Even though we already had the inside scoop, the UFC recently confirmed several bouts slated for the UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” under card at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on August 9.
Lightweights Frankie Edgar and Hermes Franca will go toe-to-toe as expected, as well as heavyweights Cheick Kongo and Dan Evensen. In addition, Chris Wilson will tangle with Steve Bruno in a solid welterweight scrap.
The battle between The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 170-pound contestants – Ben Saunders and Jared Rollins — has also been scratched from UFC 86 and will now take place at UFC 87.
Of course, “Seek and Destroy” features the 170-pound world title fight between UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre and number one contender, Jon Fitch. Lightweight Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta will also meet up in a 155-pound eliminator match to see who challenges BJ Penn next for his lightweight title.
And a Minnesota event wouldn’t be complete without its native MMA son, Brock Lesnar, who will look to get his first win inside the Octagon against the very dangerous and very experienced, Heath Herring.
To check out the most recent UFC 87 card and rumors click here. For UFC 87 ticket information click here … this is shaping up to be a great card.
There’s a welterweight fight brewing between The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 contestants, Ben Saunders (5-0-2) and Jared Rollins (6-4), for UFC 86: “Jackson vs. Griffin” at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 5, according to MMAWeekly.com.
Saunders will look to build on his unanimous decision win over Dan Barrera at TUF 6 Finale back in December 2007. He was eliminated during the quarterfinals of the mixed martial arts reality series when he ran into eventual finalist, the “Farm Boy” Tommy Speer.
Rollins, on the other hand, will attempt to bounce back after a thrilling technical knockout loss to Jon Koppenhaver at TUF 6 Finale. It was a back-and-forth, blood-soaked battle that was considered among the best inside the Octagon last year.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will defend his 205-pound title against Forrest Griffin during the UFC 86 main event of the evening. In addition, heavyweights Frank Mir and Justin McCully will hook ‘em up in another featured bout on the pay-per-view (PPV) broadcast.
To check out the rest of the developing UFC 86 fight card click here.
(Tyson Griffin could potentially settle his grudge with Nate Diaz in July. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly.)
— Ultimate Fighter 6 semi-standouts Ben Saunders and Jared Rollins will meet at UFC 86 (July 5th, Las Vegas). Saunders, who has been working out with the death squad at American Top Team, most recently defeated Dan Barrera via unanimous decision at the TUF6 finale last December, while Rollins suffered a third-round TKO loss during his “Fight of the Night” against Jon Koppenhaver on the same card.
— The TUF 7 finale card on June 21st is turning into a full-fledged Fight Night, with three fights booked (so far) that don’t involve the show’s castmembers. Besides the previously mentioned main event between Diego Sanchez and Luigi Fioravanti, Josh Burkman will take on Dustin Hazelett, and Marvin Eastman claims that he’s fighting fellow middling middleweight Drew McFedries; the match will be the last one on the Beastman’s UFC contract. Burkman vows to retire if his fight against Hazelett goes to a decision.
At least four American Top Team-trained fighters will compete on the UFC 86 card slated for July 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to a Web site posting from the South Florida-based mixed martial arts training camp.
Gleison Tibau (15-5), Cole Miller (13-3), Steve Bruno (11-3) and Ben Saunders (5-0-2) were all named in the report; however, opponents for each were not disclosed at this time.
Tibau just lost to Tyson Griffin at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” back in February; Miller was pounded out by Jeremy Stephens via technical knockout at UFC Fight Night 12 in January; Bruno will make his Octagon debut at lightweight; and Saunders outpointed Dan Barrera on all three judges scorecards at the TUF 6 Finale in December 2007.
UFC 86 will feature the fight between UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and number one contender, Forrest Griffin.
A new link on UFC.com (shown above) is soliciting applicants for the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter, which will apparently focus on the big boys and the wee ones. The link takes you to TUF’s standard application; the deadline is just two weeks from now, so if you’re actually thinking about giving it a shot, get movin’. Or just sit on your ass and let life pass you by, either way.
In other Octagon news…
— Jason “The Punisher” Lambert will likely be returning to the cage at UFC 85 (June 7th, London) against Luis Arthur Cane. Both men are coming off of losses — Lambert due to an out-of-nowhere comeback knockout at the fists of Wilson Gouveia at UFC 80, and Cane due to an illegal-knee disqualification loss against James Irvin at UFC 79.
— Lanky TUF 6 weirdo Ben Saunders may be returning to the Octagon at UFC 86 (July 5th, Las Vegas, headlined by Rampage vs. Forrest). Saunders is 5-0-2 professionally, and has been training with the murderer’s row at American Top Team.
— Speaking of ATT fighters, Marcus Aurelio may actually be facing UFC newbie Ryan Roberts at UFN 13 rather than Jim Miller. Spencer Fisher is definitely still injured.
MMAmania.com (www.mmamania.com) has received the fighter payouts for UFC The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 Finale from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for the event held on December 8 at The Palms Casino Resort
Clearly, it appears that all the TUF 6 contestants received the same deals ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win). Danzig, however, also earned a long-term “six-figure” contract for his win in the finals over Speer.
Here are all the TUF 6 Finale payouts:
Roger Huerta — $38,000 ($19,000 to show, $19,000 to win)
Clay Guida — $11,000 Huerta defeated defeated Guida via submission (rear naked choke) in round three
Mac Danzig — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Tommy Speer — $8,000 Danzig defeated Speer via submission (rear naked choke) in round one
Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Jared Rollins — $8,000 Koppenhaver defeated Rollins via technical knockout (strikes) in round three
George Sotiropoulos — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Billy Miles — $8,000 Sotiropoulos defeated Miles via submission (rear naked choke) in round one
Ben Saunders — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Dan Barrera — $8,000 Saunders defeated Barrera via unanimous decision
Troy “Rude Boy” Mandaloniz — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Richie Hightower — $8,000 Mandaloniz defeated Hightower via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
Matt Arroyo — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
John Kolosci — $8,000 Arroyo defeated Kolosci via submission (arm bar) in round one
Roman Mitichyan — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Dorian Price — $8,000 Mitichyan defeated Price via submission (ankle lock) in round one
Jonathan Goulet — $14,000 ($7,000 to show, $7,000 to win)
Paul Georgieff — $8,000 Goulet defeated Georgieff via submission (rear naked choke) in round one
Keep in mind the salaries listed above do not include fight bonuses, sponsorships, percentages and other unofficial payments. For example, fighters receive bonuses for “Submission of the Night,” “Fight of the Night,” and others.
The total base fighter payroll for UFC TUF 6 Finale was $239,000. For complete results and coverage of the SpikeTV special event click here and here.
Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute LIVE results and blow-by-blow coverage of UFC The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 Finale.
Quick results will begin to flow at MMAmania.com around 7:30 p.m. ET and LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the main card action is set for the SpikeTV broadcast that begins at 9 p.m. ET.
If you’re going to leave comments and discuss the fights with all the other MMAmania readers be sure to do it on the main TUF 6 Finale results post and not this one.
Clay Guida (155) vs. Roger Huerta (155)
Mac Danzig (168.5) vs. Tommy Speer (170)
Jared Rollins (169) vs. Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver (170)
George Sotiropoulos (169) vs. Billy Miles (170)
Ben Saunders (169) vs. Dan Barrera (170)
Troy “Rude Boy” Mandaloniz (170) vs. Richie Hightower (170)
Matt Arroyo (169) vs. John Kolosci (170)
Roman Mitichyan (170) vs. Dorian Price (170)
Paul Georgieff (170) vs. Jonathan Goulet (170)
The televised portion of the SpikeTV special begins Saturday, December 8, at 9 p.m. ET. We will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the main card action at this time.
TUF 6 Finale quick results, however, will begin to flow earlier than that here at UFCmania.com at about 7:30 p.m. ET with the prelim fights.
It’s going to be a fun night of FREE mixed martial arts action — see you all then!
Now that season six of UFC The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is a wrap we now know the match ups for the LIVE finale that is set for this Saturday, December 8 from The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, thanks to UFC.com.
The seminfinal show certainly had it’s share of twists, creating results that most viewers did not anticipate heading into the final week. Tommy knocking George out cold? Wow.
Anyway, here’s what we can expect this weekend:
Main Event:
Clay Guida (22-8) vs. Roger Huerta (19-1)
Main card (televised):
170 lbs.: Mac Danzig (16-4) vs. Tommy Speer (9-1)
170 lbs.: Jared Rollins (5-3) vs. John “War Machine” Koppenhaver (4-1)
170 lbs.: George Sotiropoulos (7-2) vs. Billy Miles (2-1)
170 lbs.: Ben Saunders (4-0-2) vs. Dan Barrera (0-0)
Under card (May not be broadcast):
170 lbs.: Troy “Rude Boy” Mandaloniz (2-1) vs. Richie Hightower (7-1)
170 lbs.: Matt Arroyo (2-1) vs. John Kolosci (8-4)
170 lbs.: Roman Mitichyan (3-1) vs. Dorian Price (7-2)
170 lbs.: Paul Georgieff (5-1) vs. Jonathan Goulet (19-9)
TUF 6 Finale airs for FREE on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET. Remember to join us for some LIVE coverage on fight night when the action starts right HERE. We’ll provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the main card action, as well as quick results of the prelim fights on Saturday evening.
It’s a great time to discuss the fights with other readers before, during and after showtime. Definitely check it out if you have some time.
In the meantime, hit up our TUF 6 and TUF 6 Finale archives for just about everything you need to get up to speed on the season and the SpikeTV special event.
At least four American Top Team-trained fighters will compete on the UFC 86 card slated for July 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to a 
