Ricardo Almeida made a believer out of me

I’m not going to go as far as to say that he’s the guy that is going to dethrone the current middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, but I won’t go as far as to say he couldn’t either. Sometimes fights come along that make me completely change my mind about a fighter. I’ll be honest, nine times out of ten it’s when a guy I normally view as a one dimensional ground fighter surprises me with his stand up. I’ll point to Josh Koscheck‘s knockout of Dustin Hazelett, Rashad Evans’ head kick of Sean Salmon, or Sean Sherk and Tyson Griffin‘s stand up war with one another as points of reference. After all of these bouts I was, quite honestly, immediately converted from a sceptic to a believer. Much like with Almeida, I wasn’t convinced that any of the previously mentioned were sure to become the next champions in their divisions, but at the same time I was absolutely looking forward to their next bouts, for the first time I could remember.

One of the major knocks on Almeida by many as of late has been his questionable gas tank. The dangerous Brazilian looked exhausted during his last bout with Patrick Cote in July of 2008. A bout he wound up losing by unanimous decision, Almeida also lost a title shot at Anderson Silva the process. The word coming out of Almeida’s camp was that he was terribly sick going into the bout with Cote. Regardless, Almeida showed that his cardio does not need to be questioned in the future as he maintained a tireless pace in a winning effort against the zombie-like fighter with a notoriously endless gas tank, Matt Horwich.

Most notably in the bout against Horwich, the third degree Renzo Gracie black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu showed a surprisingly effective striking arsenal. His boxing was crisp, sharp and effective. Almeida’s significantly improved hands allowed him to set up take down after take down, and once on the mat he displayed punishing ground and pound. Although Almeida’s strength has long been his submission game, in the bout with Horwich going for a submission seemed to be pushed to the back of his mind. The thirty two year old middleweight’s eagerness to exchange punches in this bout, and his effectiveness doing so revitalize him as a legitimate threat to the crown at 185 pounds.

Tim Credeur is a problem at middleweight

I’m sure glad that Tim didn’t decide to step away from the sport after a long, hard ten years of fighting for peanuts before he entered The Ultimate Fighter for the show’s seventh installation. After coming up short in his quest to become the season’s middlweight Ultimate Fighter, Credeur has shown he belongs in the world’s elite fighting promotion, racking up three stoppages in three wins inside of the octagon over the last nine months.

A first degree judo and jiu-jitsu black belt, Credeur had racked up six submissions in his previous nine victories before fighting for the UFC. However, in the thirty one year old Louisiana native’s initial two bouts with the UFC, both been finished by TKO.

Getting back to his roots this past Wednesday night against Nick Catone, Credeur put on an absolute submission clinic against the previously undefeated middleweight. In the opening moments of the first round Credeur had Catone close to being finished with a nasty armbar attempt, but to Catone’s credit he managed to escape from the submission. For the duration of the round it was Credeur transitioning from submission attempt to submission attempt. From armbars, heel hooks, kimuras and triangle chokes, Credeur left Catone no room to breathe during the first round of their bout.

The Ultimate Fighter veteran showed a few holes in his defense while on the feet, but nothing big enough for Catone to capitalize on. With one minute thirty seconds left in the second round, Credeur went for a leg lock from the bottom which he beautifully transitioned into a sweep to get the fight standing. From there he instantly locked on the fight ending standing guillotine and dragged Catone to the floor which brought an end to the surprisingly one sided contest.

Credeur is just one of those guys that seems to improve every time you see him fight, and he showed in his win over Catone that to beat him anytime soon you’re going to have to pack a lunch.

Speaking of standing guillotines

Rob Kimmons upright choke out of Joe Vedepo was just plain nasty, in a good way. Once the strangle hold was locked into place it took an excruciating fifteen seconds for Vepedo’s body to go limp and sag against the cage. One of the more brutal submissions in recent UFC memory. If you haven’t had a chance to see this one, get a chance.

It’s okay to get excited about Aaron Simpson

I know Simpson has only had five fights and he hasn’t really faced a super tough test yet, but that’s alright, only five fights into his career this former Arizona State University wrestling coach is displaying all of the trademarks of a future threat to the middleweight championship. Obviously, Simpson doesn’t need to face Anderson Silva or Nathan Marquardt in his next performance but who knows how things could pan out in a year from now for this seemingly limitless prospect.

The undefeated middleweight came out like a stick of dynamite in his UFN 18 bout with former Arizona Combat Sports teammate, Tim Mckenzie, swinging for the fences with explosive punches before scooping McKenzie up and depositing him onto his back ten seconds into the bout. After allowing McKenzie to his feet, Simpson delivered a bone jarring right hand to the temple that sent his opponent reeling to the canvas. A few well placed punches to the downed McKenzie forced the referee to call a halt to the contest in the early moments of the first round.

Simpson will undoubtedly be one to keep an eye on in the UFC’s middleweight division for years to come.

Where does Junie go from here?

I think that the most important thing to keep in mind when considering the controversial former Ultimate Fighter cast member’s future with the UFC, or in mixed martial arts in general, is the fact that the bout with the experienced and dangerous Cole Miller was just the young lightweight prospect’s fifth official professional appearance in MMA. Miller was a veteran of seventeen contests heading into the fight with Browning and showed every bit of that experience on his way to submitting Browning with a guillotine choke in the very first round of their bout.

Does Junie still have a lot of room to grow in the future? Absolutely. Was the loss to an opponent as experienced and well rounded as Miller at this early point in his career really that bad of a thing for Junie? I’d have to say no. Browning has plenty of time to improve in mixed martial arts and has always shown the potential to become a more complete fighter than he is at this early state of the game.

Where will Cole Miller fit into the UFC’s stacked lightweight division after two impressive victories

While the dominating victory over Browning won’t throw Miller into immediate title contention, he can most certainly expect a step up in competition in the very near future. Miller seems to get better every time we see him in the cage and it’s going to be interesting to see how he will fare if matched up against a Frankie Edgar, Tyson Griffin or Gray Maynard sometime soon. There are a ton of interesting match ups awaiting Miller in the octagon and it’s going to be interesting how he stacks up against some of the divisions top rated fighters.

Tyson Griffin may be a super human

The leg lock that Rafael dos Anjos had Grffin stuck in during the first round of their bout was absolutely horrific. There’s no other way to describe it. How Griffin’s leg didn’t snap int two pieces, or more importantly, how Griffin managed not to tap out from the submission attempt is a mystery to me.

After the Xtreme Couture trained fighter was able to shake his leg free from the dangerous submission artist, it was apparent that the leg had suffered extensive damage. Briefly hobbling around the octagon with the tweaked leg, Griffin composed himself and ignored the injury as he managed to continually dominate dos Anjos standing.

Would it have been easier on the experienced lightweight’s injured leg to try to take the action to the mat? Most likely. However, Griffin realized that he would probably be in greater danger if the fight went to the ground, so injured leg or not, he was going to win the fight on his feet.

Having never been stopped either by knockout or submission, it leaves me to conclude, there may be a good possibility that Griffin may be a martian, or perhaps a cyborg sent back from the future to lay beatdowns on lightweights in the UFC. Obviously I’m exaggerating, but the grit and determination Griffin has displayed throughout his career in mixed martial arts, and most recently his bout with dos Anjos, must be noted.

The middleweight bout between Steve Stenbeiss and Ryan Jensen was cancelled. Multiple sources are reporting that the bout was removed from the card at the last second because of Jensen’s admitted use of the prescription drug Adderall which caused an issue with him getting medically approved.

All other fighters made weight for the event that will take place tonight at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

The weigh-ins were relatively uneventful with the exception of some brief fireworks during the Junie Browning vs. Cole Miller stare down. Miller had some choice words for Browning, and UFC president Dana White had to step in between the two when Miller advanced towards Browning. Browning was surprisingly calm during the entire episode.

Below is a full list of the weigh in results:

Carlos Condit (170.5) vs. Martin Kampmann (170)
Ryan Bader (206) vs. Carmelo Marrero (205)
Tyson Griffin (156) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (156)
Cole Miller (156) vs. Junie Browning (156)
Jeremy Stephens (158) vs. Gleison Tibau (156.5)
Ricardo Almeida (185.5) vs. Matt Horwich (185)
Brock Larson (171) vs. Jesse Sanders (171)
Nick Catone (186) vs. Tim Credeur (186)
Jorge Rivera (185) vs. Nissen Osterneck (186)
Rob Kimmons (185) vs. Joe Vedepo (184)
Aaron Simpson (186) vs. Tim McKenzie (184.5)

Kampmann says he is used to welterweight now and is over the Marquardt loss.

Condit says fighting in the UFC is a natural progression for his career

Condit says the change to the new camp at Arizona combat sports is because he was burnt out at his old camp and that the guys at Arizona combat excel in areas that he wants to improve, mainly wrestling.

Condit is not worried about UFC jitters. Feels he has a lot of big fight experience.

Condit thinks Kampmann is tough and very well rounded. He hasn’t focused on anything in particular for Kampmann

Both fighters are excited to be headliners in Tennessee but think a fight is a fight.

Condit said it was a difficult decision to move to Arizona from New Mexico but he needed the change and has thought about it for years. He moved with his Fiancé and they are both settling in Arizona.

Kampmann likes living in the US but still likes to visit home. The UFC helps him maintain his work visa. He knew no one but Mike Pyle when he moved here, and he didn’t even know Pyle all that well.

Condit is confident with his new corner men. New school is a little more technical than old camp. Leaving his old camp was one of the hardest decisions he has ever made. He felt like he wasn’t improving and needed guys on his level to train with on a regular basis.

Kampmann thinks Condit’s length and BJJ can pose some problems but is not worried.

Does not feel previously fighting at middleweight won’t help because Condit is a large welterweight as well.

Both fighters like to watch tape on their opponents.

Kampmann thinks hardest part of training is cardio. In his words, it “sucks”.

Condit thinks staying mentally focused throughout the whole training camp is the hardest part.

Condit thinks he has improved over his 8 month layoff and it hasn’t hindered him.

Condit thinks coming from a champ in the WEC to just another fighter in the UFC gives him less pressure.

Kampmann had other offers to fight sooner than this but his Mom came to visit and requested an April fight and was offered Condit.

Condit thinks if he beats Kampmann he will still be 3 or 4 wins from title contention.

Kampmann says only difference in drop to 170 is that when he fought at 185lbs he had to drink weight gainers and now at 170lbs he has to drink protein shakes. He still eats whatever he wants.

Michael Bisping is very excited about new action figures and the new video game.

Dan Henderson is also excited about the action figures and video game but thinks his kids are way more excited than himself. Says he isn’t into playing with his own action figure.

Henderson says he had a great time coaching and felt like he helped the fighters get better.

Both coaches said their teams were very tight and the country vs country format seemed to give everyone a sense of pride and help them bond.

Henderson thinks the UK fighters represented themselves well and it was a very competitive season.

Henderson says coaching the Ultimate fighter is not similar to his Olympic experiences.

Henderson has never coached internationally before the show.

Bisping is excited for the opportunity to fight a fighter of Henderson’s level but already considers himself a top ten fighter.

Henderson again states he is comfortable fighting at either LHW or MW. Wants to fight at whatever weight class offers the title shot.

Bisping says he wasn’t mad or upset at Leben for testing positive for steroids. Says if he lost the fight he may have been more vocal than he was.

Henderson says the championship is important but it is not everything. Every fight is important and his goal is to be the best.

Both coaches said they got along alright on the set and acted like professionals. Henderson said it was no “Ken and Tito”.

Bisping said he isn’t against returning to LHW some day and thinks he will be even better with the nutritional knowledge he has gained dropping to MW. But he is at MW for now.

I must admit, I was somewhat thrown off when I reached Browning’s voicemail message just prior to our conversation which let me know that he was most likely to busy to answer his phone because he was doing something absolutely terrible with my mother and that he could care less about what I was calling him about. I left my voice message and waited, not knowing what to expect from the one known as “The Lunatik”. Just thirty seconds later, Junie was calling me back, and much to the contrast of what I had encountered on his voicemail, Browning was sincerely apologetic for not being near his phone the moment that I had called.

The contrast of what I had encountered is probably very similar to those that have seen his numerous debacles during The Ultimate Fighter and then had the pleasure of meeting him in person. Unlike the over the top wildman personality depicted by Junie during the taping of television show, Browning is one of the most down to earth, personable guys you will ever talk to and keeps things surprisingly low key around his stomping grounds of Las Vegas.

Browning will forever be one of those guys that you either love, hate, or love to hate. As the saying goes, good press, bad press, it’s all press. The spotlight is unlikely to stop shining on the outspoken twenty three year old anytime soon.

The next stop in Browning’s quest to show the world that he is in the UFC to stay pits him against the rangy and always dangerous Cole Miller. The 6′ 1″ lightweight’s last outing saw Miller finish off jiu-jitsu black belt, Jorge Gurgel, by triangle choke and his experience in the octagon presents all sorts of problems for an up and coming fighter.

Browning confirmed in an exclusive interview with FiveOuncesOfPain.com that he hopes that Miller is as tough everyone says he is. He wants to have the opportunity to convince his doubters he is one of the lightweight divisions brightest rising stars.

Cory Brady of FiveOuncesOfPain.com: How do you feel you match up with Cole Miller?

Junie Browning: I think we match up really good actually. I think that this is a really good match up for me. The thing that kills me the most is really good wrestlers. I feel like Cole won’t be able to take the fight to the ground and I’ll have the ability to dictate where the fight goes.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: So you’re not going to be that worried about keeping the fight standing necessarily?

Junie Browning: Not really. I think his submission win over Jorge Jurgel was more just a mistake on Gurgel’s part. I don’t think it had anything to do with Cole Miller having slick jiu-jitsu. It wasn’t really like he was really technical in setting him up with it, it was more than Gurgel slipped and just got caught. Anyone else he’s fought, he hasn’t really shown me anything spectacular on the ground.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Now you’ve already said that you think your wrestling is going to be one of your advantages over Miller. What other advantages do you feel you may have going into this one?

Junie Browning: I think my conditioning and my toughness are going to be big advantages for me. I’m not going to say that my striking is so much better than his because his reach is definitely going to be a factor. I feel like my conditioning is so good right now that I could just brawl with him for all three rounds.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: What are some of the most noticeable improvements that you have seen in your game since coming to Xtreme Couture?

Junie Browning: Everything, to be honest. I’d say that what I have been working on more than anything is my wrestling, my conditioning and just trying to be more technical with my stand up. My stand up wasn’t as bad as I made it look on the show, the way I kept dropping my hands and getting sloppy, that isn’t how I normally fight. I think I was trying to be cocky for the show, dropping my hands and letting people hit me, stuff like that. I realize that this is and the skill level is going to be a lot higher than what was typically on the show so I’m not going to be screwing around and dropping my hands like I was.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: I heard that you never really had a formal striking coach before the filming of the show. Is that true?

Junie Browning: Well I had a boxing coach back home, but it was really traditional type boxing. A lot of the boxing stuff doesn’t really transition over to MMA very well by itself. What I learned back home was just straight boxing. In MMA I feel like you have to use your reach a lot more and it’s a lot harder to get off on the inside. Since I’ve been training with Shawn Tompkins and Xtreme Couture, my kicks and everything have gotten a lot better.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: So what would be the absolute perfect ending to this bout for you?

Junie Browning: I know this is kind of crazy to say because most people want to hurry up and get the fight finished but I either want to get knockout of the night, submission of the night or fight of the night. Preferably fight of the night so people can enjoy it and Cole will get some money out of it too. I heard that Cole is a really cool guy so I don’t want for it to be one of those super hyped up fights. If he’s really that good, it will be a good fight, he’ll get some money and I’ll get some money, that would be cool.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Is it important to you that you’re known as the kind of fighter that finishes his fights?

Junie Browning: Oh, of course. I’m in there to finish it. I mean, worse case scenario, I want fight of the night. I’d love to go in there and knock him out in thirty seconds, but winning is the most important thing to me. Especially at this point because I feel like I have a lot more to prove than a lot of the other fighters. I’m going to try to take him out as soon as possible.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: How are you liking living in Vegas?

Junie Browning: It’s awesome. I mean it’s a dream training scenario for me. My problem before has always been a lack of training partners and not getting the training that could take me to the level that I want to be, but out here you can go from gym to gym. I bounce around between two or three gyms every day out here.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: The gym scene is definitely a lot more active in Vegas but so is the night life. Are you able to avoid going out partying and all of that type of stuff?

Junie Browning: Yeah, I don’t ever really go out, especially when I have a fight coming up. I’m not going to lie, after this fight I’ll probably take a couple weeks off to relax and I’ll probably wake up in a gutter every day. I like to enjoy myself and I believe that one of the rewards of having to train hard all the time is being able to do that kind of stuff. I’m not the same person that I was on the show anymore. I have a fight coming up. I don’t go out and it’s not even hard for me. It’s not even something that I have to talk myself out of. I’m really focused on this fight right now.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: So do you believe in the whole no sex before a fight thing?

Junie Browning: Oh, hell no. That’s an old boxing myth. I have sex three or four times a day all the way up to the fight. It helps me train better.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Did you give your brother Robbie any advice before he entered the Ultimate Fighter house?

Junie Browning: I told him to be himself and have an outgoing personality, big time. I told him not to be the guy that nobody remembers next season. Just for him to go in there and train hard and do his thing. I don’t think anyone is going to be disappointed by that.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Would you say your brother is a lot like you in many ways?

Junie Browning: Oh yeah. He’s at the same point in his fighting career that I was right before the show. Just working all the time and trying to stay motivated to train. It’s not just us though, everybody in Kentucky where I’m from is wild like this. It’s a Kentucky thing.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: I have noticed that a bunch of the top ten lightweight rankings I’m seeing currently have Shinya Aoki as the top lightweight in the world. What are your thoughts on Aoki?

Junie Browning: I watch a lot of fights and people have their opinions. My opinion on Aoki is that I don’t believe that he could hang with most of the UFC lightweights today. I believe that the rules in Dream are so different with no elbows. He likes to play a lot of spider guard off of his back and rubber guard, stuff like that, and it’s hard to ground and pound someone in the guard that is latched onto you like that with no elbows. It allows for Aoki to use a lot more wrist control and stuff like that. In the UFC, if he tried to do a lot of that wrist control and stuff that he does off of his back, people would just come over the top with elbows to get the wrist release from him. Plus, I don’t believe that he could take down or pull guard on half of the guys in the UFC. I think a lot of the guys in the UFC would stuff his takedowns and just beat him up standing. Half of the guys in the UFC would just murder him standing. Plus, he could get stacked against the cage and that would hurt him, big time. The UFC is filled with a lot of great wrestlers and I think that would kill him. It’s hard to say, we’ll see if Aoki is ever brave enough to ever come over to the UFC, we’ll see.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: If you were alone in the woods and got into a fight with a grizzly bear that was identical to you in height, but heavier because it’s a bear, who walks away?

Junie Browning: I’ll poke him in his [expletive] eyeballs. I’d bite his [expletive] nose. I was watching Manswers or some show like that the other night and they were talking about what you should do if you’re attacked by a grizzly bear and they said to either bite him on the nose or poke him in his eyes. I doubt I would be walking away from that one but I guarantee you that he’ll know that he was in a fight before he rips my head off.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Would you stand and trade with the bear, take the action to the canvas or just go with the flow?

Junie Browning: I would pull a Machida and just stick and move. I would just avoid the fight completely, as much as possible. Lyoto’s going to hate me after that comment.(laughing)

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: Alright man, Fight Club question, if you could fight anyone on earth, whether living or dead, who would it be?

Junie Browning: I’d have to say Floyd Mayweather. I would love to ground and pound him. I love him as a boxer but I would just really love to fight him. I’m not dumb, I wouldn’t even attempt to stand with him. I just want to show him how much more difficult it is to avoid a takedown than what he thinks.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com: What is your absolute favorite hobby outside of beating the crap out of people?

Junie Browning: Hanging out with my girlfriend, that’s just about it. Have sex a lot. Especially when you have a fight coming up, you train so much, just have sex and train. Maybe try to play some video games or watch a movie in between, something like that.

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

Junie Browning: I want to thank TapouT and Denaro Sports Marketing.

Credeur improved to 11-2 overall and 2-0 in the UFC with his second round TKO victory over Nate Loughran during the UFC’s “Fight for the Troops” event in Fayetteville, North Carolina this past December. A veteran from the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter, Credeur won his official UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 14 when he TKO’d Cale Yarbrough at 1:54 of round 1.

Catone presevered his perfect record and improved to 6-0 during his UFC debut last month at UFC Fight Night 17. A strong wrestler who was a top prospect in the Northeast corridor of the U.S., Catone submitted fellow newcomer Derek Downey with a keylock at 1:15 of round 2 during the event.

UFC Fight Night 18 will take place at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The two-hour Spike TV broadcast will be headlined by former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit making his UFC debut against Martin Kampmann and will serve as a prelude to the season premiere for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Additional reported matchups for the UFN 18 include TUF 8 light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero, Junie Browning vs. Cole Miller, Tyson Griffin vs. Rafael dos Anjos, Matt Horwich vs. Ricardo Almeida, former WEC welterweight title challenger Brock Larson vs. newcomer Jesse Sanders, Jeremy Stephens vs. Gleison Tibau, Aaron Simpson vs. Tim McKenzie, Steve Steinbeiss vs. Ryan Jensen, and Rob Kimmons vs. Joe Vedepo.

MMAWeekly.com was the first outlet to break the news of the change and FiveOuncesOfPain.com has since confirmed the report with a source close to one of the fighters.

Tibau, 16-6, trains out of Florida’s American Top Team and last competed at UFC Fight Night 17 in February. Facing veteran Rich Clementi, Tibau was victorious after securing a guillotine choke submission at 4:35 of round 1. The win improved Tibau’s lifetime record in the UFC to 5-3.

Stephens also last competed at UFN 17, fighting in the night’s main event against Joe Lauzon. The 22-year old Iowa native fell to 14-4 after submitting to an armbar by Lauzon at 4:43 of round 1.

UFC Fight Night 18 will take place at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The two-hour Spike TV broadcast will be headlined by former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit making his UFC debut against Martin Kampmann and will serve as a prelude to the season premiere for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Additional reported matchups for the UFN 18 include TUF 8 light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero, Junie Browning vs. Cole Miller, Tyson Griffin vs. Rafael dos Anjos, Matt Horwich vs. Ricardo Almeida, former WEC welterweight title challenger Brock Larson vs. newcomer Jesse Sanders, Aaron Simpson vs. Tim McKenzie, Steve Steinbeiss vs. Ryan Jensen, and Rob Kimmons vs. Joe Vedepo.

Sources close to the fighter revealed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com earlier this afternoon that Escudero was injured while training. MMA Weekly has also issued a similar report.

Escudero, 11-0, won the TUF 8 lightweight crown during the live finale for the show this past December. Facing fellow finalist Phillipe Nover, Escudero took the crown via unanimous decision victory.

A standout wrestler on the collegiate level, nine of the Arizona native’s 11 victories have come by way of submission.

As of now, there is no word as to whether Stephens will remain on the card against a replacement fighter. UFN 18 is still scheduled to be headlined by a welterweight bout featuring former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit taking on Martin Kampmann.

UFC Fight Night 18 will feature a main event of former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit taking on Martin Kampmann. The show will emanate live from the Sommet Center in Nashville. It will precede the debut of The Ultimate Fighter season 9 which features a Team U.K. vs. Team U.S.A. concept for the very first time.

By offering lower priced tickets the UFC has all but assured itself a new attendance record for their UFN series. The Sommet Center plays host to the Arena League’s Nashville Kats and has a capacity of up to 20,000. The arena had a multi-million dollar makeover back in 2007.

When the UFC began their UFN series they predominately aired from Las Vegas utilizing the Cox Pavilion, Hard Rock Hotel and Palms Resorts. This severely limited the amount of spectators as those venues generally drew around 1,000 fans. As the UFC has grown in popularity so have the UFN shows beginning with UFN 15 which took place in Omaha, Nebraska and drew over 9,000 fans back in September of 2008. The most recent UFN which aired live from Tampa, Florida drew over 7,500 fans and was such a rousing success that UFC President Dana White said he had plans to hold a pay-per-view there in the near future.

The main card of UFN 18 features both winners of last season’s Ultimate Fighter reality show. Also featured on the card is the always controversial Junie Browning. Here is the line-up for UFN 18:

Main Card -

• Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann
• Efrain Escudero vs. Jeremy Stephens
• Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero
• Junie Browning vs. Cole Miller

Preliminary Card -

• Rafael dos Anjos vs. Tyson Griffin
• Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Horwich
• Brock Larson vs. Jesse Sanders
• Nissen Osterneck vs. Jorge Rivera
• Rob Kimmons vs. Joe Vedepo
• Tim McKenzie vs. Aaron Simpson
• Ryan Jensen vs. Steve Steinbeiss

MMAjunkie.com was the first to break the news of the matchup.

Rivera is a eight-year veteran of the sport who last competed at UFC 85 this past June, where he lost to Danish kickboxing specialist Martin Kampmann via submission in the first round. Prior to the loss, Rivera recorded a first round knockout upset against TUF 3 middleweight champion Kendall Grove at UFC 80.

He will look to get back on track against Osterneck, who is coming off the first loss of his career this past November against former NCAA champion Jake Rosholt. Competing against Rosholt during a televised match at WEC 36, Osterneck was TKO’d by punches at 3:48 of round 2. The Hawaiian native has also competed for Mark Cuban’s HDNet Fights promotion in the past.

UFC Fight Night 18 will take place at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The two-hour Spike TV broadcast will be headlined by former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit making his UFC debut against Martin Kampmann and will serve as a prelude to the season premiere for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Additional reported matchups for the UFN 18 include TUF 8 lightweight champion Efrain Escudero vs. Jeremy Stephens, TUF 8 light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero, Junie Browning vs. Cole Miller, Tyson Griffin vs. Rafael dos Anjos, Matt Horwich vs. Ricardo Almeida, former WEC welterweight title challenger Brock Larson vs. newcomer Jesse Sanders, Aaron Simpson vs. Tim McKenzie, Steve Steinbeiss vs. Ryan Jensen, and Rob Kimmons vs. Joe Vedepo.

The near-sold out event brought in a live gate of approximately $428,000.

The event marked the first time the UFC has ventured to Tampa and the Spike TV broadcast featured season five veteran of The Ultimate Fighter Joe Lauzon recording a second round submission over Jeremy Stephens during the night’s main event.

In all, the live crowd was treated to 10 total bouts including non-televised matchups featuring Florida-based fighters such as Steve Bruno, Luigi Fioravanti, and Gleison Tibau.

The event continued the trend of the UFC holding its “UFC Fight Night” series to larger venues outside of its home base of Las Vegas. In the past year, the company has brought UFNs to such markets as Broomfield, Colorado (6,742 attendees for a $753,429 gate); Omaha, Nebraska (7,000 fans and a $700,000 gate); and Fayetteville, North Carolina (approximately 8,500 attendees).

The eighteenth installment of UFC Fight Night is scheduled for April 1 in Nashville, Tennessee at the 20,000-seat Sommet Center. The event will be headlined by the UFC debut of former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit as he takes on Danish kickboxing standout Martin Kampmann. The event will be featured on Spike TV as a two hour broadcast and serve as a prelude to the premiere for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Condit had been scheduled to defend his WEC title against Brock Larson on March 1 in Corpus Christi, Texas but was pulled off the card due to a reported wrist injury. His return to the cage has been pushed back a month, as his contract has been transferred from the UFC to the WEC.

The Albuquerque, New Mexico resident is 22-4 overall in a pro MMA career that began in 2002. Since joining the WEC, he is 5-0 with notable victories over Larson, Hiromitsu Miura, Carlo Prater, and John Alessio. Outside of the promotion, the 24-year old holds notable victories over Frank Trigg, Renato Verissimo, Takuya Wada, and Koji Oshi.

Kampmann, 14-2, a former Thai boxing champion hailing from Denmark, won his first four bouts in the Octagon as a middleweight before suffering a TKO loss to Nathan Marquardt at UFC 88 last September.

After dropping down in weight class to 170 pounds, Kampamann defeated Alexandre Barros via TKO in January at UFC 93. Fighting out of Las Vegas with Xtreme Couture, Kampmann will look to improve to 2-0 as a welterweight when he faces Condit.

In addition to Condit vs. Kampmann, other matchups officially announced include TUF 8 light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero; TUF 8 lightweight champ Efrain Escudero vs. a yet to be confirmed opponent; and TUF 8 alum Junie Browning vs. TUF 5 alum Cole Miller.

The two-hour Spike TV telecast will serve as a lead-in for the premiere of the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Featuring a team of eight fighters from the U.S. taking on eight fighters from the U.K., TUF 9 will showcase prospects in both the lightweight and middleweight divisions.

Bout agreements have been presented to both fighters with the contracts expected to be returned to the UFC shortly. Once both agreements are received, the fight could be made official soon after.

Wiman, 10-4, competed last month during the promotion’s “UFC Fight for the Troops” event in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Facing Jim Miller in a match televised on Spike TV, Wiman saw his four fight win streak snapped following a unanimous decision loss that garnered “Fight of the Night” honors.

Before losing to Miller, Wiman, a veteran from the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter, had recorded consecutive wins over Brian Geraghty, Michihiro Omigawa, Justin Buchholz, and Thiago Tavares. His lifetime record in the UFC is currently 4-2.

A native of Canada, Stout is 13-5-1 overall and 2-4 while competing under the UFC banner. A talented kickboxer who trains under Shawn Tompkins, Stout will look to snap a two fight losing streak at UFC 97 following consecutive defeats at UFCs 83 and 89 against Rich Clementi and Terry Etim, respectively. The five-year veteran holds notable victories over Per Eklund, Spencer Fisher, and Jay Estrada.

In addition to Wiman vs. Stout, UFC 97 will be headlined by Anderson Silva defending his UFC middleweight title vs. Thales Leites. Additionally, former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell will return to action against former PRIDE star Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Other reported matchups for UFC 97 include David Loiseau vs. Ed Herman, Brian Stann vs. Krzysztof Soszynski, Luiz Cane vs. Steve Cantwell, Mark Bocek vs. David Bielkheden, and T.J. Grant vs. Ryo Chonan. Tamdan McCrory and Jason MacDonald are also expected to compete on the card against separate opponents.

MMAjunkie.com was the first to break the news of the matchup.

Griffin has not competed since losing a unanimous decision to Sean Sherk at UFC 90 this past October. The defeat dropped Griffin’s lifetime UFC record to 5-2 and his overall record to 12-2. The Xtreme Couture product has notable victories in his career against Urijah Faber, Duane Ludwig, Clay Guida, and Thiago Tavares.

Dos Anjos is a submission specialist who lost his UFC debut to Jeremy Stephens at UFC 91 this past November. The native Brazilian was knocked out at 0:39 of round 3 after Stephens connected on a long-distance uppercut.

In addition to Griffin vs. dos Anjos, UFN 18 will also reportedly feature bouts involving TUF 8 light heavyweight winner Ryan Bader vs. Marrero, TUF 8 lightweight winner Efrain Escudero vs. Jeremy Stephens, Aaron Simpson vs. Tim McKenzie, Junie Browning vs. Cole Miller, newcomer Ronnys Torres vs. Melvin Guillard, and Steve Steinbeiss vs. Ryan Jensen. The two-hour Spike TV telecast will precede the season premiere of the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the news with sources close to the fight on Wednesday afternoon.

Torres trains with Nova Uniao and is 14-1 during his three year MMA career. A standout submission specialist, Torres has recorded notable wins against fighters such as Adriano Martins and Luiz Azeredo.

Guillard, a veteran of the second season of The Ultimate Fighter, is 21-7-2 during a pro MMA career that began in 2002. A gifted athlete, Guillard is undefeated in his last two fights with his last win taking place inside of the Octagon. Matched up against German fighter Dennis Siver at UFC 86, Guillard improve his lifetime UFC record to 4-3 following a TKO just 36 seconds into the fight.

In addition to Guillard vs. Torres, UFN 18 will also reportedly feature bouts involving TUF 8 light heavyweight winner Ryan Bader vs. Marrero, TUF 8 lightweight winner Efrain Escudero vs. Jeremy Stephens, Aaron Simpson vs. Tim McKenzie, Junie Browning vs. Cole Miller, and Steve Steinbeiss vs. Ryan Jensen. The show will emanate from Nashville, Tenn. and will precede the season premiere of the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

MMAjunkie.com first reported that the matchup was possible for UFC 96 but FiveOuncesOfPain.com has since confirmed that verbal agreements between both fighters have been secured for UFN 18.

Jensen, 13-5, is currently on his second tour of duty with the UFC and is winless in three Octagon bouts. He made his UFC debut at UFC 74 in May of 2007, losing to Thales Leites in the first round via armbar submission.

After going 2-1 outside of the UFC, Jensen returned at UFC Fight Night 15 in September. Facing Wilson Gouveia, Jensen tapped at 2:04 of round 2.

Steinbeiss trains out of Arizona Combat Sports and has a lifetime MMA record of 4-2. While UFN 18 will be his UFC debut, he has competed for other national promotions such as BodogFIGHT and the WEC. Steinbeiss’ most recent bout was a split decision loss to Carmelo Marrero at WEC 36 this past November. He was transferred over to the UFC after the WEC closed its middleweight and light heavyweight divisions in December.

In addition to Jensen vs. Steinbeiss, UFN 18 will also reportedly feature bouts involving TUF 8 light heavyweight winner Ryan Bader vs. Marrero, TUF 8 lightweight winner Efrain Escudero vs. Jeremy Stephens, Aaron Simpson vs. Tim McKenzie, and Junie Browning vs. Cole Miller. The show will emanate from Nashville, Tenn. and will precede the season premiere of the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Browning, 3-0, last competed in December during the live finale for the eighth season of TUF where he submitted fellow cast member Dave Kaplan at 1:32 of round 2 courtesy of an armbar.

The highly controversial Browning fought three times on TUF 8, defeating Jose Aguilar during the show’s qualifying round following by a victory in the tournament’s first round against Rolando Delgado. He was eliminated from the show during the semifinals against eventual lightweight winner Efrain Escudero.

The fight vs. Browning will mark the first time Miller has competed since a submission victory in July over Jorge Gurgel at UFC 86. A member of the TUF 5 cast, Miller is 3-1 lifetime in the UFC.

Miller’s overall record is 14-3 with notable victories during his three-year career against Dwayne Shelton, Leonard Garcia, and Andy Wang.

In addition to Browning vs. Miller, UFN 18 will also reportedly feature bouts involving TUF 8 light heavyweight winner Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero, TUF 8 lightweight winner Efrain Escudero vs. Jeremy Stephens, Aaron Simpson vs. Tim McKenzie, and Steve Steinbeiss vs. Ryan Jensen. The show will emanate from Nashville, Tenn. and will precede the season premiere of the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com learned of the news from a source close to one of the fighters on Sunday.

The Simpson vs. McKenzie matchup will pit a current member of Arizona Combat Sports, Simpson, vs. one of its former members, McKenzie. Both fighters will also be making their UFC debuts after being transferred over from the WEC following the latter’s decision to close its middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.

Simpson improved to 4-0 after needing all of 18 seconds to knockout David Avellan at WEC 36 this past November. A former standout wrestler in college, all of Simpson’s victories have ended inside the distance.

McKenzie is 12-5 overall during a professional mixed martial arts career that began in 2001. He was 1-1 in the WEC with a loss to Steve Cantwell at WEC 33 and a victory over Jeremy Lang at WEC 34.

UFN 18 will take place in Nashville, Tennessee and the two-hour Spike TV telecast will precede the season premiere for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Additional bouts expected for the card include TUF 8 lightweight winner Efrain Escudero vs. Jeremy Stephens, TUF 8 light heavyweight winner Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero, and Junie Browning vs. Cole Miller.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com was informed of the matchup from a source close to one of the fighters.

Bader won his TUF 8 crown following a first round TKO over Vinicius Magalhaes during the show’s live finale last month. A former All-American wrestler at Arizona State University, Bader is 8-0 in his career with seven of his eight victories having ended inside the distance.

He’ll be facing another former amateur wrestler in Marrero, who is returning to the UFC after being released from the organization in May of 2007. Marrero, 10-2, last competed in November at WEC 36, where he recorded a split decision victory over Steve Steinbeiss. He was transferred over to the UFC after the WEC closed both its middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.

Marrero might be best known for his upset victory over Cheick Kongo at UFC 64. However, he was released from his contract after experiencing back-to-back losses to Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 66 and Wilson Gouveia at UFC 71.

UFN 18 will take place in Nashville, Tenn. and the two-hour live telecast on Spike TV will precede the season premiere for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has learned that the UFC will be making its Tennessee debut in Nashville on April 1 when it presents UFC Fight Night 18. Five Ounces of Pain was informed of the news by several sources close to fighters that are expected to compete on the card.

UFN 18 will be broadcast on Spike TV and will serve as a prelude to the season premiere for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter, which will feature a team of eight UK fighters coached by Michael Bisping facing a team of eight U.S.-based fighters expected to be coached by either Dan Henderson or Rich Franklin.

As of now, FiveOuncesOfPain.com has only been able to confirm one match for UFC 18, with the site having reported on Friday that TUF 8 lightweight champion Efrain Escudero will be making his formal UFC debut against Jeremy Stephens.

Sources have revealed exclusively to FiveOuncesOfPain.com that Escudero, 11-0, has signed on to face Jeremy Stephens at an upcoming UFC event. It’s believed that the fight will take place during a UFC Fight Night event in April that will precede the season premiere for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Escudero, a former NJCAA All-American wrestler, won the 155 pound TUF 8 finals during the show’s live season finale held in Las Vegas on Dec. 13. Facing Phillipe Nover, Escudero took the TUF 8 lightweight crown courtesy of a unanimous decision.

Stephens, 14-3, holds a lifetime record of 3-2 in the UFC and is coming off a win against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 91 this past November. The Iowa native registered one of the most impressive knockouts of the year when he finished dos Anjos at 0:39 of round 3 when he landed a massive uppercut from an extended distance.

Stephens’ prior wins in the Octagon have come against Cole Miller and Diego Saraiva with his two losses coming against Din Thomas and Spencer Fisher.