(Photo:UFC.com)

The weigh-ins took place this afternoon for the UFC Fight Night event that will be featured on SpikeTV tomorrow night.  The weigh-ins were somewhat uneventful with all fighters making their weight requirements and no real aggression beyond the obligatory staredowns for the press and the fans.

Alessio Sakara looked a bit weary in his appearance while there looked to be a bit of tension between Ed Herman and Alan Belcher - great stare-down anyway…

Houston Alexander also attempts to recover his UFC mystique after dropping 2 consecutive fights in the Octagon.  This time he will be playing the role of hometown hero.

The co-main event of Mac Danzig Vs. Clay Guida is sure to be a barn burner and the two fighters looked really pumped up for the fight as well, which is all you can ask for.

The event takes place at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska beginning at 8pm ET / PT on SpikeTV.

Check out the offical results below:

Josh Neer 155 VS Nate Diaz 155
Clay Guida 155 VS Mac Danzig 155
Alan Belcher 185 VS Ed Herman 185
Eric Schafer 205 VS Houston Alexander 205

Joe Vedepo 185 VS Alessio Sakara 185
Wilson Gouveia 185 VS Ryan Jensen 185
Kyle Bradley 155 VS Joe Lauzon 155
Jason Brilz 205 VS Brad Morris 205
Mike Massenzio 185 VS Drew McFedries 185
Dan Miller 185 VS Rob Kimmons 185

Check out Video highlights of the weigh-ins as well as a photo gallery for the bandwidth challenged.

 (Image: SpikeTV)

SpikeTV’sMMA reality hit, The Ultimate Fighter returns to action on Wednesday, Sept. 16th for an 8th season.  This season features former champ Frank Mir and current interim Heavyweight Champ Antonio Nogueira as the coaches for their respective teams and the two will face off after the season ends as per the usual model for the show.

That fight will be a semil final of sorts, as the winner will face the winner of the pending Randy Couture Vs. Brock Lesnar match in a unification fight. 

This season will focus on 16 fighters - 8 Heavyweight and 8 Light Heavyweight’s  that will be living together in the TUF house, but like last season, the cast will start with 32 men as each have to earn a spot in the house in a trial by fire fight.  The initial sudden death fight to make it into the house was a nice touch last season and it adds to the MMA value of the show.

Check out a sneak preview of the TUF 8 premier scheduled to air tomorrow night, courtesy of SpikeTV.com

As if that wasn’t good enough…. 

TUF 8 will be preceded by a”free” UFC Fight Night event that will air at 8pm EDT.  That Ultimate Fight Night 15 card is pretty good as well…

• Nate Diaz headlines the card, looking for a 5th straight UFC win over a very game and ultra experienced Josh Neer. 
• Clay Guida meets Mac Danzig in another very interesting Lightweight match-up that could be fight of the night.
• Houston Alexander looks to recover his UFC mystique in what could be a loser leaves match against Eric Schafer.
• Alan Belcher faces Ed Herman as he looks to recover from a lopsided loss to Jason Day at UFC 83. 
• Alessio Sakara, Wilson Gouveia, Drew McFedries and Joe Lauzon round out the card as well.    

(Image: Spike TV.com)

Spike TV  lives at the forefront of Mixed Martial Arts in terms of bringing the sport into living-rooms in North America.  Their 2005 partnership with Zuffa in bringing the pseudo “Contender’ reality show “The Ultimate Fighter” proved to be a success not just for the network, but a real springboard for the sport of MMA.   Dana White has been the first to admit the importance of the Finale of that first season, where Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar let it all hang out in an effort to secure the elusive 6 figure contract with the UFC.  Both fighters earned contracts that night and the popularity of the sport has been growing exponentially ever since.

Now we head into Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter and with this we move back to the old school formula of having 2 weight classes of fighters competing on the show.  This season will feature Lightweight and Light Heavyweight competitors, with each group of men looking to break into the MMA big leagues by getting the title of “The Ultimate Fighter” and the UFC backing that comes with it.  With the old comes the new, and the show will stick with last season;s successful formula of bringing in 16 fighters in each weight class and have the first few episodes focus on them as they pair off and fight just to make the final cut and earn a spot in the TUF 8  house.  

The coaches for this season of the show are not in either weight class, but are pure Heavyweights as current UFC Heavyweight Champion, Antonio Nogueira pits his team against that of former UFC Champ Frank Mir.

Let’s keep in mind that this is hardly an amateur competition, but a competition with opportunity for less well known fighters to step up to the big stage and show they can compete at an elite level.  With a keep it in the family approach, TUF 2 Champion, Rashad Evans’ brother Lance will be on the show, as will Jason Guida, brother of Lightweight fan favourite Clay Guida.

It looks like a really diverse cast and some familiar names for those who spend a lot of time watching all levels of MMA competition.  I think it will shape up to be a great season, although free MMA is always a great recipe for success on my TV.  The first episode will premier on September 17th @ 10pm EST on Spike TV

Check out teasers for the upcoming season   (Teaser 1 - Teaser 2)

The official list of TUF 8 Cast members is included below:

Read the rest of this entry »

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This is the night before the night before UFC77…. we have met a few folks from Cincinnati,? and some serious contenders from the UFC conglomarate….? Things are going great.?We met Houston Alexander and the Cincinnati masses.? On the way back from the bar, we met a stand out fan - Keith, who is a National Wheelchair Rugby?/ Murderball athelete? and we came to agreement on Jason MacDonald’s opportunity to pull out a huge win (in the first two rounds) over Yushim Okami.? If it gets to the third round, MacDonald is in trouble.

?To finalize our adventures for the first night in the sleepy Cincinnati, we busted a gut with Mark DellaGrotte and Mike Goldberg in the elevator over Bonnar’s chances to beat Eric Schafer.? Bottom Line? - Schafer in first two rounds.?? Third round advantage goes to Bonnar - for stand-up strategy without KO power.

Bottom line….? We stick with UFCFAN.CA picks and Houston Alexander is our new boy.

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?With the acquisition of Pride, the number and quality of fighters has increased by leaps and bounds in most weight classes, and will only improve as additional fighters are drawn into the mix.? That being said, it has never been above the UFC to use some punching bags to help fill a card.

Here are the top few fighters that I hope not to see in any future UFC events?ever, or at the very least, until they round out their game a bit more.?

?The recipients of the punching bag award are:

?Shonie Carter:? The Pimp suits and the speedos are way over the top.? If Mr. International?spent as much time on martial arts as he does on language arts… he could be a contender.?

Elvis Sinosic:? The UFCs favorite TUF star punching bag for sure.? The guy looks to have some talent and I give him credit for showing heart, but I can do without an encore performance from the “King of Rock and Rumble”

?Josh Haynes:? This guy was not really good on the TUF show and with an 0-3 record in the octagon, lets hope we have seen the end of this fighter until e gets some game.? To give some credit, he faced a few of my?favorite underdogs in Luke Cummo and Rory Singer, but a loss to Shonie Carter 2 years back pretty much sums it up for me.

?Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure these guys are among the toughest in their hometown, but when I am buying PPV or attending live events, I am looking for fights with entertainment potential.? On a high note, I guess cycling this level of fighter through the UFC for a 3 or 4 fight contract is a?necessary evil to get all of that great highlight footage.