The second half of 2011 is shaping up rather quickly for the UFC. This past week alone saw Tito Ortiz added last minute to face Rashad Evans at UFC 133. We also saw the very quick formations of the UFC 137 and 137 lineups.

Today, the details on the “UFC on Versus 6” card started to trickle out. Versus is contracted for 4 shows throughout 2011 and this should be the final one. UFC’s official Twitter page  announced that welterweights Charlie Brenneman and Anthony Johnson will meet. Also, lightweights Mac Danzig and Matt Wiman will square off in their long-awaited rematch.

Heavy.com was the first to report that “UFC on Versus 6” will take place on October 1, 2011 from Washington DC. Many other sources, however, claim that the venue has not yet been finalized but will be in the coming weeks.

Brenneman (14-2) is coming off a story tale-esque victory in which defeated Rick Story at UFC Live 4 on June 26th despite taking the fight on only one days notice for Nate Marquardt. He is 3-1 in the UFC and 9-1 overall in his last 10 fights. A win over Johnson could put Brenneman in title-contention in the welterweight division.

Johnson (9-3) is returning to the octagon and looking to build momentum on his most recent decision victory over Dan Hardy at Ultimate Fight Night 24. In a little bit of irony, it was “Rumble” Johnson who was originally scheduled to face Nate Marquardt at UFC Live 4. Johnson eventually injured himself in training and was replaced by Rick Story. Johnson has battled knee injuries for much of the last two years, but is still 4-1 in his last five fights. His lone loss came at the hands of Josh Koscheck at UFC 106.

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Danzig/Wiman II will essentially be a do-over from their controversial finish at UFC 115 in Vancouver. In that fight, Wiman caught Danzig in a guillotine choke and began pleading with referee Yves Lavigne to stop the fight because Danzig was out. Danzig never tapped out or showed signs of being out, but Lavigne called the fight anyway. Immediately after the choke was let go, Danzig jumped to his feet and began to argue the call.

Danzig (20-8-1) bounced back from that fight to score a “Knockout of the Night” victory over Joe “Daddy” Stevenson at UFC 124. Wiman (13-6) is coming off another controversial fight which found him on the wrong end of a split decision loss to Dennis Siver at UFC 132. Wiman had hoped for a rematch with him, but that won’t be the case for now. Danzig/Wiman II was actually booked for UFC Fight Night 22, but both men ended up injured and off of the show.

As I mentioned above, “UFC on Versus 6” will be the fourth show on the network this year. The third show, “UFC on Versus 5”, takes place August 14th and will showcase Dan Hardy vs. Chris Lytle and Ben Henderson vs. Jim Miller.

Brett Clendaniel is the owner and managing editor of http://www.WrestleChat.net.

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Mixed Martial Arts as we know it has just taken a major, shocking change.

It was announced today the UFC parent-company Zuffa has purchased their main rival, Strikeforce.  Strikeforce officially becomes another name on the list of companies that went from being the competition to the UFC, to be owned by them.  PRIDE and World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) are the other names to add to the list.

What was expected to be a rather uneventful weekend in the world of MMA has instantly become one of the most historical days ever in a sport that, by all means, is still growing at an alarming rate.  The news was announced by Dana White in an exclusive interview with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani.  While the specifics have not been released on the deal, White simply called it a “good deal” for both sides.

What we do know initially is this; UFC and Strikeforce will continue to operate as separate brands for the foreseeable future.  All UFC contracted talent will continue to be obligated to their current UFC deals and the same holds true for all Strikeforce talents.  White made it clear that Strikeforce will continue to operate “business as usual.”  Strikeforce will remain with Showtime and White stated that it’s a relationship that has been prosperous for both Strikeforce and the sport.  White hopes that this relationship can continue getting stronger in the future.

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In another big piece of information, current Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker will remain with the company.  It is unknown what capacity it will be in, but the assumption is that Coker will immediately become the Strikeforce General Manager in the same capacity that Reed Harris did for the WEC when they were purchased by the UFC back in December 2006.  Harris continues to be employed by the UFC to date, even with the merger now complete.

The first question that will spring to mind for people first reading or hearing about this news will be, how long until we begin seeing some of these dream matches that people have been hoping to see for years now.  Just to name a few; Alistair Overeem/Cain Velasquez, Fedor/Lesnar?  Maybe even the Fedor/Couture match that Couture originally left the UFC to chase after years ago.  Nick Diaz vs. GSP?  Anderson Silva vs. Ronaldo Souza?

While MMA fans can dream, White immediately squashed all hopes of seeing those “superfights” any time in the near future.  White said that any “superfights” would not happen and that all current fighter contracts will remain intact.  It’ll be interesting to see where we are within a year when many Strikeforce fighters have their contracts expire.  Dan Henderson, for example, only has 1 fight remaining on his current Strikeforce deal.  While we won’t be seeing these dream matches until contracts are up, it was stated that any UFC or Strikeforce fighter will have the option of jumping to the other brand at the end of their contract.

Other questions that fans want to know include, will the UFC finally embrace woman’s MMA due to the purchase of Strikeforce?   What happens with Paul Daley?  It was at UFC 113 where Daley was dominated by Josh Koscheck for 3 rounds and then nailed Koscheck with a sucker punch after the fight was over.  In a post-match interview, Dana White immediately announced that Paul Daley would never fight again in the UFC due to his actions.  Somewhere, Paul Daley has to be wondering exactly how much longer he will have a job.  Daley is currently scheduled to face Nick Diaz for the Welterweight Title on April 9.

One must wonder if today’s news will be good for the business.  It seemed to work out OK with the UFC’s acquisition of PRIDE, but this one is slightly different.  The UFC and Strikeforce are, for the most part, the two most viable mixed-martial arts companies in the world.  Only Dream is just as recognized.  For fighters, this could mean that not having employment in the UFC or the UFC-owned Strikeforce could mean one less paycheck and possibly fighting for much less money or less exposure in other places.

This move comes nearly ten years to the day that a similar tactic took place in the world of professional wrestling when Vince McMahon purchased WCW from Ted Turner.  While ratings soared at first, it’s been a steady drop since then.  The talent that was once evenly spread out over both companies is no longer there with the WCW a long-forgotten memory.  It’s safe to say that many good talents went to waste simply because there wasn’t enough room on one roster under one company.  Possibly, we’ll be seeing the same thing again in this deal.

In the coming weeks, most of our questions will be answered.  At the moment, however, many more questions than answers remain.  March 12, 2011 will go down as a historical day in mixed-martial arts history.  Dana White’s trash-talking of Strikeforce and its fighters will immediately cease.

After all, he owns them now.

To view the entire interview where Dana White Makes the announcement, click play below:

Brett Clendaniel is the owner and managing editor of http://www.WrestleChat.net.

There are a lot of pro wrestling elements that bleed over into Mixed Martial Arts. One is the glamorous WWE and wrestling entrance. While most MMA fighters are more concerned with wins and losses, some MMA fiighters make the most of their moment by creating exciting and elaborate MMA entrances. Here is a compilation of some of the best MMA entrances of all time.

Take note of a few things as you watch these videos. One, the majority of the great MMA entrances come from Japan. The Japanese have been much more diligent in blending the elements of pro wrestling and MMA together than the UFC has. Strikeforce has been known to offer some great entrances, but their small entrance ramp is really constrictive to creating any kind of spectacle. The Japanese get it right and create huge entrance ramps and runways with the sole purpose of promoting these elaborate MMA entrances. DREAM and Heroes MMA in particular are featured quite prominently in the videos. While not featured, PRIDE FC had some classic entrances in its day.

The other thing to take note of is how many of these great entrances feature Jason “Mayhem” Miller. The host of MTV’s Bully Beatdown is one of if not the best in America at creating elaborate and memorable MMA entrances. Miller is not shy about being a huge pro wrestling and passion for it has allowed him to become one of the best when it comes to entrances and promos. King Mo, Rampage Jackson, and Tito Ortiz are also big pro wrestling fans have done a great job of channeling those influences to inspire some of the greatest MMA promos and entrances of all time. Genki Sudo is the king of the entrance in Japan and also highly influenced by pro wrestling.

I understand that it could be a bit tricky to get to “pro wrestling” but the UFC could really take things to another level by embracing some of wrestling’s influences. How cool would it be to see UFC fighters walk to the octagon on a big stage and big ramp? I am not expecting to see Brock Lesnar dance down the stage with a bunch of school girls, but there are some other fighters that could really make names for themselves on entrances alone. Taking into account that Scott Coker gets it with some of the entrances I have seen in Strikeforce, it would be great to see him step up and allow his fighters to enter on a grand stage like they do in Japan. It may not be something that hardcore MMA fans want to see, but it would be something different that separates Strikeforce from the competition.

Thanks to SurferKenTV for the compilations.

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What is the quickest way to get a title shot in Strikeforce? Lose! Strikeforce has offered Fedor Emelianenko a heavyweight title shot against Alistair Overeem for his next fight. Yes after tapping out in a little over a minute, Fedor Emelianenko could be rewarded with a title shot.

The news would be absurd for any other organization other than Strikeforce. I like Strikeforce but let’s be honest. They have turned their heavyweight title into a joke. Scott Coker had no problem waiting three years for Alistair Overeem to defend the belt. Then he gives Brett Rogers the first crack at Overeem, coming off a TKO loss to Fedor Emelianenko. Now he wants to offer Fedor Emelianenko a title shot? It doesn’t get any more ridiculous than this…or does it.

The irony here is that Fedor Emelianenko doesn’t want the title match. Fedor Emelianenko would prefer to avenge his loss with a rematch against Fabricio Werdum. Not only does Strikeforce want to give a guy a title shot who just got submitted in a minute, he would rather fight someone else. I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.

The idea behind offering Fedor Emelianenko the title match is to get him to sign a champion’s clause. Fedor has one fight left on his Strikeforce contract. Fedor and his M1 camp would like to see him avenge his loss and increase his value as a free agent on the MMA market. As an attempt to get Fedor to stick around past one fight, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker is obviously banking on Fedor beating Overeem and locking him into title defenses. In a perfect world that sounds great, but in the world of professional athletics it is about as shady as it comes.

This story tells me a few different things about the future of Fedor Emelianenko. It absolutely tells me he has no intentions of signing an extension with Strikeforce before his next fight. If he was open to signing an extension, Coker would make the Fedor vs. Werdum rematch and worry about the title match later. Two, he took the loss harder than he let on and desperately wants to avenge his defeat. Three and most importantly, he must feel that he has an option with the UFC. Dana White said that he has zero interest in Fedor following his loss to Werdum. If that was true, why wouldn’t Fedor just stick around Strikeforce and why would Scott Coker be so crazy about him leaving? Without Strikeforce and the UFC, Fedor really doesn’t have any big time options. The insistence at fighting Werdum and finishing out his contract tells me that Dana White is not done chasing Fedor no matter what he says. At least that is what M1 Global would like to us to believe.

M1 Global still thinks that Fedor in the UFC is very possible. “I think yes,” Vadim Finkelstein said of the possibility of reaching a deal with the UFC. “But not on the same terms they offered us before. We will not let ourselves to get owned. Fedor became very popular [already] outside the Octagon. So, long story short: 1. We would like to receive guaranteed payments. I know that if we agree for percents, they will cheat us. 2. Maybe not a co-promotion (like we offered before), but at least co-branding. 3. They also will have to permit Fedor participating in Sambo competitions, and during our last negotiations UFC were ready for that term.” – Fightline.com.

Good luck with those negotiations Vadim. Apparently M1 didn’t get the memo that Fedor lost. Once he tapped, he tapped out his negotiating leverage with the UFC. When I read a quote like that I realize that Fedor’s chances of appearing in the UFC remain exactly where they were before the loss. As long as he and his handlers carry around that same attitude, I don’t expect to ever see Fedor fighting in the UFC. I am not saying it won’t happen, but not with those kinds of demands.

I think it is kind of funny that Strikeforce is so insistent on this champion’s clause when their middleweight champion is on his way to the UFC. It is amazing that Scott Coker didn’t think of this when he negotiated with Jake Shields. Maybe he learned his lesson?

And how do you think Alistair Overeem is feeling after hearing about this latest turn of events? The reason Scott Coker is so insistent on matching up Fedor vs. Overeem is that he assumes Fedor would win and be stuck in Strikeforce for the duration of his title run. If Coker was confident in his champion, this match wouldn’t even be an option. In my opinion, I think Alistair Overeem is being highly underrated in this situation. I think Overeem can and will beat Fedor if that match is to happen. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Overeem take the match, beat Fedor, and then walk to the UFC.

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Let me state one thing right off the top, I am a novice MMA fan. I just got into the sport a few years ago. Almost all of my exposure has been through the UFC programming on Spike. I’ve seen next to no Pride shows. I catch some of the Japan super cards on HDNet ever once in awhile, the shows where guys actually break each others arm and dislocate elbows because no one wants to tap.

I don’t know the history of every fighter and what their won/loss record is in every organization they have ever fought in. But I have two eyes, and an over active imagination. And after watching Fedor Emelianenko tap out to Fabricio Werdum on Saturday night in the main event of the Strikeforce show, I was initially shocked and amazed just like everyone else. But once I thought about it a little bit, I made a rather large and possibly insane leap to come to the conclusion that everything played out exactly as planned.

First let’s look at how the fight played out. As I watched the fight unfold, all 1:09 of it, it really reminded me of the first Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir fight. Lesnar dropped Mir and immediately rushed in for the kill. He rushed in so fast however, that he left himself wide open for a submission hold by Mir. At the time people chalked it up to Lesnar’s inexperience in the ring. In their second fight, Lesnar was more patient and didn’t allow Mir to trap him, along the way to completely dominating the fight. On Saturday night, Fedor made the exact same mistake Lesnar did, not once but twice. He dropped Werdum right away and rushed in for the kill. Werdum went right away for Fedor’s arm, and almost got it. Fedor managed to get his arm free and you would think that he would do something to adjust his position after coming so close to being caught. But what does “The Last Emperor”, the best pound for pound fighter in the world, the greatest fighter of his generation, do…nothing at all. He stays right there so Werdum can lock in a triangle choke. Like I said, I am a novice, but that was one of the deepest and tightest chokes I’ve ever seen by the way. How could Fedor, who has years of experience and a wealth of skills at his disposal, make such a rookie mistake? Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t a mistake at all. Maybe it all went exactly the way he wanted it to.

Wait a minute here, am I really saying that Fedor allowed himself to be caught? Yes, yes I am. And it all comes down to one word, M-O-N-E-Y. I have heard people say that by losing he cost himself millions of dollars he could have made by signing with the UFC. In my opinion, Fedor was never going to sign with the UFC. The way he and M-1 make deals would put Scott Boras to shame. They would never enter into an agreement with Dana White without major concessions, the kind that White could never make no matter how much he wanted Fedor. In Strikefore, like Affliction before it, Fedor can call his own shots. Those promotions are so starved for a lifeline they would concede anything to M-1. I really don’t believe Fedor is interested in proving anything at this point in his career, I feel he wants to make sure he gets paid. And that leads me to my last point.

Fedor had one more fight on his Strikeforce contract, and popular opinion had they fight against Alistair Overeem for the title. Immediately after the fight, Werdum said he wanted his next fight to be a rematch against Fedor, not a shot at Overeem. Why on earth would Werdum risk another Fedor fight, unless that was the plan all along? Instead of one more fight for Fedor he now has the rematch with Werdum, which I think he wins of course. Then he gets the title shot against Overeem, another win. Next comes the rubber match with Werdum, followed by a possible rematch with Overeem.

Fedor Emelianenko may have lost Saturday night, but not in dominating fashion mind you. He wasn’t bludgeoned for five rounds, he didn’t quit on the stool, he wasn’t overmatched by a superior opponent, he was just careless. He lost in a way that most people could consider a fluke, a mistake in judgment on his part. If he had been knocked out by a lucky punch that would be a fluke too, but would have raised questions about his chin. Now he loses and no one can really question his manhood, especially after he dominates the rematch, like I think he will.

And low and behold, one more fight on an expiring contract has now turned into four mega fights with huge paydays. And all Fedor had to do was swallow his pride and allow himself to lose, just once.

Vince DeHoratus lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two kids. He has been a life long wrestling fan and he has passed that love onto his son. Though not quite yet “middle aged and crazy”, he is fast approaching it.

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Fabricio Werdum beat Fedor Emelianenko and sent the MMA world into a frenzy. The Fedor haters and supporters are all buzzing about Fedor’s next fight. Was the loss the end or a turning point for Fedor Emelianenko? It doesn’t look like we will have to wait long for the answer.

Going into the Werdum vs. Fedor fight on Saturday night, there were a ton of reports about Fedor going into politics after the fight. The loss appears to have lit a fire under Fedor Emelianenko and quelled those aspirations for now. Fabricio Werdum, Fedor Emelianenko, and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker all talked of an immediate rematch up next for Fedor. Other than the paper work it appears that Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko II is all but a go.

The rematch would give Fedor an immediate opportunity to avenge the loss and quiet his critics. Fedor haters came out in droves over the weekend. I think the idea that Fedor is a fraud after suffering one loss in ten years is ridiculous. Fedor ran up 30 wins in a row and hasn’t lost a fight in 10 years. I don’t remember anyone calling Georges St. Pierre a fraud when he got caught by Matt Serra. Things like this happen and even the best get caught. If Fedor is not the best heavyweight in the world than who is? Brock Lesnar? He lost his first UFC fight? Fabricio Werdum? He lost to Junior Dos Santos and Andrei Arlovski? Shane Carwin? I just don’t think one loss somehow exposes you as a fraud. A second loss wouldn’t necessarily expose Fedor as a fraud, but it would be a good indicator that age has likely caught up with Fedor.

Quite frankly you could see this loss coming for awhile. Fedor hasn’t dominated a fight in years. Fedor was caught early by Brett Rogers and came very close to losing. Andrei Arlovski rocked him with a flying knee in their bout a few years ago. It is highly possible that Josh Barnett would have defeated Fedor if he hadn’t got popped for a dirty drug test. It has been a long time since Fedor walked into a fight and won without issue. He almost did Saturday night. Keep in mind, Fabricio was on the ground after rocked by strikes. The punching power is still there. Fedor just made a terrible mistake. He may not be the greatest MMA fighter in the world anymore, but he is certainly still one of the best.

Scott Coker talked at the post-fight press conference about putting Werdum vs. Fedor 2 on pay-per-view. I am highly skeptical that a rematch would do much business on pay-per-view. Fedor has never been a draw on pay-per-view in the United States. As popular as Fedor was on Saturday night, he drew less of a live crowd than Gina Carano. Neither one of these guys will cut promos that will get people excited about a rematch. I think Strikeforce could do a monster rating on CBS with the rematch. It is all up to CBS as to whether they agree or disagree with that statement and decide they want to give Strikeforce another shot on the big network.

As for the future of Fedor Emelianenko, I think it is fair to speculate. He has one fight left on his Strikeforce deal and one fight left on his business deal with M1 Global. Anyone that thinks that he won’t have an option to sign with the UFC after one loss is out of their minds. Seeing Fedor Emelianenko in the UFC is still big money. He certainly won’t be offered that mega $30 million deal he had on the table last summer and rightfully so. The value on return he would have brought to the UFC as an undefeated fighter over the last ten years isn’t there anymore. Is the UFC going to cut Brock Lesnar if he loses Saturday? The UFC would still take him in a second. But he certainly won’t have the same financial options he had in previous negotiations where the myth was much larger than the fighter.

Dana White was gloating after the fight about the loss. He is an idiot. There is nothing funny about watching your best opportunity at a blockbuster fight tap to a triangle. Arguably the UFC is the biggest loser coming out of the Strikeforce shocker. Fedor will still make big money fighting, but millions of dollars that the UFC would have made on a Brock vs. Fedor series have disappeared. Don’t get me wrong, a Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brock Lesnar would still sell even if Fedor loses the rematch to Werdum. However, before the loss Fedor vs. Brock was the best fight that the UFC would have ever had at breaking two million buys. I’d cut that in half right about now.

Whether you like Fedor or not, it is a relief to know that he still plans to continue fighting. At 33 he is still young, but getting close to the end in fight age. One loss should certainly not tarnish an entire legacy of dominance through an entire decade. Two losses won’t either. He would still be a favorite against all but a handful of MMA heavyweights. Sometimes a loss is a good thing. It can alleviate the pressure of taking a 30 fight win streak into a ring with you and the pressures that come with being labeled a legend.

If you thought Fedor the legend was dangerous, Fedor the ordinary fighter could turn out to be a monster.

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He is human after all. Fabricio Werdum tapped out Fedor Emelianenko and shocked the world at Strikeforce. This is the first loss  for Fedor Emelianenko since the blood stoppage in 2000 and arguably the biggest upset in MMA history. Even more shocking is that the win came seconds into the fight via tap.

Fedor Emelianenko engaged Fabricio Werdum and hit him with a flurry of strikes. Fabricio went down and Fedor went after him. I immediately thought that this was a terrible move for Fedor. The story going into the fight was that Fabricio had the superior BJJ game and if it went to the ground, Fedor could be in trouble. It went to the ground and Fedor was in trouble. Fabricio immediately caught him in a triangle, trapped Fedor, and tapped the Last Emperor for the first loss of his career (unless you count the blood stoppage in 2000).

The loss is the first of Fedor’s career and supports many critics who thought that Fedor was overrated the last few years. While Fedor was routinely ranked as the best MMA fighter in the sport, critics cited Fedor’s lack of competition as reason why he shouldn’t be ranked highly. It has been almost five years since Fedor has fought quality competition and it looks like there was something to it. Whether Fedor continues to fight or not, the myth surrounding Fedor Emelianenko is over and he is now just a normal MMA fighter.

Fedor Emelianenko also probably cost himself millions of dollars with a potential UFC deal. Fedor turned down a reported $30 million deal to sign with the UFC last year and opted to go with Strikeforce instead. I have said many times that every time Fedor fights he is risking a millions of dollars with the UFC. While I am sure the UFC would still sign Fedor in a heartbeat, they aren’t giving him $30 million. On top of that, while Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko is still an intriguing match, it won’t do nearly half of the business it could have done if Fedor came into the UFC undefeated.

It is a great story for Fabricio Werdum. Less than two years ago Fabricio was cut from the UFC after a loss to Junior Dos Santos. The win will now put Fabricio Werdum into the history books as the first man to defeat Fedor Emelianenko (again not counting the blood stoppage). Fabricio said after the fight that he would like to fight Fedor Emelianenko next. That is a bold move considering that the win gives Werdum a title shot against Alistair Overeem if he wants it. Fabricio already has a submission win over Overeem, so the choice to fight Fedor again is an interesting one nonetheless.

Fedor Emelianenko has one fight left on his Strikeforce contract and one fight left with M1 Global. There were a lot of rumors this week of Fedor going into politics after this fight whatever the result was. Fedor said after the fight that he felt nothing about the loss. With one fight left on his deal and rumored political aspirations, it is very likely that the world of MMA may have seen the last  of the Last Emperor tonight.

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While most wrestling fans have been buzzing about the Monday Night Wars for weeks, there was actually a second war that took place this week. The UFC presented a UFC Fight Night on Monday which went head-to-head with WWE RAW. There has been a lot of talk over the last several years in regards to MMA and the UFC stealing pro wrestling fans. If Monday night’s ratings are any indication, the only ones that should be charged with theft should be the World Wrestling Entertainment.

The cable ratings are in and wow, this is quite a story here. The WWE smashed the UFC right in the mouth on Monday night. WWE RAW came in at a 3.7 rating for the night, with 5.45 million people tuning in to see pro wrestling. The UFC Fight Night produced a 1.1 rating with 1.7 million people watching. Even more shocking are the numbers of adults 18-49 that watched both shows. The WWE came in with a 2.1, while the UFC came in at 0.9. I guess some adults still prefer that “phony rasslin” to the smash-mouthed “real fighting” in MMA.

This has to be a big success for the WWE, while a very disappointing number to the UFC. Granted, the UFC didn’t have any real marquee matches but the brand itself should have been able to steal some audience in theory. The WWE countered the UFC attack by booking Mike Tyson as the Guest Host. Tyson also wrestled at the end of the show, which is still something of a big deal even in 2010. Unlike the TNA vs. WWE battle last week where viewers tuned in and out, it looks like the WWE was able to sustain its audience throughout the night even when Tyson wasn’t on camera. That means even in the most boring spots on WWE RAW (and there were plenty), nobody was checking out the UFC.

There are a few other stories that come out of these numbers that are also rather interesting. Last week’s TNA Wrestling had 2.02 million viewers in the 9-11 PM time slot. So not only did the WWE beat the UFC, but TNA Wrestling also grabbed more viewers than the UFC did in the same time slot. I think that Spike TV dropped a ball here and should have done a little cross promotion last week on Impact, similar to what the UFC did when they had Hulk Hogan on its show. It is one thing to lose out to the WWE, but a whole other story when TNA Wrestling beats out a UFC event in the same time slot a week earlier.

The WWE number is also real interesting in comparison to last week. The 3.7 is actually up from 3.6 the previous Monday night. The story here is that the WWE drew a better rating with Mike Tyson than they did with Bret Hart. Bret likely has his enemies working against him in the WWE locker room. This is not good news for him and his fans. The number is also an indication that last week’s TNA vs. WWE showdown was a great thing for the pro wrestling business overall. I would presume that the increased number this week is a bit of a carryover of the fans who watched TNA last week. It is obvious at least in the short term that the battle sparked some fan interest and may have even brought back some old fans that haven’t watched wrestling on Monday nights in years.

Ever since the UFC exploded in 2005, many pundits jumped on the bandwagon and predicted the demise of pro wrestling. Personally, I never quite understood the crossover and still don’t understand why some pro wrestling news websites carry MMA news. I think the audiences are entirely different. I think most of the crossover comes from old wrestling fans that stopped following wrestling years ago and found something new to latch onto. As successful as Brock Lesnar has been in the UFC, I don’t think it has as much to do with the pro wrestling crossover as people think. If that was the case, than Bobby Lashley’s fights would be doing huge numbers, and Lesnar’s Dynamite!! USA fight would have done record ratings on Showtime. At the end of the day I think these two audiences have as much in common as football and hockey fans.

Dana White has made big claims about where he expects the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s business to be over the next ten years. White proclaimed last month, “UFC will be the biggest sport in the world by 2020.” He specifically talked about the NFL and how the UFC would blow away the NFL and everything else globally.

If he can’t even beat out two pro wrestling events on a Monday night, the UFC’s chances against the NFL are laughable.

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