MMA is gradually drawing some serious attention and now-a-days its fan following is gradually increasing. The current TRP of UFC televised programs is a genuine proof of the popularity of this form of sport. Last Wednesday, the two-hour episode of “TUF 12” gained a strong 1.3 rating with an average audience of 1.7 million viewers. The statistics is officially confirmed by Spike TV.

This was episode no 11 of “TUF 12” and the rating fell just short of the season high record of 1.9 million viewers. UFC gained this rating only in the last couple of episodes prior to this one. The televised episode of last Wednesday saw the booking of “TUF 12” Finale when Michael Johnson won over Nam Phan in a split-decision win. Jonathan Brookins, on the other hand, managed a unanimous-decision victory over Kyle Watson, a popular MMA blogger.

“The Ultimate Fighter 12” Finale will be aired on Spike TV live on Saturday.

The final fight card for Saturday’s TUF 12 Finale is now officially ready. There had been some recent inclusions to the card which includes a bout between Jonathan Brookins and Michael Johnson to determine “The Ultimate Fighter” 12 champion. There is also another match that has been booked between Nam Phan and Leonard Garcia for the featherweight bout.

This event is scheduled to take place at The Pearl located at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The main card of this event will be aired on Spike TV. In the televised event, TUF 12 Finale is headlined with a match of light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar against Igor Pokrajac. Two other matches, a middleweight fight between Demian Maia and Kendall Grove and a welterweight bout between Johny Hendricks and Rick Story, are also scheduled to be aired.

The TV broadcast may include some six-fight preliminary card if time permits which includes “TUF 12” cast members like Cody McKenzie, Sako Chivitchian and Aaron Wilkinson. But Alex Caceres, a notable performer, is not performing in the “TUF 12” Finale. Some sources say he was scheduled to meet Phan but was forced to step down due to a late injury. He, will, however, fight for UFC in future. The full line-up for “TUF 12” Finale is as follows:

MAIN CARD

* Stephan Bonnar vs. Igor Pokrajac

* Jonathan Brookins vs. Michael Johnson (“TUF 12″ championship)

* Kendall Grove vs. Demian Maia

* Rick Story vs. Johny Hendricks

* Leonard Garcia vs. Nam Phan

PRELIMINARY CARD

* Rich Attonito vs. Dave Branch

* Pablo Garza vs. Fredson Paixao

* Will Campuzano vs. Nick Pace

* Kyle Watson vs. Sako Chivitchian

* Ian Loveland vs. Tyler Toner

* Cody McKenzie vs. Aaron Wilkinson

Paul Heyman, the legendary ECW promoter, has opted MMA ahead of professional wrestling! The news may sound strange but it’s true. It has now been confirmed that Mixed Martial Arts is going to be Heyman’s next destination.

But Paul was having other options as well. WWE never had any doubt about his creative edge; it was only his self-esteem and pride that kept him away from arguably the biggest professional wrestling promotion today.  Recently he was also offered a “Giant deal” from TNA and the wrestling fans thought its only time that he accepts that offer. But Paul rejected the offer as TNA officials couldn’t agree with his vision.

Paul had a five year plan; He wanted to spend first 18 months to build the TNA roaster freshly and for the next 18 months, he wanted to exploit that new roaster. The next two years, he believed, he would have enjoyed the success that new TNA setup would have brought. But TNA was not impressed with his vision and he was not happy to be just another valuable member of TNA family. Paul believes the market of wrestling is gradually shrinking; so he wanted to present wrestling in a completely new package that could compete in today’s market. After the negotiation with TNA broke down, Paul wants to move to MMA and his close friend Brock Lesnar in UFC maybe a big influence.  Heyman also runs a production company along with Mitchell Stuart and has also started the second season of “The Heyman Hustle”.

“Strikeforce Challengers 10” event faces a considerable setback as one of their projected bouts is at stake. The promotion had set up a tournament with four women of 135 pound category. But one of the fighters, veteran Brazilian fighter Carina Damm has not been able to secure a work visa yet to enter the country.

The event is headlined with a 182 pound catchweight bout between Louis Taylor and veteran Jorge Riggs. The news is being confirmed by the Strikeforce officials late Wednesday night. Mike Afromowitz, the Strikeforce Director of Communications believes with only a little more than two weeks in hand; Damm can still manage to fight her scheduled opponents Maiju Kujala, Hitomi Akano and Miesha Tate. But if she fails to show up, Strikeforce officials are ready with a replacement.  Damm is the sister of Strikeforce and ‘BodogFIGHT ‘veteran Rodrigo Damm. She is unbeaten since December 2006 and her last fight was against Aline Serio at Jungle Fight 17 where Damm won by first-round TKO.

“Strikeforce Challengers 10” will take place on 13th August, 2010 at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix Arizona. The officials are working diligently to help Damm secure a visa in time. They are confident that the problem will soon be resolved and the scheduled bout will remain intact.

Recently, the wrestling fans re-discovered the ‘bare-all’ self of legendry wrestler Ric Flair as the “Nature Boy” was interviewed by The Mirror, one of the leading newspapers in UK. In this interview, Flair expressed his views on WWE, wrestling, TNA, his co-wrestlers over the years and many more. But his most significant comments during this interview were on MMA. This form of sports in gradually drawing a lot of attention across the world and many people believe that the wrestling promotions are suffering from the rise of this game.

But Flair seemed less worried about the popularity of MMA. He believes it is no match to WWE or TNA. He said that in spite of the fact that many wrestling fans also love to watch MMA, wrestling will never lose its business. Flair didn’t forget to convey his deepest respects for the phenomenal athletes in MMA but said, those guys are all about trying their best to kill each other. Wrestling, he states, is more entertainment-based. So the fans can find a lot more there than mere bloodshed. The excessive physicality in MMA cuts the career of those fighters short. But in wrestling, the performers don’t injure their opponents intentionally; so they tend to have a longer career. Flair said, “In wrestling a guy that develops a name for himself can do it fifteen years.”

In this interview, Flair also said TNA gave him the liberty to become “Rick Flair” again. In fact, he says after being a TNA member, he’s “the happiest” he had been since 1986. The hints clearly suggested his bitter relationship with the WWE and its policies during his last few days in WWE and Flair believes TNA has all that it takes to become a bigger and better wrestling promotion.

May 28, 2010 will remain as another special day in the history of MMA as the second ever UFC Fan Expo kicked off at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. The inauguration day saw the unveiling of the wax figure of Chuck Liddell, a globally acclaimed MMA legend and UFC Hall of Famer. In fact, Liddell is the first ever MMA personality who earned the honor of making it to the legendary wax museum of Madame Tussauds.

The wax museum of Tussauds is based in London, England. But the museum has a branch at The Venetian Hotel Casino and the figurine will be on display there. The wax figurine was on display only for 25 minutes and was later transported to the Madame Tussauds museum in Vegas. The museum officials confirmed that the sculpture costs approximately a stunning amount of $300,000! It will be kept for display in a UFC octagon inside the museum.

The 40 year old MMA legend has earned an UFC Hall of Fame in 2009. In the figurine, Liddell stands in a celebratory post and wears a UFC Championship belt. The legendary fighter will first see this idol at a special VIP ceremony in July. He is currently working as a coach on the “TUF 11”. Choosing Liddell as the first representative of MMA in the Tussauds was not a surprise at all. His legendary title run in the “Light-Heavyweight” division is still an unbeaten record and “The Iceman” is still one of the most respected and popular fighters in the sport.

The speculations are now proved to be true. UFC has now officially declared a middleweight matchup between John Salter and the returning UFC veteran Jason MacDonald for the upcoming UFC 113. MacDonald was not scheduled for the match from the beginning; he is a late replacement for David Loiseau who was forced off the card recently due to a delay in getting the license. In fact, Loiseau himself was not the first choice for the match either; he replaced Nick Catone as he was forced to stay away from the ring due to his back injury.

UFC 113 is taking place in Montreal, Canada on May 8, 2010. No wonder this event is heavy on Canadian fighters. This is UFC’s third venture in Canada and the previous two cards, in Vancouver and British Columbia, were a huge success in the history of MMA. MacDonald is an accomplished performer in UFC and has won three “Submission of the Night and one “Knockout of the Night” award already in his ten appearances. Salter, on the other hand, has lost in his octagon debut against Gerald Harris at UFC Fight Night 20. The official UFC 113 matches are:

MAIN CARD

• Alan Belcher vs. Patrick Cote
• Champ Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (Light Heavyweight Title)
• Jeremy Stephens vs. Sam Stout
• Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson vs. Matt Mitrione
• Paul Daley vs. Josh Koscheck

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Jason MacDonald vs. John Salter
• Joe Doerksen vs. Tom Lawlor
• Joey Beltran vs. Tim Hague
• Marcus Davis vs. Jonathan Goulet
• Mike Guymon vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
• T.J. Grant vs. Johny Hendricks

How many of you have dreamt of being an MMA fighter? Now Bellator Fighting Championship brings you an opportunity of a lifetime. They are hitting the roads again to find out the next big MMA talent! This promotion is relatively new in the block but has drawn some serious attention with their selection of roaster, high quality matches and innovative ideas. This Chicago based promotion has now decided to arrange an open tryout in Boston on May 4, 2010. This effort is to secure new talents for their third season showdown that will take place at the end of 2010.

This open tryout invites fighters of all weight classes and both male and female participants are welcome to attend the event. It is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET at the famous Sityodtong Academy in Somerville, Massachusetts. The fighters are requested to register at least one hour prior to the session and they should also bring their gloves, protective gear and Federal MMA ID.  This open tryout is scheduled only a couple of days prior to the promotion’s latest event, Bellator 17 at Boston’s Wang Theatre. The Bellator officials will pick one winner from here who will earn the opportunity to fight a local featured fight during Bellator Season 3 taking place in August, September or October.

Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said their last two tryouts in South Florida and Kansas City helped them discover some great talents like Tyler Stinson and Bryan Goldsby; he believes this one will also prove to be a rewarding one. In fact, Stinson, the winner of such a tryout slot earlier this year, had earned himself an opportunity to enter the Welterweight tournament bout in Bellator 15 as the pre-scheduled competitor Sean Pierson was forced to withdraw from the event.

A couple of weeks back, the Strikeforce officials announced their plan to put up a mid-week fight card in Los Angeles. The announcement caught everybody’s attention as such show ups are quite rare in MMA industry.  However, the officials announced three competitors for this event. Fans can see Bobby Lashley, Robbie Lawler and K.J. Noons in action at “Strikeforce: Los Angeles” which will take place on June 16 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.

The pre-sale tickets of the event are available from April 29, 2010 and the public on sale date is scheduled for May 1, 2010. The Nokia Theatre is a popular venue for award functions and music acts. This event is believed to promote Electronic Arts’ MMA-based video game called EA Sports MMA. In this new game, Strikeforce has acquired a special place as the ‘premier league’ where the fighters compete. This game is set to be released in late 2010 and the experts believe it will be a serious competitor to the already released ‘UFC Undisputed’ franchise launched by THQ and UFC last year.

This will be Lashley’s second appearance under Strikeforce banner. This former WEE star made his debut in January and defeated out-of-shape Wes Sims in the very first round of the match. Fans will also keep an eye on Robbie Lawler as it will be his return to the Strikeforce cage after the first round knock-out win over Melvin Manheof in January’s “Strikeforce: Miami”. This event will experience the debut of K.J. Noons, the first and only EliteXC Lightweight Champion. The opponents of these there Strikeforce superstars are not revealed yet.

It seems that UFC’s first ever venture in Australia has been a pretty successful one. New South Wales Combat Sports Authority, the commission in charge of regulating UFC 110 this past weekend will soon release the complete list of medical suspensions from the brand’s accomplishments in Australia. UFC, however, has already confirmed the current status of Wanderlei Silva, one of the high-profile fighters in the company.

Marc Ratner, the Vice-President of UFC’s Regulatory Affairs, has recently declared in an interview that Wanderlei Silva, the champion of the newly created Middleweight category will be able to return to the ring after a suspension of 30 days. Silva was previously scheduled to face Akiyama at UFC 110 until UFC booked Michael Bisping for the same match. UFC president Dana White recently hinted that Akiyama may get a chance to try his hand on Silva soon. He stated that Akiyama wants to fight Silva badly and something may pop-up after Silva recovers from the injury. But White wasn’t sure whether Silva can become match-fit again in mere 30 days time. But it seems White would love to see a match between these two big fighters of his brand. Silva’s 30 day suspension includes a 21 day order to refrain from contract in training. But Silva has almost 3 months in hand to prepare himself for a fight against Akiyama.