According to GraceFighter.com, Nate Diaz will be fighting for the UFC at Fight Night 11 on September 19. Curiously, the site is reporting that UFC 11 will take place in Atlanta, GA.

Atlanta?

Here’s what GracieFighter.com is saying:

After winning the TUF Finale, Nathan Diaz will now be returning to the UFC. He is slated to fight on the 19th of September in Atlanta, Georgia. His opponent has not yet been named, however we should have an official confirmation sometime next week.

I watched last night’s live finale of the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter. I thought it was a so-so show.

The production was terrible last night. It seems like they misfired a lot of pre-recorded stuff and played it during times when Mike Goldberg was supposed to speak live. The pacing of the show also sucked, due in large part to how quick the first two matches were. It was great seeing two matches that were taped during the preliminary portion of the show. However, there are just too many commercials. It felt like we were being punished because the first matches ended so quickly and that we got pelted with more commercials than usual. I really wish the UFC would have gotten a deal with HBO because it would have been a way to see cards without paying $39.95 and not having to deal with commercials.

I also wish the UFC would start covering their events like it was a sporting event. Why do we have to see a Shannon Lee interview? I realize Spike wants Bruce Lee Day promoted, but just do a live read or a pre-recorded advertisement. If you’re going to interview someone, why not last words from B.J. Penn or Jens Pulver (as opposed to regurgitated comments from the “Bad Blood” TV special)? I really thought they did a poor job of promoting the main event during the telecast. Or, they could have interviewed Tito Ortiz and or Rashad Evans in order to hype UFC 73 in two weeks.

Another thing they used to do which I miss is that Joe Rogan would interview Dana White in the crowd for a few minutes and Dana would give a quick state of the UFC type speech. Ask him about Pride or Fedor and have him say the same things he’s been saying in interviews. Have we heard it before? Yes, but it still would be a better way to fill time than what they do now. And besides, not everyone has heard of or heard about Fedor.

My comments on the matches and fighters:

Roger Huerta vs. Doug Evans - Evans looked solid and once again I must complement the UFC on the scouting they’ve been doing recently. They aren’t relying on Pride for new talent, they are scouring the world for young fighters. They are getting a lot of good young Brazilian fighters and a lot of strong fighters from the smaller shows in the U.S. A lot of people seem to be turning on Huerta from what I’ve been reading in the forums but I think he’s legit. He didn’t dominate last night but Evans was better than advertised and Huerta took the fight on short notice so who knows if he was even in training.

Thales Leites vs. Felix Sword - I was impressed by what I saw from Leites. As for Sword, not so much. I’d be real interested in seeing Leites fight against better competition.

Joe Lauzon vs. Brandon Melendez - Melendez looked better than I thought and Lauzon looked good, but not great. Lauzon definitely belongs in the UFC but is he championship material? I’m not so sure.

Gray Maynard vs. Rob Emerson - I am glad this match was shown. The ending was too strange not to get immediate coverage on TV. It wasn’t the type of thing we should have had to read about on the Internet and then wait until the DVD came out so we could watch the extras. I really have an issue with the decision. Yes, Maynard was clearly out. However, he never tapped! Emerson is the one who quit. And I realize the referee has the right to stop the fight if someone is unconscious, however, Steve Mazzagatti  (did Bruce Buffer pronounce his name three different ways last night?) didn’t immediately respond to Maynard. As soon as he saw Emerson tap that was it. He stopped the match in response to Emerson’s actions, not Maynard. I don’t like the fact that they made a ruling on the fight after the fact.

Nate Diaz vs. Manny Gamburyan - This match left a sour taste in my mouth but you really can’t be mad at anyone. The fighters can’t be held accountable because they are doing the best they can. The UFC can’t be held accountable because they don’t control what happens during a fight. Gamburyan’s shoulder re-injury was just a freak thing. He’s a tough dude so if he’s tapping from the pain then you know it must have been bad. But while one freak ending during a fight card makes the night more interesting, a second freak ending is one too many. Especially when the winner of the TUF 5 finale is decided as a result of it. Yes, I know Manny will be in the UFC even though he lost but we all invested so much time into the show with the center of attention being which of the 16 contestants would win. To see Diaz win on a technicality when he’s the type of fighter that doesn’t need a technicality to win, sucked. Not to mention, the fight was really good up until the point. Some of you disagreed with me picking Manny over Nate, but Gamburyan clearly won the first round. I know they went by the rules, but I would have loved to see the match declared a no-contest and that the winner of TUF 5 would be decided on a later date. Important outcomes shouldn’t be decided on freak injuries.

B.J. Penn vs. Jens Pulver - I guess I was disappointed because this was nothing like their first match in 2002. Jens fought his ass off and did a great job of getting out of submissions, but as much as I hate to say it, B.J. Penn dominated him last night. Penn landed the harder punches and really controlled the pace on the ground. Penn jumped on Jens and never let up. Penn looked to be the best shape I’ve seen him in for quite some time. You know, he’s fought at 155 lbs. before but he looked emaciated compared to the way he looked last night. Penn cut to 155 lbs. but still had some muscle mass. If he really has re-dedicated himself to conditioning then there is no reason for him to fight another match at 155 lbs. He should go right back to 170 lbs. and fight the top guys at welterweight. If Penn is in top shape, then there’s nobody in the world that can stop him. I’m really excited that Pulver is going down to 145 lbs. I am a huge fan of his and if he wasn’t able to drop, I think retirement might have been his only option. When he returned to the UFC, the WEC wasn’t even a twinkle in Zuffa’s eye so fighting at 145 lbs. for the company wasn’t an option even though it’s his best weight class. It’s kind of funny how things worked out? Oh, my biggest issue of the night was the fact that B.J. pulled that crappy stunt and told us all to go to his web site if we wanted to know what he thought. Total BS. The UFC pays him a lot of money to fight in big matches. After such a buildup, the UFC has a right to his post-fight comments. If I was Dana White, I would fine his ass for refusing an interview request from a Zuffa employee. I know nobody says anything in those interviews anyway, but Jens’ comments were interesting and I wanted to hear B.J.’s side of things and not a marketing ploy! And yes, like a sucker I went to his site to see if he said anything noteworthy, but the damn thing had crashed!

After a strong show last night from Strikeforce and EliteXC, I’m in the mood for more MMA and am looking forward to tonight’s live season finale of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET.

I believe four matches are scheduled to be televised but I only have time to give my thoughts on the main three.

B.J. Penn vs. Jens Pulver - I will be rooting for Pulver all the way in this one but if I have to make a pick, it has to be Penn. Pulver has a ton of heart but the 155 lbs. division has change in recent years. It’s like a refuge for new welterweights in the UFC who don’t want to be buried in an already overcrowded division. So those who could make the cut, have done it. Pulver was a small lightweight to begin with but the size difference isn’t even more pronounced. As for Penn, you never know which version you’re going to see but whether he’s in shape or not, his technique is flawless. Pound-for-pound there aren’t many better pure fighters than him in the world. After tough losses to Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes, the drop in weight for a temporary period made sense. However, Penn really doesn’t want to fight lightweight and there’s always a chance he moves back to 170 pounds right after this fight (there’s enough depth in the lightweight division now that Penn isn’t necessarily needed). The only reason why he’s making this drop is to get another shot at Pulver stemming from their controversial match five years ago. Once this fight is over, will Penn really want to keep making the cut? Perhaps he’ll be in line for a lightweight title shot, but how important is the lightweight title if he doesn’t plan to defend it? Why let a guy fight for a title in a weight class when he doesn’t intend to stick around. It kind of makes the title look unimportant. As for Pulver, I’m a huge fan of his and am really happy to know he’s open to the idea of fighting in the WEC at 145 lbs. He’s a true featherweight. After losing to Joe Lauzon last year, I was kind of worried as to what Pulver’s long-term future would be like but thanks to the WEC, there’s a long-term plan for him with Zuffa. While I strongly believe Penn is going to win, Pulver isn’t going to go out like a punk and this should be an entertaining match while it lasts.

Roger Huerta vs. Doug Evans - Evans is undefeated and a very credible fighter but he’s been brought in to lose to the UFC’s next lightweight cover boy in Huerta. I expect a quick and decisive victory for him.

Nate Diaz vs. Manny Gamburyan - Most people are picking Diaz but I’m going with Manny. The guy is one tough dude and a tough matchup because of his fighting style. He just runs in and body locks his opponent in an effort to prevent them from executing their game plan. Diaz is a very talented fighter but he showed some holes vs. Corey Hill and if Gamburyan gets a hold of him, how much of his offense will he be able to utilize? This might not be the most exciting fight in the world because of Gamburyan’s style, but I’m still interested in it because I am not really sure how it’s going to go and I want to see how things play out.

GracieFighter.com is reporting that Nick Diaz will not be allowed to corner his younger brother, Nate Diaz, for Nate’s upcoming fight this Saturday against Manny Gamburyan in the lightweight final of the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Diaz is still serving a six-month suspension imposed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for testing positive for marijuana leading up to his fight against Takanori Gomi at Pride 33 in Las Vegas.

Jake Shields, who trains with the Diaz brothers as a part of Cesar Gracie’s camp, will join Gracie as a cornerman for Nate Diaz.

The California State Athletic Commission has cleared both Phil Baroni and Murilo Rua for this Friday’s pay-per-view card from San Jose, Calif. that is being co-promoted by EliteXC and Strikeforce.

Rua will fight Joey Villasenor for the vacant EliteXC middleweight title while Baroni will take on Frank Shamrock for the vacant Strikeforce middleweight title.

Tonight’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter 5 on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET will feature the final two matches of the quarterfinals with Manny Gamburyan vs. Matt Wiman and Nate Diaz vs. Corey Hill.

I’m really looking forward to the show tonight because after it we’ll know the final four for TUF. Gray Maynard and Joe Lauzon are already in.

I think we’re going to see two matches tonight, as opposed to one,  because one of them will end quickly. I think the match that ends quickly will be the one between the two teammates on Jens Pulver’s team, Hill and Diaz (not a spoiler, just a prediction).

I like Corey Hill and think he will become a superstar. But he looked very green in his first fight vs. Rob Emerson. He also doesn’t have a single pro fight under his felt and going against someone as well-rounded as Diaz is going to be too big of a hurdle to clear at this early stage of his career. I think Nate takes it via submission.

Wiman, who is one of three fighters who have fought in the UFC that’s a part of the TUF 5 cast, made quick work of Marlon Sims in a few weeks back. Gamburyan is short, but I was really impressed with his first bout. The dude is an animal. I’m kind of surprise we’re not hearing leaks about this being the fight of the year. This match could really go either way and I expect a war. I’m going with a hunch here and picking Gamburyan in an upset.

I’m assuming that the big plot line for next week’s show will be how the semifinal matches are made. That means we’ll get to see more drama between Jens and B.J. The semis are going to be some awesome matchups.