it to survive the judges' decision and go through along with Mantis. Next in Round 2, it faced the Belgian machine, Hard. Bulldog Breed flipped Hard into the arena wall but was then slammed itself by the counter-attack, however Hard then suddenly broke down. It was also counted out after Bulldog Breed tried, and failed, to get it out of the arena several times. Bulldog Breed's Heat Final saw it drawn against Kat 3, the third time that teams Press Gang and KaterKiller had been placed in the same heat. Kat 3 landed a few axe blows on Bulldog Breed's top cover (including one which grazed it, causing sparks to fly). Bulldog Breed managed to toss Kat 3 around the arena and even over the top of Sir Killalot. Both robots were still mobile at the end which resulted in a judges decision. After the judges examined the damage on Bulldog Breed's top from the axe attacks and ruling them as superficial damage, Bulldog Breed was awarded the win by the judges, and for the first time in their history, a place in the Series Semi-Finals.

Bulldog Breed was then drawn up against the Dutch machine Tough As Nails in the first round of the Semi-Finals, who were considered the favourites before the battle even began though the Bulldog was the seeded machine. The fight was very even with Bulldog Breed flipping Tough As Nails all over the arena and Tough As Nails dragging it across the flame pit. Tough As Nails tried its signature move on Bulldog Breed in grabbing it and trying to put it in the pit, but Bulldog Breed had good traction and held on. Bulldog Breed also nearly got Tough As Nails out the arena twice, and the fight then went to a judges decision as both were still mobile at the end. Bulldog Breed were declared the winner and went through to the next round. Fighting for a place in the Series 7 Grand-Final, Bulldog Breed met the newly improved and number 11 seeds X-Terminator. Bulldog Breed tried to get its flipper around the side of X-Terminator but couldn't because X-Terminator turned around so quickly that the flywheel hit the scoop front on and buckled it, severely hampering Bulldog Breed's ability to get underneath X-Terminator's already low ground clearance. X-Terminator began chewing lumps out of Bulldog Breed's armour. After several more bashes, Bulldog Breed found itself in the CPZ where it nearly went out the arena and lost a top panel. Much to the anger of Robert Somerfield, X-Terminator continued to hit Bulldog Breed and destroying it in its attempts to repeat the battle with Tsunami. Finally, Bulldog Breed was counted out and was eliminated from the Seventh Wars after such a promising series for the team. "Big Respect to Bulldog Breed, we have always felt bad for what we did to this robot, real heat of the moment stuff and not really realising how much damage we were inflicting while trying to fly them out of the arena. Since this fight I try and give other people's work a bit more respect. As a bit of Karma, Matilda did the same to us in﻿ the finals which cost me over 2 grand, so what goes around comes around."

- Marlon Pritchard on Youtube

For entering in 5 series of Robot Wars, Bulldog Breed was one of many robots that was hoped to enter in the Series 7 All Stars Tournament at the end of the series. However, the damage caused to the robot by X-Terminator in the Semi-Finals was too severe to be repaired in time, and Bulldog Breed was unable to compete.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 13
 * Losses: 5

Series Record

 * Series 1-2: Did not enter
 * Series 3: Heat, Round 1
 * Series 4: Heat Final
 * Series 5: Heat Final
 * Series 6: Heat, Round 2
 * Series 7: Semi-Finals, Round 2

Outside Robot Wars
In addition to Robot Wars, Bulldog Breed also took part in Techno Games under the guise of British Bulldog, and teamed up with Big Bro (Bigger Brother), despite knocking that team out of the Fourth Wars. The two robots entered the Football competition under the team name of Team BB. British Bulldog also competed in the assault course.

The Bulldog Breed team also considered returning to the British Heavyweight Championships event at the O2 in 2011, but did not go ahead with it. In May 2012, Bulldog Breed was sold onto Matthew Pearman of "Team Avenger". Matt had acquired and sold Grim Reaper so he buy S.M.I.D.S.Y. which he then sold to obtain Bulldog Breed. He planned on bringing Bulldog Breed back to fighting condition to compete on the live circuit again. Bulldog Breed returned to the live circuit by competing at the Robots Extreme Wars Live Guildford event in June 2012, yet lost in its two fights due to mechanical malfunction.

Trivia

 * Bulldog Breed and Team KaterKiller fought in the same heat of the main competition in the Third, Sixth and Seventh Wars. They also fell at the same stage in the Third and Sixth Wars, losing in the first round and heat semi-final respectively, even being in the same first-round melee in the Sixth Wars. The two met in the heat final of the Seventh Wars, with Bulldog Breed being the victor.
 * Bulldog Breed is one of just two robots to compete in both series of Extreme and be undefeated in both, the other being Typhoon, making Bulldog Breed the only heavyweight that achieved this.
 * Bulldog Breed is one of 11 robots to have fought in 5 or more series of Robot Wars, having fought in Series 3 through 7. It shares this pattern with S.M.I.D.S.Y., X-Terminator, Team KaterKiller, Team Big Brother, Team Ming, Team Scutterbots, and Thermidor 2.
 * Bulldog Breed always lost to a seeded machine in the main competition, except for Series 3, where seeds were not present.

Similarities with Atomic
Bulldog Breed had many similarities with fellow flipper, Atomic, including the following:
 * Bulldog Breed and Atomic both reached the heat final in Series 4, defeating a seeded robot in the second round, before falling to an eventual grand finalist in their heat finals.
 * Both robots won Mayhems in Robot Wars Extreme, but could not participate in the Annihilator due to suffering major damage from Hypno-Disc.
 * Both robots featured in Heat B of Series 5, where they defeated a robot that could not self-right by flipping it in the first round, eventually being immobilised by Hypno-Disc within the heat.
 * Additionally, had Atomic not been drawn to fight the other seeded robot in the heat, Hypno-Disc, in the second round, when battles would typically be structured so the two seeds would instead meet in the heat final, Bulldog Breed could potentially have fought Atomic.
 * Bulldog Breed and Atomic both reached the second round of the series semi-finals in Series 7, before being defeated by a robot with a rotating weapon.
 * Both robots' names were numbered in Robot Wars Extreme and Series 5, before dropping the numbers afterwards, despite still having their names on the side of the robot with numbers.