According to Spike TV each three-hour block (9:00 PM EST – 12:00 AM EST/PST) will feature the most memorable episodes/fights in Ultimate Fighter history. Fans will also be able to add their input via social media sites Twitter/Facebook.

Ultimate Fighter Fridays is the latest move in a series by Spike TV to counterprogram against the UFC after Dana White and company packed up shop to head over to FOX’s greener pastures. Similarly to what was done with UFC on FOX 1 and Cain Velasquez/Junior dos Santos, the cable channel already has plans to broadcast a marathon of UFC Unleashed episodes featuring work from many of the fighters booked to compete in January at UFC on FOX 2.

TUF 15 is set to air in early March with bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz heading one team and popular rival Urijah Faber the other. Each weekly offering will feature a new “real time” format where video will involve footage from the previous seven days and two contestants will fight live on FX to conclude each episode.

The two bouts mentioned in conjunction with the February 5 show include undefeated featherweight Chad Mendes’ match-up with the returning Michihiro Omigawa and fan-favorite Donald Cerrone’s clash with 11-3 Brit Paul Kelly.

A teammate of Urijah Faber, Mendes will be seeking the tenth straight win of his career when he makes his Octagon debut at the Super Bowl Weekend event. “Money” was 4-0 during his run in WEC with a decision victory over Javier Vazquez in his most recent outing at WEC 52 last November.

His opponent, Omigawa, has won eight of his last nine with the lone exception being the result of a split decision. Included in the remainder are names like Nam Phan, Cole Escovedo, Hatsu Hioki, L.C. Davis, and Marlon Sandro.

On the other side of next month’s prelim portion, like Mendes, Cerrone will also enter the Octagon for the first time in his career after going 6-3 in WEC with a number of entertaining performances to his credit. Comparably, the 26-year old Kelly has fought for the UFC eight times with a second round TKO of T.J. O’Brien at UFC 123 the last time out.

The first Spike TV prelim broadcasts of 2010 will be on Saturday, January 2 at 9:00pm and Saturday, February 6 at 9:00 pm.

The January 2 card coincides with UFC 108 and the February 6 broadcast will align with UFC 109.

“UFC Prelims” on Spike TV averaged 1.4 million viewers per episode while featuring two to four prelim bouts on each broadcast.

In total the broadcast drew a household rating of 3.7, with 5.3 million total viewers.

A total of 6.1 million viewers tuned in at one point during the episode, making it the highest rated UFC program in the history of Spike TV, trumping the previous record of 5.9 million viewers during the main event between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Dan Henderson at UFC 75 back in September of 2007.

Spike TV has officially announced it will broadcast some of the undercard, commercial free, leading up to the pay-per-view telecast. The UFC 103 telecast live from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, will mark the first time Spike TV will air a fight card without commercial interruption.

The preliminary bouts scheduled to take place, live on Spike, include former “The Ultimate Fighter” cast members Efrain Escudero (11-0) vs. Cole Miller (15-3). Escudero earned his first official win in the UFC, by defeating Phillipe Nover by unanimous decision during the main event of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir Finale, while Cole Miller is coming off first round submission of TUF alumni, Junie Browning.

Also scheduled is Tomasz Drwal (16-2-1) vs. Drew McFedries (8-5). Drwal is coming off a two fight win streak, while the hard hitting McFedries is coming off an impressive TKO victory of Xavier Foupa-Pokam.

It will be interesting to see how the UFC does against the PPV giant that is Floyd Mayweather Jr. He has been quite the draw in his last two fights, earning victories over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton.

Before his May 2007 fight with De La Hoya, Mayweather criticized the UFC, stating that any quality boxer could easily become the champion and that, while boxing is an art, UFC was a temporary fad.

I wonder what Larry Merchant will say?

The broadcast was the most watched show of the day with men between the ages of 18-34 and 18-49.

The fact that the series finale was the most watched since season six and the entire season was the most viewed by males between the ages of 18-34 since season five further solidifies the fact that interest in the sport is continuing to flourish.

All in all, the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter ended up turning in overall household rating of 1.5.

The finale main event between Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida delivered a 3.1 rating in men between the ages of 18-34 and 3.3 with men between 25-34.

UFN 15 served as a lead-in for the TUF premiere and aired live from 8-10 p.m. ET. Competing against ESPN’s telecast of Major League Baseball and ESPN2′s college football broadcast in the same time slot, UFN 15 outdrew both shows combined in the coveted young male demo.

To be exact, the Spike telecast drew 913,000 men 18-49 and 465,000 Men 18-34. By comparison, ESPN’s telecast of the Red Sox vs. Rays and ESPN2’s Louisville vs. Kansas St. college football game drew a combined 858,000 men 18-49 and 373,000 men 18-34.

Overall, UFN 15, headlined by Nate Diaz’s split decision victory over Josh Neer, earned a 1.6 in M18-49, a 1.6 in M18-34, and an average audience of 1.8 million viewers. The viewership peaked for the Diaz vs. Neer main event with 2.3 million viewers tuning in.

Then, between 10-11 p.m. ET, TUF 8 debuted to a 1.2 household rating with an average audience of 1.6 million viewers. According to Spike, the show was number one in its timeslot on basic cable in the male 18-49 demographic, garnering a 1.5 rating. The premiere also drew a 1.5 rating in males 18-34.

TUF 9 will utilize a USA vs. UK concept and will feature both welterweight and middleweight hopefuls.

The inclusion of welterweights on TUF 9 had been rumored for quite some time but the revelation that middleweights will be featured as well came as a surprise. Not only had heavyweight been rumored as the second weight class but the UFC and Spike TV just featured the 185 pound weight class during the seventh season of TUF.

Fighters looking to earn a shot at competing for the UFC will be able to apply through UFC.com and SpikeTV.com but will also have the opportunity to appear at open tryouts on Oct. 20 in London, England and then on Oct. 27 in Chicago, Ill.

Coaches have not been announced but with the revelation that a team comprised of British fighters will be on the show has prompted speculation that Michael Bisping, the light heavyweight winner from the third season of TUF, will be featured as a coach of the UK team.

Traditionally, the coach selections for each season of TUF have been utilized as a marketing vehicle for a match between the two coaches. One would think that if Bisping is selected that a high-profile U.S.-born middleweight would be selected as his adversary. Top middleweight contenders such as Dan Henderson and Nathan Marquardt might be ideal candidates.