– Spike TV originally planned to air the next season of Ultimate Fighter from January through March. Now it is not likely to start until April, running through to June. The main reason for this is that the previous April to June season was the one that did very well in the ratings, though that had the added Shamrock/Ortiz dynamic too. Spike also wants to wait till the NCAA tournament finishes, so there is no high-profile national event to distract from the show. Dave Hawk, the manager of Kurt Angle, has been suggesting to Spike that Angle should be involved in the show as one of the coaches, building to an eventual UFC PPV match – despite his lack of MMA experience. Angle has of course just signed with Spike TV’s favoured pro-wrestling promotion, TNA, and will be appearing on their Impact show that has previously featured UFC stars. Hawk said that “TNA is a working business passion he wants to do. He also still wants to train for MMA”. A close friend of Angle’s responded by saying “He will continue to talk about MMA to leverage other potential deals but, sadly, may buckle under a large money deal. His inner circle needs to make Kurt aware of the imminent danger of fighting when he is essentially a sitting duck with a bad neck that will be exploited. Kurt needs to take 2006 off and get mentally and physically ready. Denial is a deadly emotion.”
– There is talk of doing an Ultimate Fight Night at a military base in South Carolina in December.
– Yves Edwards was released from UFC. He will be replaced by Clay Guida, a Chicago fighter who is having a good year, on the 10/14 PPV against Justin James. That was to have been Edwards last contracted match, yet he wanted to see what he could make elsewhere and UFC wanted to sign people to long-term deals because of so many different new groups existing. Rather than have him get an impressive win then head elsewhere, most likely Bodog, both sides agreed to end the contract early. UFC is not prepared to spend big money on prelim guys as they are not draws, while other groups are prepared to spend more in the hope that the newer guys will become stars.
– Two fights on the 10/10 TV special have been altered. Ross Pointon suffered an arm injury in training, while Luke Cummo dislocated his knee, so their match is replaced with Marcus Davis vs. Forrest Petz. Also, Joe Riggs vs. Tony DeSouza has been changed to Dustin Hazelett vs. Tony DeSouza. Riggs’ wife recently suffered a miscarriage and required emergency surgery related to it. The matches that will actually air on TV have not been affected.
Credit: Wrestling Observer newsletter (click here for subscription information)
