The Ultimate Fighter debuted last night on FX. The participants that advanced to compete on the show are:

Team Jon Jones:
Dylan Andrews (New Zealand; 16-4-1)
Adam Cella (Missouri; 4-0)
Collin Hart (California; 4-1-1)
Clint Hester (Georgia; 7-3)
Robert "Bubba" McDaniel (Texas; 20-6)
Gilbert Smith (Colorado; 5-1)

Team Chael Sonnen:
Luke Barnatt (England; 5-0)
Kevin Casey (California; 5-2)
Zak Cummings (Missouri; 15-3)
Kevin Gastelum (Arizona; 5-0)
Uriah Hall (New York; 7-2)
Jimmy Quinlan (Massachusetts; 3-0)
Tor Treung (Sweden; 15-4-1)

The production values of this show are beyond anything seen in prior seasons. Zuffa is using a new production company and it really shows. Very well done. If you've never caught this show, or haven't watched it in a long time, check it out going forward on FX on Tuesday nights from 9:00 - 10:00 PM. Next week's matchup is: Luke Barnatt (England; 5-0) vs. Gilbert Smith (Colorado; 5-1)

This may have been previously covered in the thread, so sorry if it has but I have a question:
How does Frankie Edgar get a shot at Jose Aldo when he just dropped into this weight class and is coming off a 1 win, 2 loss, 1 tie last four fights?
I thought Edgar was a fill in for Koch, now Koch and Aldo are healthy and Edgar still gets the fight? Maybe Edgar is a bigger name, but this was supposed to be Koch's shot to begin with.

dunlow66 wrote: This may have been previously covered in the thread, so sorry if it has but I have a question:
How does Frankie Edgar get a shot at Jose Aldo when he just dropped into this weight class and is coming off a 1 win, 2 loss, 1 tie last four fights?
I thought Edgar was a fill in for Koch, now Koch and Aldo are healthy and Edgar still gets the fight? Maybe Edgar is a bigger name, but this was supposed to be Koch's shot to begin with.

You're correct about the scenario. I would like to see Koch get the shot as well instead of this fight on FOX Saturday night. It was a business decision more than likely. It's sellable because most of the public views Edgar as a solid champion (which he was) at 155 lbs. He lost two very competitive decision to Henderson. The consensus was that he was always fighting over his natural weight class (he wrestled at 141 in college). Given that, it's really amazing that he was able to ascend to the highest level of the sport at lightweight. I do have to admit that I'm intrigued as to how Frankie might do at 145 lbs. I think we're going to see a decent fight on the 2nd.

The UFC event on FX last Saturday night featuring Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping did outstanding numbers on television, averaging 1.9 million viewers over the course of the two hour event.

slickrick00 wrote:

dunlow66 wrote: This may have been previously covered in the thread, so sorry if it has but I have a question:
How does Frankie Edgar get a shot at Jose Aldo when he just dropped into this weight class and is coming off a 1 win, 2 loss, 1 tie last four fights?
I thought Edgar was a fill in for Koch, now Koch and Aldo are healthy and Edgar still gets the fight? Maybe Edgar is a bigger name, but this was supposed to be Koch's shot to begin with.

You're correct about the scenario. I would like to see Koch get the shot as well instead of this fight on FOX Saturday night. It was a business decision more than likely. It's sellable because most of the public views Edgar as a solid champion (which he was) at 155 lbs. He lost two very competitive decision to Henderson. The consensus was that he was always fighting over his natural weight class (he wrestled at 141 in college). Given that, it's really amazing that he was able to ascend to the highest level of the sport at lightweight. I do have to admit that I'm intrigued as to how Frankie might do at 145 lbs. I think we're going to see a decent fight on the 2nd.

Both losses were highly competitive (with the draw being questionable) to the best lightweight in the world who recently crushed Nate Diaz and is leaps and bounds above the fghter he was when he lost to Pettis.

Zhuge1 wrote: Lots of good boxing this weekend.

ESPN2 returns with Friday Night Fights at 9pm.  The main event is former junior middlweight champion Sergei Dzindziruk (37-1-1) against Brian Vera (21-6).  Dzindziruk was on HBO his last two fights.  Last time he fought against Jonathan Gonzalez in a fight that was supposed to be at 154 pounds -- but Gonzalez came in almost 10 pounds over the limit.  Dzindziruk ended up taking the fight, but fought very cautiously and Gonzalez did very little.  The fight ended in a draw.  Prior to that Sergei fought for the middlweight championship against Sergio Martinez and ended up getting stopped in the 8th round.  Vera is coming off a huge win against former champion Sergio Mora (who also won the first season of The Contender).  The fight was a rematch of an earlier, controversial decision that Vera took over Mora.  Vera was featured in the third season of The Contender and has fought a number of known guys from 160 to 168.  In addition to the two wins against Mora, Vera is probably best known for a fight with Andy Lee where Lee absolutely dominated him for the first five rounds of their fight before Vera stormed back and managed to knock Lee out.  The guy is rugged and makes for very entertaining fights.

Also on Friday night, Showtime has a SHOBOX card at 11pm featuring Demetrius Andrade (18-0) and Freddy Hernandez (30-3).  Andrade is a former 2008 US Olympian who has been in with fairly light competition.  His only steps up have been against journeymen who were past their prime by the time he fought them.  Hernandez is 33 and is a former contender who challenged Andre Berto for the welterweight title.  He was stopped in the first round, but rebounded by winning a decision over former champ Luis Collazo.  Last time out he dropped a decision to Erislandy Lara in a snoozer.

Showtime also has a live card Saturday night at 10 (with preliminary fights on Showtime Extreme starting at 8).  The main event is Lucas Matthyse (32-2) against Mike Dallas Jr. (19-2-1) for an interim title at 140 pounds.  Matthyse is an exciting fighter whose only two losses were very disputable split decision losses to Zab Judah and Devon Alexander.  He's beaten several former or current world champions having stopped Vivian Harris, DeMarcus Corley, and Humberto Soto (with also an impressive victory over Ajose Olusegun who was 30-0 when they fought).  Dallas is a solid boxer who was a big-time prospect at one time.  He's had mixed results when stepping up to better competition.  He's beaten Lanard Lane, Javier Castro, and Miguel Gonzalez who were all B level guys, but he's dropped fights to B+ guys like Josesito Lopez and Mauricio Herrera.

The co-feature is Selcuk Aydin (23-1) versus Jesus Soto-Karass (26-8-3) in a welterweight fight between two guys who like to fight.  Aydin is coming off his only career loss to Robert Guerrero (who is likely to fight Mayweather next) while Soto-Karass is coming off a loss to Marcos Maidana.  

The prelim fights on Showtime Extreme feature Jermell Charlo (19-0) taking a step up against Harry Joe Yorgey (25-1-1).  Charlo is a very good prospect who has been very well managed in his career -- he has been matched up very well throughout his career and has passed every test he's faced so far.  Yorgey challenged for a title (and lost to Alfredo Angulo in the process).  But, he did KO Ronald Hearns and defeated Jason LeHoullier in another upset.  He's now 35 and hasn't fought a real guy since Angulo stopped him.

agreed, lots of good fights this weekend!

The debut episode of "The Ultimate Fighter" this season averaged 1.5 million viewers, making it one of the highest rated shows on cable during the 8:00 - 10:00 timeslot. Going forward this season episodes will air from 9:00 - 10:00 PM. Great rating for them.

Really looking forward to King Mo's fight tonight on Bellator. Haven't seen him in action for a while

FYI - the HBO World Championship boxing card in New York City drew an attendance of 4,131 people for a $238,230 live gate.

For the Showtime card this Saturday, looks like Charlo-Yorgey will make the main Showtime telecast as a triple-header. The Showtime Extreme card will feature Williams-Wiggins and Vargas-Terry.

Also, former champ Yuri Foreman (29-2) returned from a long layoff with a win last night against a journeyman opponent on a club show.

King Mo knocked the dude out, I enjoyed it.

Results from last night's Bellator event on SPIKE TV:

- 170 lbs.- Ben Askren (Wisconsin; 11-0)def. Karl Amassou (France; 16-5-2) by TKO in the 3rd (Doctor stoppage)
- 205 lbs.- Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (Tennessee; 9-1) def. Przemyslaw Mysiala (Poland; 16-8) by TKO in the 1st
- 170 lbs.- Douglas Lima (Brazil; 21-5) def. Michail Tsarev (Russia; 20-4) by TKO in the 2nd
- 170 lbs.- Ben Saunders (Florida; 15-5-2) def. Koffi Adzitso (Togo; 18-10) by Unanimous Decision

Fun with television ratings:

- Last Saturday's HBO World Championship Boxing event averaged a little over 700,000 viewers over the two and a half hour event.

- Thursday's Bellator MMA event on SPIKE TV averaged 812,000 viewers over the two hour event.

For boxing enthusiasts, there's another boxing card on this weekend I missed. Azteca America/TV Azteca has a couple of fights on Saturday night starting at 10pm. The main event is Jorge Paez Jr. (33-4-1) against Francisco Fuentes (16-3) at welterweight. Paez has never really attained the success level of his famous father, and he looked more suspect than prospect early on. I remember watching him get knocked out against a journeyman fighter on Telefutura a few years ago. Most of his losses were against non-descript/journeyman level fighters. But, over the past couple of years, he's started to get his career on track and has beaten former champ Jose Luis Castillo and Omar Chavez twice. Castillo is certainly past his prime, but Chavez is the son of Julio Caesar Chavez and was thought at one time to be a more serious prospect than Julio Jr. Fuentes is a young Columbian fighter on a four fight win streak including a win over long-time contender Oscar Leon. The co-feature is a super flyweight fight between Felipe Orucuta (26-1) and Fernando Lumacad (27-5-3).

Here is an interview with Jon Jones number one pick from TUF Clint Hester. Around the 1:03:25 mark.

UFC president Dana White confirmed on Thursday that if Dan Henderson can get past Lyoto Machida at UFC 157 in February, he will indeed get the next shot at Jon Jones later this year.

“If Henderson beats Machida, Henderson will get the next shot,” White said when speaking to media after the UFC on Fox 6 press conference ended.

Rampage loses in probably his last fight in UFC. He's a legend, I hope he goes to Bellator, I'd love to see him and King Mo fight.

Well so much for the main event on Showtime tonight.  That was a heck of a first round knockout.

Results from last night's event in Chicago on FOX:

- 125 lbs.- Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson (Kentucky; 17-2-1) def. John "The Magician" Dodson (New Mexico; 15-6) by Unanimous Decision
- 205 lbs.- Glover Texeira (Brazil; 20-2) def. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (Tennessee; 32-11) by Unanimous Decision
- 155 lbs.- Anthony "Showtime" Pettis (Wisconsin; 16-2) def. Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone (Colorado; 19-5) by KO in the 2nd
- 145 lbs.- Ricardo Lamas (Illinois; 13-2) def. Erik Koch (Iowa; 13-2) by TKO in the 2nd

Prelims on FX:
- 145 lbs.- Clay "The Carpenter" Guida (Illinois; Clay Guida; 30-13) def. Hatsu Hioki (Japan; 26-6-2) by Split Decision
- 155 lbs.- T.J. Grant (Canada; 20-5) def. Matt Wiman (Colorado; 15-7) by KO in the 1st
- 205 lbs.- Ryan Bader (Arizona; 16-3) def. Vladimir Matyushenko (Belarus; 26-7) by Submission in the 1st
- 170 lbs.- Pascal "Panzer" Krauss (Germany; 11-1) def. Mike Stumpf (Illinois; 11-4) by Unanimous Decision
- 170 lbs.- David Mitchell (California; 12-2) def. Simeon Thoreson (Norway; 17-4-1) by Unanimous Decision
- HWT - Shawn Jordan (Louisiana; 14-4) def. Michael Russow (Illinois; 15-3) by TKO in the 2nd

Attendance for last night's UFC on FOX event as 16,091 for a live gate of $1.27 million.

Boxing results from last night at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on SHOWTIME:

- 140 lbs.- Lucas Mathysse (Argentina; 33-2) def. Mike Dallas (California; 19-3-1) by KO in the 1st
- 154 lbs.- Jesus Soto Karass (Mexico; 27-8-3) def. Selcuk Aydin (Turkey; 23-2) by Majority Decision
- 154 lbs.- Jermell Charlo (Texas; 20-0) def. Harry Yorgey (Pennsylvania; 25-2-1) by TKO in the 8th

Results from Friday night:

From Verona, New York on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights:

Two upsets as Brian Vera (22-6) stopped former champion Sergei Dzindziruk (37-2-1) in the 10th round. Vera dominated the fight and put Dzindziruk down twice in the first round and once in the 10th.
Also, Jose Hernandez (14-6-1) upset prospect Tony Luis (15-1) by 8th round knockout in a very entertaining fight.

From Huntington, New York on Showtime's SHOBOX series:
Demetrius Andrade (19-0) got the best win of his career winning a unanimous decision over Freddy Hernandez (30-4). All three judges scored the fight 100-89. Andrade put Hernandez down in the 6th.
Also, Emmanuel Taylor (16-1) stopped Raymond Serrano (18-2) in the 6th round.

Undercard results from Saturday's Showtime card:
Televised on Showtime Extreme:
2012 Olympian Errol Spence (2-0) defeated a woeful Nathan Butcher (0-2) by first round knockout
Francisco Vargas (15-0-1) stopped Ira Terry (26-11) in the 2nd round.
Julian Williams (11-0-1) stopped Jeremiah Wiggins (10-2-1) in the 7th round.

Other notable fights on the card:
Jermall Charlo (11-0), twin brother of Jermell, stopped Josh Williams (8-5) in the 5th.
Chad Bennett (31-4-3) stopped Ben Ankrah (17-12) in the 3rd round.

Pettis vs. Henderson for the lightweight title is a no brainer at this point.

Final viewership totals won't be known until Tuesday morning probably, but the UFC on FOX event last night did very well. Of the four major networks FOX easily finished first in the most coveted demographic by advertisers (adults 18-49). It finished second in overall viewership average. Very nice showing.

Boxing results from Michoacan, Mexico (televised by Azteca America) on Saturday night:

Jorge Paez Jr. (34-4-1) stopped Francisco Fuentes (16-3) in the 9th round. Paez started off the fight quite slowly -- I think he lost all of the first three rounds. But, in the sixth round he landed a very solid body shot that Fuentes never really recovered from. Fuentes was down twice in the 6th and again in the 9th.

Also, Felipe Orucuta (27-1) landed a perfect left hook to the temple of Fernando Lumacad (27-6-3)in the first round.

And, Francisco Rodriguez (10-1) got the biggest win of his career when he stopped former interim WBO minimumweight champ Manuel "Chango" Vargas (33-11) in the third round.

Also, from Chihuahua, Mexico, former light flyweight and super flyweight champion Hugo Cazares (38-7) won his second fight at super bantamweight by defeating Ray Perez (17-3).

UFC event this Saturday, February 2nd, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV on Pay-Per-View (top ten world ranked fighters indicated in bold):

- 145 lbs.- Jose "Junior" Aldo (Brazil; 21-1) vs. Frankie "The Answer" Edgar (New Jersey; 14-3-1) *World featherweight title fight
- 205 lbs.- "Sugar" Rashad Evans (New York; 22-2-1) vs. Antonio Rodrigo "Minotoro" Nogueira (Brazil; 20-5)
- HWT - Alistair Overeem (Netherlands; 36-11-1) vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (Brazil; 17-4)
- 170 lbs.- Jon Fitch (Indiana; 27-4-1) vs. Demian Maia (Brazil; 17-4)
- 125 lbs.- Joseph Benavidez (Texas; 16-3) vs. Ian McCall (California; 11-3-1)

Prelims free on FX:
- 155 lbs.- Evan Dunham (Oregon; 13-3) vs. Gleison Tibau (Brazil; 35-8)
- 170 lbs.- Tyron "The Chosen One" Woodley (Missouri; 10-1) vs. Jay Hieron (New York; 23-6)
- 135 lbs.- Dustin Kimura (Hawaii; 9-0) vs. Chico Camus (California; 12-3)
- 135 lbs.- Edwin "El Feroz" Figueroa (Texas; 9-1) vs. Francisco Rivera (8-2)
- 155 lbs.- Jacob Volkmann (Minnesota; 15-3) vs. Bobby Green (California; 19-5)
- 155 lbs.- Yves Edwards (Texas; 42-18-1) vs. Issac Vallie-Flagg (New Mexico; 13-3-1)

Rashard Evans hints that he may just drop a weight class after this fight and go after Silva, would love to see that fight!

dunlow66 wrote: Rashard Evans hints that he may just drop a weight class after this fight and go after Silva, would love to see that fight!

lol wow, he's crazy. he couldn't handle Jon Jones' speed, how the world does he think he can handle Silva?

Final numbers are in: UFC on FOX last Saturday night averaged 4.2 million viewers and peaked at 5.2 million during the main event. It finished first in Adults 18-49, the most coveted demographic by advertisers. Per Adweek.com, they sold out of ad space for this one and had some new companies sign up to run ads.

slickrick00 wrote: Final numbers are in: UFC on FOX last Saturday night averaged 4.2 million viewers and peaked at 5.2 million during the main event. It finished first in Adults 18-49, the most coveted demographic by advertisers. Per Adweek.com, they sold out of ad space for this one and had some new companies sign up to run ads.

I can't really get in to MMA, but man, they do a great job of generating ratings it seems.

Result from tonight's episode of "The Ultimate Fighter" on FX: Luke Barnatt (U.K.; 5-0) def. Gilbert Smith (Colorado; 5-1)  by KO in the 2nd.

Uriah Hall (New York; 7-2) vs. Adam Cella (Missouri; 4-0) is the matchup on next week's show.

Rashad Evans done got him some Bernard Hopkins wisdom:  "It's easy, but if you make it difficult, it become hard."

wolfpack87 wrote:

dunlow66 wrote: Rashard Evans hints that he may just drop a weight class after this fight and go after Silva, would love to see that fight!

lol wow, he's crazy. he couldn't handle Jon Jones' speed, how the world does he think he can handle Silva?

Results from Australia:

- 160 lbs.- Daniel "Real Deal" Geale (Australia; 29-1) def. Anthony "The Man" Mundine (Australia; 44-5) by Unanimous Decision, avenging his only professional loss.

slickrick00 wrote: Results from Australia:

- 160 lbs.- Daniel "Real Deal" Geale (Australia; 29-1) def. Anthony "The Man" Mundine (Australia; 44-5) by Unanimous Decision, avengin his only professional loss.

yeah, Kimbo Slice had a 2nd round KO on that card too. Also heard Rampage Jackson is done with MMA but might try boxing next?

It's interesting, now there's a trend where ex boxers try MMA & MMA try boxing.

The second episode of this season's "The Ultimate Fighter" averaged 1,270,000 viewers over the two hour broadcast. It beat its only sports competition (College Basketball on ESPN) in Adults 18-49 years old).

BlackRazor wrote:

slickrick00 wrote: Results from Australia:

- 160 lbs.- Daniel "Real Deal" Geale (Australia; 29-1) def. Anthony "The Man" Mundine (Australia; 44-5) by Unanimous Decision, avengin his only professional loss.

yeah, Kimbo Slice had a 2nd round KO on that card too. Also heard Rampage Jackson is done with MMA but might try boxing next?

It's interesting, now there's a trend where ex boxers try MMA & MMA try boxing.

I saw the Kimbo fight. It had a crazy ending. The dude that was fighting Kimbo had him rocked in the first round up against the ropes but couldn't get the finish. Kimbo rocked him a couple times, but got the KO win on a monster punch to the ribcage, the other guy just couldn't get up, I'd like to know how many ribs it broke or what happened, he was in serious pain. 

I think MMA guys can have a lot more success in boxing than vice versa. James Toney got humiliated in his one and only fight. Though I would love to see a quick cat like Mayweather give it a shot and see what he could do.

slickrick00 wrote: Results from Australia:

- 160 lbs.- Daniel "Real Deal" Geale (Australia; 29-1) def. Anthony "The Man" Mundine (Australia; 44-5) by Unanimous Decision, avenging his only professional loss.

And to think -- they were trying to market Mundine as a possible opponent for Mayweather last year by bringing him to Vegas and having him fight ancient Bronco McKart in one of the worst selling PPVs of recent memory.

wolfpack87 wrote:

BlackRazor wrote:

slickrick00 wrote: Results from Australia:

- 160 lbs.- Daniel "Real Deal" Geale (Australia; 29-1) def. Anthony "The Man" Mundine (Australia; 44-5) by Unanimous Decision, avengin his only professional loss.

yeah, Kimbo Slice had a 2nd round KO on that card too. Also heard Rampage Jackson is done with MMA but might try boxing next?

It's interesting, now there's a trend where ex boxers try MMA & MMA try boxing.

I saw the Kimbo fight. It had a crazy ending. The dude that was fighting Kimbo had him rocked in the first round up against the ropes but couldn't get the finish. Kimbo rocked him a couple times, but got the KO win on a monster punch to the ribcage, the other guy just couldn't get up, I'd like to know how many ribs it broke or what happened, he was in serious pain. 

I think MMA guys can have a lot more success in boxing than vice versa. James Toney got humiliated in his one and only fight. Though I would love to see a quick cat like Mayweather give it a shot and see what he could do.

It will be interesting if some name MMA guys come over - they could bring fans & these combat sports are about making $ for the promoters & getting good TV ratings.

Per an announcement today, the UFC has signed a television deal with MNC Sports in Indonesia. MNC is the largest television network in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populated country. They will begin airing UFC content this February and a program to develop Indonesian talent is beginning immediately.

King Mo talks about his win on MMA Mayhem LINK 10:06 Mark