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.

That isn’t accurate. I watched the fight. Clay Guida lost. Diego Sanchez landed more power shots, totally dominated the first round and won the fight.

My point is let’s not sit here and pretend that Diego Sanchez didn’t win that fight because it takes away from his impressive performance in a tremendous fight. Sanchez should be applauded for winning a war but instead the articles I’m reading are giving Guida more props for fighting hard and losing.

And I’m certainly taking nothing away from Guida. Not many fighters could weather that first round storm, come back the way he did and almost steal the decision away from Sanchez. That was an impressive display of heart.

Guida proved he has a chin of granite and the desire I wish some of the more talented fighters in the UFC fought with every time they stepped into the Octagon. He’s a true asset to the organization.

Having said that, am I the only one who is tiring a little of his “The kid trying hard in gym class” act? The way he was bouncing up and down after the fight kind of bothered me. Don’t try and hide the fact that you are tired. Sanchez kicked your butt all over that cage.

The second the cameras were off I guarantee Guida stopped jumping up and down like the “Energizer Bunny” reputation he’s built up for himself and dropped to the floor, so spare us all the drama.

Getting back to all these ridiculous columns I have been reading, though. They are so predictable. Every time I watch a great football game the same type of stories surface about how there were no losers out on the field.

The reason I hate these so much because I believe it takes away something from the winner. One team found a way to gut out a win in a great game. Don’t they deserve some credit for that?

The tougher the opponent, shouldn’t the victor receive even more praise for finding a way to get by their opponent on that day? I think so. To say that there is no loser is also saying there is no winner and that is diminishing a great accomplishment in my book.

On Saturday night, Diego Sanchez was at his very best. He came out strong but he met an opponent in Clay Guida who was up to the challenge and refused to go away. Guida probably could have been knocked out in the first round but his heart and determination made him fight on.

Guida deserves a lot of credit for that but Sanchez deserves even more because he was the one who proved to be the better man in a great fight. At the end of the night it was Sanchez who got his hand raised.

Besides, for all the talk of how tough Guida is, didn’t Sanchez prove he’s even tougher? He won. Read the recent Yahoo! story on the fight. A majority of it talks about how tough a fighter Guida is but you know what? Sanchez showed that he’s a pretty tough fighter in his own right, so give the guy who actually won the fight his due.

Despite what you may read at other sites, there was a winner on Saturday night. His name is Diego Sanchez and he deserves more respect for winning than the guy who fought hard and lost.

It’s a shame that more people don’t see it that way because after his performance last night Sanchez deserves all the headlines, not Guida.

The event took place at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada and aired live on Spike TV.

It was an amazing night of battles as Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida, Chris Lytle vs. Kevin Burns and Joe Stevenson vs. Nate Diaz combined to make the finale one of the most unforgettable of the series.

All six of the previously mentioned men received bonus checks of $25,000 for their hard work. The bonuses dished out last night were identical to the amounts handed out at the eighth Ultimate Fighter Finale in 2008.

A total of eight fight night bonuses were awarded last night as the UFC still rewarded the men with the knockout and submission of the night.

Tomasz Drwal earned “Knockout of the Night” honors in light heavyweight action for his first round TKO beatdown of Mike Ciesnolvicz. Drwal made out like a bandit last night as he was ultimately awarded with 20% of Ciesnolvicz’s fight purse for his failure to make the 205 pound weight limit, a win bonus and the bonus check for 25 g’s.

Jason Dent grabbed the “Submission of the Night” with his come from behind anaconda choke victory over Cameron Dollar.

The live event is scheduled to air on Spike TV at 10 pm ET, but the live results for the preliminary action will begin flowing in at around 7 pm ET.

Lightweight and welterweight contracts will be on the line as Ross Pearson squares off with Andre Winner to determine this seasons 155 pound champion, while DaMarques Johnson and James Wilks slug it out to decide the 170 pound winner.

The main event of the evening pits two of the UFC’s most exciting lightweights up against one another in a bout that will push the victor that much closer to a future title shot as Diego Sanchez butts heads with Clay Guida.

Also featured on the televised broadcast will be a lightweight match-up between Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz.

Jason Dent vs. Cameron Dollar

They trade  punches and leg kicks for the beginning of the first before a big uppercut from Dollar drops Dent. Dent gets back to his feet but continues to take punishment in the form of big punches from Dollar. With less than a minute left in the first round Dollar has a takedown stuffed and Dent locks in the come from behind anaconda choke to force the tapout with just four seconds left on the clock.

Winner: Jason Dent – Submission Round One (Anaconda Choke)

Frank Lester vs. Nick Osipczak

Osipczak forces a takedown after blocking a leg kick and takes side control. Lester is back to his feet and they clinch against the fence before the referee separates them. Lester takes Osipczak’s back standing and attempts to slam him to no avail. Osipczak defends well and winds up dropping for a guillotine before spinning around for the rear-naked choke victory.

Winner: Nick Osipczak – Submission Round One (Rear-Naked Choke)

Mike Ciesnolevicz vs.Tomasz Drwal

The fighters clinch up against the fence following about a minute of “nothing much”. Drwal gets the takedown but Ciesnolevicz is back to his feet shortly afterwords. They meet in the middle of the octagon only for Drwal to score another takedown . Ciesnolevicz is back to his feet, but is quickly dragged back down. Up, down, up, down,up down…..Ciesnolevicz is back up once again but is met with a shower of punches from Drwal.  Ciesnolevicz clinches up but once they are separated. Drwal picks up where he left off, punishing Ciesnolevicz standing before dropping him with a big knee and sealing the deal with some good old fashioned ground and pound.

Winner: Tomasz Drwal – TKO Round One

Brad Blackburn vs. Edgar Garcia

Blackburn rocks the UFC newcomer badly in the early moments of round one before Garcia picks up Blackburn and slams him to the canvas. Blackburn is up and they begin to pummel each other with hard punches. The fireworks don’t let up for the duration of the first round. A beautifully violent battle thus far. The first ends on a sour note as a low knee from Garcia extends the break between rounds an extra minute for Blackburn to recover.

The second starts right where they left off with each man trying to knock the others head from his shoulders. This time a low kick from Blackburn forces a break in the action. Garcia starts the action back off by landing a couple of hard leg kicks and they’re back to trading punches and leg kicks for the rest of the round.

The third round ends with both men doused in blood and both being rocked multiple times in what is the clear front runner for “Fight of the Night” honors. Let’s hope this one makes the televised portion.

Winner: Brad Blackburn – Split Decision

Many in the crowd aren’t very happy with the decision. 

Melvin Guillard vs. Gleison Tibau

Guillard lands a couple of big punches and has Tibau on the retreat. He follows the Brazilian and lands another big shot. Tibau goes for the takedown but is reversed. They switch positions before Tibau scores the takedown. Melvin is right back to his feet.  They trade punches for a bit but Tibau closes the round strong off of two more takedowns.

Tibau controls the second round with a series of strong takedowns. Guillard just seems to have no answer for Tibau’s wrestling so far. Every time he manges to scramble back to his feet his is swiftly taken back down to the canvas.

Tibau continues dominating with the wrestling as he drags Guillard to the mat and takes mount but does nothing with it. Eventually Tibau creates some space and lands a couple of meaningful punches. Guillard is able to get back into half guard. Guillard manages to get to his feet and tries a takedown of his own but is reversed and ends up on his back once again. Tibau drops punches from the top before taking the mount just before the conclusion of the third and final round.

Winner: Melvin Guillard – Split Decision

Joe Stevenson vs. Nate Diaz

Stevenson goes for a takedown early in the first and he’s caught in a guillotine but escapes shortly after. Joe controls from the top. Joe eventually locks up a nasty mounted guillotine but Nate escapes once again. Diaz is back to his feet but Stevenson quickly gets him back to the mat. Stevenson hovers over Diaz and drops punches before the fight ends up on the feet one last time. Stevenson locks up a standing guillotine and punishes Diaz with kness to conclude the first.

The second sees Stevenson controlling Diaz with superior wrestling and top control. Stevenson is constantly fending off Diaz submission attempts while dropping punches and keeping Diaz in place on the ground.

Nate switches roles on Stevenson and scores a takedown a minute into the third round. Diaz dishes out a little of his own ground and pound before dropping back for the guillotine choke. Stevenson is out and reverses Diaz up against the cage where he punishes him with knees to the legs and midsection. They separate after a long clinch with just fifty seconds to go in the round. The final round ends with Stevenson falling short on three consecutive takedown atempts.

Winner: Joe Stevenson – Unanimous Decision

Ross Pearson vs. Andre Winner (lightweight finals)

Both men size each other up before they clinch up against the cage. Halfway through the round and they’re still clinched up. Not much happening with a minute and a half to go in the first. A low knee to Pearson causes a temporary halt to the action. Pearson comes out throwing big punches and Winner answers before they clinch up once again. Winner finishes the round by separating and landing a couple of meaningful shots to the chin of Pearson.

They wind up in the clinch again in the early goings of the second round. Pearson digs hard for a takedown in the clinch but comes up empty. Halfway through the second and their still clinched up. They finally separate with a minute and a half to go in the round. Pearson lands a big right hand which he follows with a hard knee to the midsection of Winner. And we’re back in the clinch for the duration of the round.

Back to the clinch for the start of the third round. This is getting hard to watch. They split up and begin to trade hard punches before ending up back in the clinch. They split up again and Pearson is swinging for the fences. Back to the clinch and Pearson drops down for a single leg but Pearson stuffs it. They finish off the fight briefly trading punches. A lackluster fight at best.

Winner: Ross Pearson – Unanimous Decision

Chris Lytle vs. Kevin Burns

Lytle comes out throwing big bombs.  Burns is working his kicks as Lytle coninues to throw big haymakers. Burns lands a big left hand that backs Lytle up just a bit. Both men are throwing every shot with very bad intentions. Lytle takes a kick to the cup that forces a temporary pause. Burns drops Lytle with a big punch and follows him to the canvas with punches. It appears as if Lytle may have tapped but the referee doesn’t see it and he recovers. The round ends with Burns punishing Lytle with bruising knees to the body.

Lytle lands a huge right hand that rocks Burns early on in the second. They continue to trade big strikes. It’s like watching rock’em-sock’em robots on slightly slow motion as they throw everything they have with every shot. Another low blow to Lytle causes a stop in the action. They get back to business but another low knee by Burns causes another stoppage. The round ends with neither man giving an inch.

They come out in the third trying to decapitate one another. Burns has a nasty cut near his right eye. Lytle smells blood and he’s stalking Burns with big bombs. Lytle continues to push forward winging wide poweful punches as Burns retreats with less than two minutes left in the fight. A big body punch lands for Lytle. Burns pushes forward for the last ten seconds as they trade power shots to bring a conclusion to this ferocious welterweight battle.

Winner: Chris Lytle – Unanimous Decision

DaMarques Johnson vs. James Wilks (welterweight finals)

Wilks clinches up with Johnson and throws some knees before Johnson is able to separate. Back in the clinch Wilks continues to deliver knees before taking Johnson to the canvas. Wilks latches on to a knee and looks for the submission but Johnson escapes and punishes Wilks with punches. Johnson swings away from the top and is caught in a tight triangle choke but he escapes. Wilks scrambles around to take Johnson’s back and sink in the fight winning rear-naked choke.

Winner: James Wilks – Submission Round One (Rear-Naked Choke)

Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida

They start out trading ferociously before Sanchez rocks Guida badly with a big combination of punches. Sanchez continues to punish Guida on the feet. Guida scores a takedown and controls Sanchez from the top. Time is called to replace Guida’s mouthpiece. They rerstart on the feet and Guida is rocked bad by a Sanchez head kick. Amazingly Guida recovers and scrambles back to his feet. Sanchez unleashes a hail storm of punches on Guida that force him to clinch up. Guida winds up on the canvas absorbing Sanchez punches but manages to work his way back to his feet.

Guida controls the bulk of the second round from the top position while landing short strikes. Sanchez continually scores with downward elbows to the head of Guida throughout the second round. The fight is like a scene from a zombie movie as both men are drenched in blood.  

Sanchez lands several hard punches on the feet in the first half of the final round before Guida answers back with a few hard shots of his own. Guida goes for a takedown and winds up with Diego trying to take his back but scrambles free to end up in the top position. Sanchez is searching for a kimura from the bottom but Guida is loose and finishes the round pounding away at Sanchez in another great fight.

Winner: Diego Sanchez – Split Decision

According to Stevenson, know matter how far you have come in your career “Once you get really stagnant, you have to do something about it and not talk about it.”

That’s why the long top rated lightweight packed up his gear and made the trek to Albuquerque, New Mexico to hook up with one of the most respected trainers in the game, Greg Jackson.

With a clear head and a fresh outlook on his career, Stevenson hopes to get back in the win column this evening as he faces off with the extremely durable and dangerous Nate Diaz at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale that is set to air live on Spike TV.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com had the opportunity to catch up with Joe “Daddy” just prior to one of the most pivotal bouts in his career to discuss his feelings on Diaz, training with Jackson, a desired match-up with Shinya Aoki and much more.

Cory Brady for FiveOuncesOfPain.com: How old were you when you saw your first fighting event and what were some of the things you remember going through your head?

Joe Stevenson: It was the second UFC. I was at my friend Jason Brady’s house and they had it on Pay-Per-View. I believe I was about eleven years old. I never would have thought that this is what I was going to end up doing at that point. I thought it was cool that there was karate vs. wrestling, and kung-fu vs. boxing type match-ups. I actually started wrestling at the age of eleven because I thought I was in the WWF. As a teen, as I started getting better at wrestling, I started doing Judo and Jiu-Jitsu. That was really the catalyst for my future in MMA. It ended up turning into just Jiu-Jitsu, Jiu-Jitsu. So at the age of sixteen I wanted to see if everything I had been learning actually works so I got my first pro fight.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: You said sixteen was your first professional fight?

Joe Stevenson: Yeah, sixteen.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: How does that even happen? Was it a sanctioned match?

Joe Stevenson: Back in the day there was no real sanctioning of the bouts and it wasn’t really legal. Mainly because people didn’t know that much about it so it was kind of frowned upon. But you could fight on Indian reservations and get around it that way as long as mom and dad signed a waiver.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Looking back at your decision loss to Diego and having had a chance to go back and watch that fight, do you feel like Diego did enough to be granted that decision?

Joe Stevenson: I can’t tell you the truth on that one. I honestly haven’t even bothered re-watching that fight. I was really upset at myself and wanted to make a change. I knew something was wrong and had to be fixed so that’s why I came out here to Albuquerque to train with Greg Jackson.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Is that a fight that you want back at some point down the road?

Joe Stevenson: Possibly, yeah. But to be able to do that, I don’t know that now that I’m with Greg that I would want to put him in a situation like that.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Is this the first fight that you have ever trained at Greg Jackson’s for?

Joe Stevenson: Yeah.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: So how did you end up hooking up with Greg and making that switch?

Joe Stevenson: Well Rashad and Keith were both on The Ultimate Fighter with me, and I was talking to Rashad after he won the title, congratulating him, and he said that I should come out here. I was kind of batting it around but I wasn’t really sure and then he called me up again and he was like,”Come on, you said you wanted to do something about yourself and about your training. I thought you said you were going to call Greg.” And I was like,”Actually I haven’t called him yet.” If it wasn’t for Rashad I don’t know how motivated I would have been to come out here and train. It was really my friendship with Rashad that brought me out here, and of course my belief in Greg Jackson and his coaching ability.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: You’ve been training for most of your life it seems, do you feel like sometimes you just have to go somewhere else to kind of get that new and fresh look on things?

Joe Stevenson: When you’re ripe you rot, when you’re green you grow. it was certainly time for a type of change for me, and I think it was the best thing for me. I think that anyone in that division, once you get really stagnant, you have to do something about it and not talk about it.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: How do you feel you match up with Nate Diaz?

Joe Stevenson: I think that Nate’s an awesome competitor. He’s a good fighter, very tough and well rounded. I think that we match-up very well stylistically. I don’t see this fight going to a decision by any means. I feel like this is a fight that I can win on my feet or on the ground, and it’s going to be me pushing the pace.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Do you feel like you are still just a couple wins away from another title shot?

Joe Stevenson: I’m not even thinking abut that right now.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: So it’s just all about that next fight for you at this point?

Joe Stevenson: Yeah.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian. How do you see that fight unfolding?

Joe Stevenson: I think Kenny has a lot of tools and he’s very skilled but I honestly have a lot of faith in B.J.  I think he’s going to be just a little more overwhelming than what Kenny is expecting.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: I see Shinya Aoki ranked near the top of may lightweight polls these days. What are your thoughts on Aoki and how do you feel he would do in the UFC’s lightweight division?

Joe Stevenson: I think that Aoki is a very tough fighter and he’s really well rounded. It’s actually been a thing of mine to want to fight him. It’s all about testing yourself. I would love to fight him. Whether he got into the UFC or not. I think that he’s an awesome fighter.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Have you had a chance to check out UFC Undisputed 2009 yet, and if so, have you played with your character yet?

Joe Stevenson: I bought the game. I didn’t get one for free. I was hoping to get one for free. So I bought the game for myself and I bought one for the kids. Honestly, I played it for one game. I’m such a competitive person that I felt that if I would have given everything I had playing that game it would have engulfed me and taken away from everything I need to be focusing on for the fight. So I only played one fight against my buddy and I won. Then I told him I would never play it again. I did not play with my character. My friend tried to pick me and I was like,”No! I’m not going to beat myself”.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Is there anyone you would like to thank?

Joe Stevenson: Actually yeah. I want to thank MMAWarehouse.com, Sprawl and Warrior Wear.

Cameron Dollar will face off with Jason Dent while Frank Lester meets up with FiveOuncesOfPain.com TUF blogger Nick Osipczak.

The amount of cast members from the show fighting on the finale has been drastically cut down from past events as the two bouts announced today mark the only two bouts featuring non-finalist cast members with the remaining fights going to UFC veterans.

All told the finale will feature a total of ten bouts including the lightweight and welterweights finals and a main event between Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida.

A full list of the bouts scheduled for the card are listed below:

Clay Guida vs. Diego Sanchez (Main Event)

Ross Pearson vs. Andre Winner (“TUF” lightweight finale)

DaMarques Johnson vs. James Wilks (“TUF” welterweight finale)

Nate Diaz vs. Joe Stevenson

Kevin Burns vs. Chris Lytle

Jason Dent vs. Cameron Dollar

Frank Lester vs. Nick Osipczak

Mike Ciesnolevicz vs. Tomasz Drwal

Brad Blackburn vs. Edgar Garcia

Melvin Guillard vs. Gleison Tibau

The event is set to take place at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas this Saturday evening, June 20. The main card is set to air live on Spike TV.

The TUF 9 Finale will mark the first return to action for Guillard since knocking Dennis Siver senseless at UFC 86 in July of 2008 as he squares off with Tibau who will be looking to make it three straight with the UFC after back to wins over Rich Clementi and most recently, Jeremy Stephens.

“Bad” Brad Blackburn hopes to keep his undefeated streak in the octagon intact following consecutive victories over the likes of James Giboo and Ryo Chonan when he meets up with the undefeated and highly touted Garcia who most recently made short work of Hiromitsu Miura at WEC 38 in January.

Ciesnolevicz is fresh off of his successful UFC debut over Neil Grove in February and looks to make it two in a row when he stands across from Drwal who bounced back from a loss to Thiago Silva in his UFC debut to knock out Ivan Serati at UFC 93.

A full list of the bouts announced for the TUF 9 Finale are listed below:

Clay Guida vs. Diego Sanchez (Main Event)

Ross Pearson vs. Andre Winner (TUF 9 Lightweight Finale)

DaMarques Johnson vs. Second Finalist (TUF 9 Welterweight Finale)

Nate Diaz vs. Joe Stevenson

Kevin Burns vs. Chris Lytle

Melvin Guillard vs. Gleison Tibau

Mike Ciesnolevicz vs. Tomasz Drwal

Brad Blackburn vs. Edgar Garcia

FiveOuncesOfPain.com learned of the news from multiple sources close to the fight on Monday afternoon.

Johnson, 7-2, apparently suffered a severe knee injury while preparing for his welterweight contest vs. Brown. There’s no word regarding how long he will be sidelined.

Additionally, immediate word was not available regarding whether Brown would remain on the card against a replacement.

Johnson was signed to a UFC contract just three fights into his pro career. Entering the Octagon with a perfect 3-0 record in his UFC debut vs. Chad Reiner at UFC Fight Night 10 in June of 2007, Johnson improved to 4-0 after requiring just 13 seconds into the fight to defeat Reiner.

He would sustain his first career loss in his very next fight at UFC 76 in September of the same year, submitting to Rich Clementi due to a guillotine choke at 3:05 of round 2. Since that time, Johnson has gone 3-1 and has boosted his stock with all three of his wins coming via KO or TKO.

Brown, 9-7, is an alumnus of the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter. A talented and tough fighter, Brown entered the competition with a less than stellar record, based somewhat on the fact that he was held back by personal issues during the early stages of his career.

Since becoming a permanent member of the UFC roster, Brown has compiled a 3-1 record with wins over Matt Arroyo, Ryan Thomas, and Pete Sell. His only defeat was a split decision loss to Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 88 this past September.

The TUF 9 finale will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Pearl at the Palms and will be headlined by a lightweight bout between Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida. In addition to the lightweight and welterweight finals of TUF 9, a lightweight bout between Nate Diaz and Joe Stevenson is also scheduled.

The event is scheduled to take place on June 20 at The Pearl in the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and will be airing live on Spike TV.

Lytle is a full-time firefighter and prize fighter that is a veteran of over 40 professional mixed martial arts bouts, over a dozen of which have been fought under the UFC banner. He was a veteran of the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter and has earned fight of the night honors in his last two bouts for the UFC against Paul Taylor, and most recently, Marcus Davis, where Lytle wound up on the losing end of a hard fought split decision.

After going 5-1 as a professional, Burns made his UFC debut count, submitting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Roan Carneiro by triangle choke in the second round of their bout which took place at UFC 85. He followed up the impressive win over Carneiro with a highly controversial TKO victory over Anthony Johnson where Burns repeatedly poked Johnson in the eye until he was no longer able to continue before being knocked out by Johnson in their return match in his most recent bout.

A full list of the bouts expected for the card are listed below:

Lightweight finalist No. 1 vs. No. 2

Welterweight finalist No. 1 vs. No. 2

Clay Guida vs. Diego Sanchez

Nate Diaz vs. Joe Stevenson

Matt Brown vs. Anthony Johnson

Kevin Burns vs. Chris Lytle

The news was first reported by John Morgan of MMAjunkie.com, who states in his report that signed bout agreements have yet to be secured but that both fighters have verbally committed themselves to the fight.

The TUF 9 finale will take place on Saturday, June 20 at the Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas and will be televised on Spike TV. In addition to the finals of the current season’s lightweight and welterweight tournaments, the show will be headlined by a lightweight bout between Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida.

Schafer, 11-3-2, is 2-0 since returning to the UFC. He made his Octagon return this past September at UFC Fight Night 15, where he recorded a first round submission victory over Houston Alexander. Schafer then recorded a first round TKO win against Antonio Mendes at UFC 93 this past January.

He will look to improve to 3-0 in his UFC comeback when he faces Drwal, a Polish fighter with a lifetime record of 15-2. Drwal made his Octagon debut at UFC 75 in September of 2007, losing to Thiago Silva via second round TKO. He did not fight again for a year and a half, returning at UFC 93, where he knocked out Italian fighter Ivan Serati just 2:02 into their fight.

The finale to the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter will be headlined by a lightweight showdown between Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida, both of who are currently riding a three fight win streak in the octagon.

Sanchez recently made the cut to lightweight after spending the bulk of his UFC career in the welterweight division. He made his 155 pound debut a successful one as he managed to pull out the decision victory over former lightweight title challenger, Joe Stevenson.

Guida has most recently notched up wins over dangerous lightweights Nate Diaz and Mac Danzig on his way to being recognized as a legitimate contender at 155 pounds.

Also announced for the card was a lightweight match up between the Nate Diaz and Joe Stevenson, the men that the two headliners have their most recent wins over. Both will be looking to bounce back from disappointing losses to reassert themselves in a division that is overflowing with talent.

Stevenson has recently dropped bouts to the previously mentioned Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian and a title shot to B.J. Penn, and will be looking to get himself back on track with a win over the up and coming Nate Diaz.

Diaz was riding a five fight win streak before he was recently derailed by Guida, and a win over Stevenson should put him back in the thick of things in the UFC’s stacked lightweight division.

According to MMAWeekly.com, the two have been sent bout agreements and have agreed to the matchup. The finale is scheduled for June 20 and will emanate from the Pearl at the Palm in Las Vegas.

Burns made quite a splash in the UFC as the jiu-jitsu blue belt submitted Roan Carneiro with a triangle choke at UFC 85 in June of 2008. It is was considered a big upset especially considering the fact that Carneiro is a black belt.

Burns would then go on to defeat Anthony Johnson via TKO at UFC Fight Night 14 this past July. Referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight and should have disqualified Burns due to a series of inadvertent eye pokes but instead gave the victory to Burns. Johnson extracted a measure of revenge when the two hooked up at live finale for the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter in December, as Johnson knocked Burns out cold from a head kick.

Lytle has fought a who’s who of UFC welterweight champions and challengers in his time with the organization. The Ultimate Fighter season 4 finalist was last seen losing to Marcus Davis at UFC 93. In spite of the loss,  Lytle received a “Fight of the Night” bonus for his role in the exciting encounter.

The TUF 9 finale will be the culmination of the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter with which will pit eight fighters from the USA coached by Dan Henderson against eight fighters from the UK being led by Michael Bisping. Bisping and Henderson are scheduled to fight at UFC 100 on July 11.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com learned of the matchup from sources close to the fight on Thursday afternoon.

Garcia is a perfect 7-0 and has been transferred to the UFC from its sibling-promotion World Extreme Cagefighting on the heels of his impressive knockout victory over former WEC welterweight title challenger Hiromitsu Miura at WEC 38 in January.

The 31-year old Blackburn is 2-0 since making his UFC debut against James Giboo at UFC Fight Night 14 this past July. Blackburn recorded his second round TKO victory over Giboo when the fight was called to a stop at 2:29 due to a combination of a flying knee and punches.

Blackburn’s most recent win in the Octagon took place at UFC 92 this past December, where he recorded a unanimous decision victory over former PRIDE Bushido standout Ryo Chonan. The win improved his overall record to 13-9-1.

In addition to Blackburn vs. Garcia, the June 20 finale will be headlined by TUF 5 lightweight winner Nate Diaz taking on TUF 2 welterweight winner Joe Stevenson. Set to emanate from the Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas, the event will also feature the lightweight and welterweight finals from the upcoming season of TUF as well as a welterweight matchup between Anthony Johnson and John Howard.

Sometimes it’s really amazing what comes out of Karo Parisyan’s mouth but this time it’s the honest truth. Karo is a great fighter with lots of heart, unbelievable Judo, a great trash talking game to hype a fight, and the natural talent to be one of the best fighters in the world. But he’s never been in phenomenal shape going into a fight. He always looks chubby and pasty and it almost always looks like the fighter across the cage from him is in better shape. Now Karo’s finally come out and said it himself. From FightTicker.com:

But at this point I want to make an example of Yoshida and everyone else who’s going to stand in front of me until I can get my title shot and get my title. Eventually it will happen I just gotta take the fight game very serious. My worst enemy has always been that I’ve been too talented to train, and now it’s catching up with me. I gotta start training or those guys will start catching up with me.

Note to Karo: Those guys have already started catching up to you. Thiago Alves was one of them and it may be too little, too late for Parisyan to get back to the top of the welterweight ladder. If he’s just now realizing that even though he has that natural ability but has to train to achieve elite status then his time may have passed him by. He was at the top once and got injured. He worked his way back to the top again and got beat by Alves and got bumped back down a notch. Is Parisyan a gatekeeper at 170 lbs.? Maybe, maybe not.

A win against Yoshiyuki Yoshida would surely do him some good in getting some confidence back and making his way back to the top. But if the same Karo Parisyan that showed up against Thiago Alves shows up against Yoshida then he will most certainly have his hands full and then some. Yoshida is not a fighter that Parisyan can take lightly and is one of the better international talents that the UFC has signed in recent months. Talent alone can only get you so far in this sport. Parisyan has reached that peak. If he can take it to that next level, the welterweight division should be on watch.

The news comes from our good friends over at MMA Junkie.

Chonan had to pull out of the UFC 85 clash due to a rib injury, leaving Carneiro to take on a replacement fighter in the form of the unheralded Kevin Burns. In a surprising turn of events, the BJJ black belt was submitted by the lowly Burns. However, Carneiro finds himself in a rare position in which he could all but erase the result of the Burns’ fight by winning the fight he against the opponent he was originally set to face.

Chonan, on the other hand, is coming back from an injury to find everything is where he left it as the fight he had to cancel due to injury is still there, glaring back at him. It will be an important fight for “Piranha” as he failed to impress in his debut where he was on the wrong end of a Karo Decisyan.

UFC 88 is headlined by a light heavyweight showdown between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans.

Read more UFC 88 content on FiveOuncesOfPain.com.

MMA Junkie first reported the possibility of Franklin moving up in weight yesterday and now it seems that MMA Rated has confirmed the weight increase as well as his opponent.

Franklin last fought at UFC 83 against Travis Lutter, a fight he won via TKO in the second round. Hamill’s last fight came against Tim Boetsch at UFC Fight Night 13 this past April, where he overwhelmed the Pennsylvanian wrestler via TKO in the second round.

This is a risky fight for Franklin who has everything to lose and nothing to gain by beating Hamill. It’s a perfect opportunity for Hamill, however, to really put himself on the map by beating one of the UFC’s most recognizable and loved stars.

MMA Junkie is reporting that Rich Franklin is set to make his way back into the Octagon at UFC 88 in Atlanta, GA, a card headlined by a 205 lbs. fight between contenders Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans. The report goes on to say that Franklin will more than likely be the co-main event of the evening. No opponent has been finalized as of yet, but this bit of information from the report may give us some insight:

However, according to our source, he and the organization are now considering a move to 205 pounds, though it wouldn’t necessarily be a permanent move and could simply depend on whether or not he thinks the match-up makes sense.

Personally I would like to see Franklin face off against Dan Henderson in the co-main event at this card at 185 lbs. Without a title fight on the card, they need strong matchups in order to make sure the pay-per-view does well. Franklin’s best weight is clearly at 185 lbs. and having him move up to fight the bigger fighters at 205 lbs. doesn’t make a lot of sense. Sure, there are intriguing matchups, but at what cost? Henderson vs. Franklin makes a lot more sense in the grand scheme of things.

It appears that Dan Henderson’s return to the middleweight division wasn’t a one-time deal to challenge UFC champion Anderson Silva. MMAWeekly.com has confirmed with sources close to the camp of Brazilian Top Team fighter Rousimar Palhares that he has signed to fight Henderson in a 185-pound divisional bout at UFC 88 on Sept. 6 in Atlanta.

Wow. You have to like this matchup if you’re an MMA fan. “Toquinho” is one of the best BJJ fighters in the game right now and has great wrestling and takedowns on top of it. Henderson is one of the best wrestlers in all of MMA and has a rock for a right hand. Wrestling vs. BJJ has long been one of the sport’s most intriguing matchups and this falls right in line with that notion. For Palhares, it would be the biggest victory of his career. For Henderson, it’s about treading water in the UFC. Three losses and no victories inside the Octagon would not be good for Henderson but Palhares should be well aware of one thing. Ivan Salaverry, Dan Henderson is not. Great matchmaking, again, by Joe Silva and the UFC.

Update: FiveOuncesofPain.com contacted a high-ranking source within Team Quest Temecula who indicated that Henderson’s next fight has not yet been scheduled.

The report states that a match between Parisyan and Yoshida is not yet signed but that signed bout agreements from both could be imminent.

Parisyan had been scheduled to face George Sotiropoulos but the bout fell through after Sotiropoulos was forced to pull out of the planned bout due to injury.

Parisyan is 18-5 overall in his MMA career and holds a lifetime record of 8-3 in the UFC. He had a three-fight winning streak snapped at UFC Fight Night 13 in April when he suffered a second round TKO to Thiago Alves.

Yoshida, who holds an impressive lifetime MMA record of 10-2 according to Sherdog’s fight finder, is currently on a nine fight win streak. He won his UFC debut at UFC 84 when he submitted Jon Koppenhaver with an anaconda choke at 0:56 of round 1. Prior to his UFC debut, Yoshida posted notable victories for the Cage Force promotion over Dan Hardy and Akira Kikuchi.

UFC 88 is scheduled to take place at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, and is slated to be headlined by a light heavyweight matchup between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans.