UFC 146

Junior Dos Santos (JDS) left the MGM Grand with the Heavyweight belt fixed around his waist. The dominant champion headlined the UFC's first all-Heavyweight main card against two-time UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir.
Both fighters made their game plans clear within the Primetime videos; JDS wanted to utilise his boxing in search of his 11th career KO. Where as, Mir wanted to add to his 9 career submissions.

JDS defended an early takedown, foreshadowing the belt returning to Bahia, Brazil, as the bout favoured the stand-up style of JDS and left Mir with little chance of dethroning the champion.
Mir got rocked late in round one and barely made it through to the second round, a late flurry of punches was one of many signs a clear boxing advantage honed at the Academia de Champion by trainer Luiz Dorea. Mir admitted in the post-fight press conference, "his foot-work was awesome, that was the thing I had the hardest time with." 
Ironically, JDS correctly predicted a second-round KO and extended his UFC record to (15-1). A straight right sent Mir crashing to the canvas and left referee Herb Dean with no choice but to intervene.

Former UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez made a huge statement to the rest of the division with the demolition of former Strikeforce contender Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva and potentially opens the door for a re-match against JDS who took the title away from the first Mexican Heavyweight champion last November.

In the preliminary card, Nottingham born Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy broke his four-fight losing streak with a KO against talented kick boxer Duane Ludwig and secured a joint 'Knock-Out of The Night' award for an additional $70,000.

Main Card:

• Heavyweight bout: Junior Dos Santos def. Frank Mir - TKO (punches) 3.04 minutes in Round 2.
• Heavyweight bout: Cain Velasquez def. Antonio Silva - TKO (punches) 3.36 minutes in Round 1.
• Heavyweight bout: Roy Nelson def. Dave Herman - KO (punch) 51 seconds in Round 1.
• Heavyweight bout: Stipe Miocic def. Shane del Rosario - TKO (elbows) 3.14 minutes in Round 2.
• Heavyweight bout: Stefan Struve def. Lavar Johnson - Submission (armbar) 1.05 minutes in Round 1.

Preliminary Card:

• Featherweight bout: Darren Elkins def. Diego Brandao - Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
• Lightweight bout: Jamie Varner def. Edson Barboza - TKO (punches) 3.23 minutes in Round 1
• Middleweight bout: C.B Dollway def. Jason Miller - Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-26, 29-28).
• Welterweight bout: Dan Hardy def. Duane Ludwig - KO (punch and elbows) 3.51 minutes in Round 1.
• Lightweight bout: Paul Sass def. Jacob Volkmann - Submission (triangle choke) 1.54 minutes in Round 1.
• Light heavyweight bout: Glover Teixeira def. Kyle Kingsbury - Submission (triangle choke) 1.53 minutes in Round 1.
• Featherweight bout: Mike Brown def. Daniel Pineda - Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs UK

The latest season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ is set for Team Australia taking on Team UK, dubbed ‘The Smashes’ - originating from the cricket rivalry between the two nations which is known as ‘The Ashes’.

“Australia and the UK have a fierce, long-standing rivalry, and where better to settle the score than in the UFC’s OctagonTM,” said Marshall Zelaznik - UFC’s Managing Director of International Development.
“The popularity of MMA has exploded in Australia and the UK, with gyms opening all over the respective countries. There is an athlete in one of those gyms who hasn’t had the chance to show the world what he can do - The Ultimate Fighter is going give to him that opportunity. We’re going to discover the UFC’s future stars, you can bet on it.”

The series will be filmed in Sydney, Australia and will see MMA fighters live together in The Ultimate Fighter House and compete against each other for the prized UFC six-figure contract.

The two coaches are yet to be announced, but rumours of Australia’s coach include George Sotiropoulos, Kyle Noke and Hector Lombard. Also possible UK coaches include the likes of Michael Bisping, Brad Pickett and Dan Hardy.

The Ultimate Fighter has a habit of producing UFC Champions and icons such as, Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Matt Serra, Nate Diaz, the UK's own Michael Bisping and Ross Pearson. 

Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping, one of the UFC’s Middleweight contenders and most recognised fighters, won Season 3 in 2006 under the training of UFC legend Tito Ortiz.
Similary, Ross ‘The Real Deal’ Pearson then followed suit by winning Season 9 in 2009, in the The Ultimate Fighter: UK vs USA season, coached by fellow countryman, Michael Bisping.

The live tryouts are scheduled for June 15 in London and will be open to Batamweight (135lbs or 61kg) and Welterweight (170lbs or 77kg) fighters. 

Registration is now open to all aspiring UFC fighters from the UK - http://uk.ufc.com/TUFForm