Mudhole Bullfrog

Mudhole Bullfrog
Participation Information
Unaired Events	Pro Championship 2009
Live	BattleBots Proving Ground
Team Information
Team	Team Wapu Kai
Team Members	Courson Cooper Garrett Cooper Aaron Nipper Jennifer Jakeman James Thurman Terry Cooper Gerald Cooper Russell Hubbard Jon Durand (BB Proving Ground)
From	Manassas Park, VA
Associated Robots	SubZero, Bounty Hunter, Total Anarchy (Jon Durand)
Robot Statistics
Weight	220lbs
Weapons	Vertical spinner
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Mudhole Bullfrog is a heavyweight robot built by Team Wapu Kai which competed in the 2009 BattleBots Pro Championship as well as BattleBots Proving Ground.

The team's first machine for this weight class - after years of experience competing on the North American live circuit - it was a two-wheel drive robot with an invertible design, armed with a thick tri-bladed vertical spinner. Mudhole Bullfrog's name derived from Garrett Cooper's hometown, Muldrow, Oklahoma.

Mudhole Bullfrog endured a difficult run in the 2009 Pro Championship, losing its opening fight to Megabyte and reportedly suffering issues with its weapon motor throughout the competition. However, it recovered in the loser's bracket with a bye and a knockout victory over Safety Factor, only to be eliminated by a further loss against Eugene.

Mudhole Bullfrog appeared at the BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon live show, fighting PinchPoint on the weekend of July 22-23, 2023 as part of BattleBots Proving Ground. It is a modernized build with two exposed wheels with green rims and a small, red vertical spinner at the front.

In July 2023, an updated CAD showed a taller, boxier chassis with weight-saving cutouts. Little else is known about the Team Wapu Kai robot's construction. Mudhole Bullfrog lost its first fight, but won its second by knockout.

Mudhole Bullfrog was signed up to compete again on the weekend of July 20-21, 2024, but time commitments led to the team withdrawing before an opponent was found.

Early CAD of the redesigned Mudhole Bullfrog.

Internal layout of Mudhole Bullfrog.

Robot History

Pro Championship 2009
Mudhole Bullfrog vs. Megabyte Mudhole Bullfrog faced a tough BattleBots debut in the opening round of the 2009 Pro Championship Winner's Bracket, where it would face Robotic Death Company and their experienced shell spinner Megabyte. Official BattleBots match records indicate that it lost by knockout after only 34 seconds, consigning Team Wapu's entry to the loser's bracket at this early stage.
Mudhole Bullfrog vs. Safety Factor Having received a bye to the second round of this bracket, Mudhole Bullfrog would next fight Backlash Robotics' drum spinner Safety Factor. Here, it would defeat Safety Factor by knockout in a 57-second match, enabling Mudhole Bullfrog to progress.
Mudhole Bullfrog vs. Eugene This recovery allowed Mudhole Bullfrog to face Team Moon and Eugene. However, it would only last 28 seconds before losing the match by knockout once again, eliminating Mudhole Bullfrog from the Pro Championship with a 1-2 match record.
BattleBots Proving Ground
Mudhole Bullfrog vs. PinchPoint (7/22/2023) Mudhole Bullfrog vs. PinchPoint as seen on the BattleBots website. Mudhole Bullfrog's BattleBots return came in BattleBots Proving Ground, where it took on PinchPoint. Mudhole Bullfrog gets the first hit in. In the first of its two fights, Mudhole Bullfrog charged at PinchPoint, who spun to show its wedgelets to the vertical spinner. Despite its best effort, Mudhole Bullfrog landed an early hit and warped PinchPoint's blades before pinning it against the screws. PinchPoint gets under the front of Mudhole Bullfrog. This attack appeared to disable Mudhole Bullfrog's disk, and the chain driving the lower of PinchPoint's twin blades also hung loose from the bot. PinchPoint used its rear wedgelets to get underneath Mudhole Bullfrog and drive it across the BattleBox and leaving it against the paddle. Mudhole Bullfrog is counted out. Mudhole Bullfrog was no longer moving less than a minute into the fight, and lost by knockout.
Mudhole Bullfrog vs. PinchPoint (7/23/2023) Mudhole Bullfrog returned to fight PinchPoint for a second time the following day. Mudhole Bullfrog immediately hunts PinchPoint down. When the match began, PinchPoint reversed to the center of the arena and turned to face Mudhole Bullfrog with its wedgelets. In doing so, it oversteered to the right, allowing Mudhole Bullfrog to capitalize by landing a direct shot to the right wheelguard and kicking it up on its side, disabling the right wheel. As Mudhole Bullfrog tried to follow up, PinchPoint squared up its wedgelets and kept the disk spinner at bay, before swinging around and nicking the left side of its plow in the process. PinchPoint spun back to defend with its wedgelets, but Mudhole Bullfrog was quick to exploit the opening, rushing in and scoring another hit to PinchPoint's right wheelguard, kicking it towards the Upper Deck's screws. Mudhole Bullfrog lands a critical hit. PinchPoint swiftly backed out and blocked a potential follow-up attack with its wedgelets. After Mudhole Bullfrog spun right around to separate, PinchPoint exploited the opening and landed a hit with its disks to the right wheel from the back. PinchPoint swung to the right to spin its disks back up, but as it did so, Mudhole Bullfrog maneuvered towards the disks and clashed weapon to weapon. This resulted in two minor hits followed by a third hit that kicked PinchPoint into the air and towards the screws, warping the dual disks and breaking apart the weapon chain in the process. Mudhole Bullfrog allows PinchPoint to be counted out. Before PinchPoint could react, Mudhole Bullfrog immediately followed up by dishing out another big hit to the right wheelguard, flipping PinchPoint onto its back on top of the deck screws. After sliding off, the inverted PinchPoint tried to reverse swing against the screws, but Mudhole Bullfrog moved in and inflicted two more major shots to the same wheelguard, immobilizing PinchPoint completely. Mudhole Bullfrog picked up the win by knockout, finishing the weekend 1-1.

Results

Competitive Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 2

Exhibition Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 1

Total Wins/Losses

• Wins: 2
• Losses: 3

Competition	Wins	Losses
Pro Championship 2009	Safety Factor	Megabyte Eugene
BattleBots Proving Ground	PinchPoint	PinchPoint