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–The CBS Strikeforce event did a 2.3 rating on the fast nationals from 9-11 p.m. It finished last among the four networks in the time slot and third among the four MMA events held on CBS. The Fedor fight started after 11 p.m., so isn’t included, so the rating should end up higher including the main event. CBS averages a 4.1 rating in that time slot. They did win the time slot in Males 18-49.

–Right after the show ended last night, in Google trends, Fedor vs. Brett Rogers was No. 3, Fedor himself was No. 19, Jason Miller was No. 21 and Jake Shields was No. 24. However, this morning, all were out of the top 40.

–Emelianenko suffered an injury to his left hand punching Rogers as well as a broken nose on the first punch of the fight.

–On the ESPN crawl this morning, they mentioned last night’s show, but only mentioned Jake Shields beat Mayhem Miller and never mentioned Fedor’s win. Amazing.

–The Chicago Sun Times had last night’s fights with the top banner with a photo and a big article today. (thanks to Matthew Schreiner)

–Newsday on page A73 (not on the web site) did a story noting between last night’s show, UFC 105 and the WEC show on Nov. 18 there are three big events that won’t cost you a penny. They said with those three shows and UFC 106 on PPV, they called it The November to Remember. That has a clever ring to it.

–Sportsnet in Canada will be airing UFC 105 live on Saturday night at 3 p.m. Eastern time as well as on tape delay at 8 p.m. Spike will only air it as a prime time special at 8 p.m. The Countdown show will be tomorrow night at 11 p.m.

–Actor Ed O’Neill (Al Bundy) is on the cover of today’s USA Weekend, the Sunday newspaper supplement in his BJJ garb and talks about his experiences with BJJ

–Action movie “Bad Guys” with Quinton Jackson in a main role comes out next week on DVD (thanks to Anthony Sullivan)

We get to see more of Kimbo Slice this episode. Slice seems to be the target of a lot of the mixed martial artists competing on the show. Fighting Slice will of course make any fighter a bigger name. A lot of guys don’t see Kimbo as a someone who should be there being a street fighter as opposed to a complete mixed martial artist like everyone else. Kimbo has a lot to prove, can this mean looking street-tough dude make it in the UFC big league? Does he truly have what it takes to be the Ultimate Fighter? Is the guy on TUF 10  purely because as a ratings draw? These questions will all be answered in due course, one thing is for certain Kimbo Slice’s story is one we all want to follow.

Roy Nelson the former IFL Heavyweight champion is most keen to fight the former Elite XC main eventer Kimbo Slice. Is he to be the hitman to take Slice out of the competition?

It is interesting how humble Kimbo comes across, willing to learn and improve his game. He knows where his strengths lie but the internet sensation is fully aware of the areas that need improvement.  On the other hand IFL veteran Nelson is less easy to coach, insisting he knows best already, not willing to listen to Rashad Evans and co.

Quinton Jackson picks the match-up, Brit striker James McSweeney to take on the mega tall NFL veteran Wes Shivers. Rashad is pleased with Rampage’s pick, James is one of his top prospects, a fellow team mate in Greg Jackson’s camp.

James McSweeney vs. Wes Shivers

Tough Brit James is not intimidated by NFL giant Shivers, he’s confident in his abilities despite the height disadvantage. Skill combined with experience pay off for James in overcoming the size and strength of American Shivers.

Big man Shivers gasses, he just doesn’t have the stamina. James impressed, showing good kicks and foot movement. Throughout the fight the highlight of this David and Goliath battle was hearing the emotion from Evans in James’ corner.  A decision win for McSweeney and two nil for Team Rashad.

Team Rashad 2 – 0 Team Rampage

Rashad as the coach with the control picks the next scrap, his man Roy Nelson facing off against the man we have all tuned in to see, street fighter Kimbo Slice. This pairing are the 2 highest profile names of this season of the Ultimate Fighter.

Don’t forget you can watch all the Aftemath videos at UFC.com

Watch The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Saturday nights on FIVE USA,  11pm in the UK on Freeview 31, Sky 174, Virgin Media 150 and Tiscali 30.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

by Dynamite Duane

MMA results, reviews, news, views, previews and pundit predictions!

 

Following the Quintion ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s defeat over Keith Jardine in the main event of UFC 96 it seemed to all be inked in that Rampage would challenge current unchallenged ‘Sugar’ Rashad Evans but no sir not this time Rampage. It seems fate has dealt a good hand for Lyoto Machida as he gets the huge opportunity of headlining UFC 98 as the challenger for the Light Heavyweight gold!

 

According to reports following UFC 96 Rampage discovered his jaw pain turned out to be torn ligaments. So Quinton will under go surgery plus five weeks of no contact. On top of all that Jackson also hyper extended his left elbow from fighting Jardine.

Rampage may have come out the victor looking pretty good but he received some nasty punishment from the Dean of Mean himself.

 

Lyoto being booked into the headline bout against Rashad keeps the scene fresh within the top of the UFC Light Heavyweight bracket. Lyoto deserves the shot and his fighting is interesting to watch. Machida is sure to have the backing of many fans in this upcoming confrontation, whereas Rashad is not the most liked of fighters despite an impressive list wins. Having beaten fan favourite Forrest Griffin does not endear him to the masses.

 

So what treats have Ultimate Fight fans got coming their way during April from the Zuffa brand?

 

Coming up in April will be UFC Fight Night 18 headlined by Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann, on Wednesday, April 1st live from Sommet Center in Nashville, TN.

 

The following night Thursday 2nd April is time for the premiere of every fight fans favourite reality TV show, yes you got it, it is TUF time! The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 pits the Brits against the Yanks, as Michael Bisping coaches the team representing the UK to rival Team USA coached by fellow UFC Middleweight competitor Dan ‘Hendo’ Henderson.

 

The series will be shown every week in the UK on Setanta Sports and Spike TV in the USA.

 

Check out the list below for the cast of The Ultimate Fighter Season 9:

 

U.S. welterweights

 

Ryan Biglar (2-1): Biglar, 24, is a jiu-jitsu fighter originally from Guam who represents the Cobra Kai in Las Vegas.

Ray Elbe (20-11): A Muay Thai fighter, the 25-year-old Elbe has spent the last three years working on his game in Phuket, Thailand. The most notable man he’s faced was Renato Verissimo, who knocked him out in 2003.

Christian Fulgium (6-2-1): A wrestler, Fulgium represents the Gladiator camp in Lafayette, La.

DaMarques Johnson (13-6): Johnson took up MMA training while in the military. Training out of Elite Performance in Salt Lake City, Johnson once faced former World Extreme Cagefighting welterweight champion Brock Larson, who submitted him in a 2005 bout.

Kevin Knabjian (10-3-1): A wrester from Eastern Illinois University, the same school that produced UFC star Matt Hughes, the one-time WEC fighter trains at Gilbert Grappling in Chicago.

Mark Miller (10-4): A Muay Thai fighter also based in Chicago, Miller trains at Dino Costeas MMA and Toro Muay Thai.

Jason Pierce (9-0): A one-time collegiate soccer player, Pierce trains with the vaunted Miletich Fighting Systems camp in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Kiel Reid (8-1): A native of Bettendorf, Reid also trains with Miletich, whose experience includes a 2004 fight against UFC veteran Luigi Fiorvanti.

 

U.S. lightweights

 

Paul Bird (4-1): A striker, Bird trains at Des Moines (Iowa) MMA. He has fought in the Midwest Cage Championships promotion.

Santino DeFranco (13-4): A wrestler and jiu-jitsu specialist, DeFranco has experienced fighting in the now-defunct International Fight League. He also helped coach Efrain Escudero, the TUF 8 winner.

Jason Dent (19-9): A submission specialist, Dent runs his own gym in Mentor, Ohio, at Griffon Brawl. He is a UFC veteran who has losses to Roger Huerta and Gleison Tibau.

Cameron Dollar (4-1): Dollar trains in Colorado Springs, Colo., and is a former teammate of TUF alums Cory Hill and Noah Thomas.

Tom Hayden (4-0): A submission fighter, Hayden is trained by popular UFC veteran Jorge Gurgel in West Chester, Ohio.

Waylon Lowe (5-2): Lowe, 28, also fights for Gurgel.

Josh Souder (7-2): A member of Team Prodigy, Souder has faced castmate Jason Dent in 2005, losing by TKO.

Richie Whitson (4-0): A native Alaskan who trains with Team Quest in Temecula, Calif., Whitson is a heavy-handed striker.

 

U.K. welterweights

 

Dean Amarasinghe (4-1): A grappler from Nottingham, England, Amarasinghe trains at Rough House Gym.

James Bateman (2-1): A striker, Bateman trains at Grimsby NHB in Grimsby, England.

David Faulkner (2-1): A member of the Wolfslair team that features U.K. coach Michael Bisping and UFC star Quinton Jackson, Faulkner is a submissions expert.

Tommy Maguire (5-2): The 20-year-old Maguire is a striker who works with the Tsunami Gym in Wisbech, England.

Che Mills (7-2): A tall welterweight at 6-foot-2, Mills works with ex-UFC fighter Mark Weir’s Range Fighting Gym.

Nicholas Osipczak (3-0): Osipczak trains in London with Pancrase UK. He’s finished all of his fights in the first round.

Alex Reid (10-9-1): Reid, 33, trains in London with the London Shoot Fighters. He’s faced notable opponents such as Murilo Rua, Tony Fryklund, Dave Menne and Jorge Rivera.

James Wilks (5-2): Trained by veteran Eric Paulson in Orange County, Calif., the 30-year-old Wilks is a striker.

 

U.K. lightweights

 

James Bryan (3-1): A striker, Bryan, 25, is from Somerset, England.

Dan James (3-0): A striker from Swansea, Wales, he’s finished two of his three pro bouts.

Gary Kelly (2-1): A striker, the 25-year-old Kelly trains alongside Bisping and Jackson at Wolfslair in Liverpool, England.

Jeff Lawson (13-2): A submission fighter with 12 finishes, Lawson trains with Team Bulldog in Dorset, England.

Ross Pearson (9-3): A striker, Pearson trains at Sunderland Jiu-Jitsu & MMA Club in Sunderland, England.

Martin Stapleton (5-1): A Muay Thai fighter, Stapleton is a product of Quannum Combat Arts.

A.J. Wenn (7-2): A well-rounded fighter from the Tsunami Gym, Wenn is from Cambs, England.

Andre Winner (9-2-1): Winner is a member of the Rough House team in London and is coming off a loss and a draw in his two fights prior to appearing on the show.

U.S. coach Dan Henderson: A two-time Olympic wrestler, Henderson is the only man to have simultaneously held two weight-class championships in PRIDE. He was the organization’s light heavyweight and middleweight champion and is one of the top fighters in the UFC.

 

U.K. coach Michael Bisping: Bisping was the light heavyweight winner on Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” He has gone on to become one of the world’s top middleweights. His only loss was a disputed decision to current UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans.

 

TUF season 9 info Sourced from MMAJunkie.com

 

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