Lutter, the winner of Ultimate Fighter 4, returned to action for the first time since being cut by the UFC last spring and used takedowns and ground control to dominate the first two rounds, nabbing mount and nearly finishing the bout in both frames with rear naked chokes.

MacDonald, who got his UFC walking papers in April, came back strongly in the third, pinning Lutter in the corner of the ring and unloading with ground and pound, but with MacDonald unable to score a finish or a 10-8 round, Lutter was declared the winner with unanimous 29-28 scores.

Lightweight champ Antonio McKee topped Carlo Prater by unanimous decision in a three-round, non-title co-main event after Prater failed to make weight on Thursday for the championship bout. McKee used superior wrestling to dominate the WEC veteran Prater and earn the unanimous decision win.

In other notable action, John Alessio stopped Luigi Fioravanti with strikes in the third, Mike Nickels submitted David Heath in the third after an exciting slugfest, Ryan Jimmo edged Marvin Eastman by split decision, and Pete Spratt scored a second-round knockout of Nathan Gunn.

The complete results for MFC 22 were:

• Travis Lutter def. Jason MacDonald via unanimous decision
• Antonio McKee def. Carlo Prater via unanimous decision
• John Alessio def. Luigi Fioravanti via TKO (strikes) — Round 3, 1:34
• Mike Nickels def. David Heath via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 3, 4:02
• Ryan Jimmo def. Marvin Eastmanvia split decision
• Pete Spratt def. Nathan Gunn via KO (punch) — Round 2, 4:19
• Dwayne Lewis def. Jared Kilkenny via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 3:31
• Jason Heit def. Paapa Inkumusah via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 4:59
• Joe Christopher def. Andrew Buckland via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1, 1:54
• Nick Hryunchyshyn def. Jesse MacDougall via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 4:29

The rest of the 10-fight card, including headliners Jason MacDonald and Travis Lutter, successfully made weight.

The official weigh-in results for MFC 22: Payoff were:

• Jason MacDonald (185.5) vs. Travis Lutter (185.5)
• Antonio McKee (156) vs. Carlo Prater (158)
• John Alessio (169.5) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (171)
• Mike Nickels (206) vs. David Heath (205)
• Marvin Eastman (205) vs. Ryan Jimmo (204.5)
• Pete Spratt (171) vs. Nathan Gunn (170)
• Jared Kilkenny (205) vs. Dwayne Lewis (204)
• Paapa Inkumusha (169.5) vs. Jason Heit (170)
• Joe Christopher (171) vs. Andrew Buckland (170.5)
• Jesse MacDougall (168) vs. Nick Hrynchshyn (170)

The Western Canada based Maximum Fighting Championship recently sent out a press release confirming its matches for the upcoming MFC 22: Payoff event on October 2nd just outside Edmonton, Alberta. The event will be televised live on HDNet Fights. Included on the card are several UFC castoffs, as well as a batch of MFC staples. The headlining bout will be match up between two top grapplers, as Jason MacDonald will look to topple Travis Lutter. Also on the card, Antonio McKee will take on Carlo Prater for the MFC lightweight belt, and Luigi Fioravanti will face John Alessio.

The full card for MFC 22 is:

• Jason MacDonald vs. Travis Lutter
• Antonio McKee vs. Carlo Prater
  MFC Lightweight Title Bout
• Luigi Fioravanti vs John Alessio
• Ryan Jimmo vs Marvin Eastman
• David Heath vs Mike Nickels
• Pete Spratt vs Nathan Gunn
• Thiago Goncalves vs Jesse Juarez

The Spokane, Washington based Arena Rumble will hold its debut event this Saturday, September 12th at the Spokane arena. To kick things off they have enlisted the services of a few TUF alums, and a few recent UFC castoffs, as well as some up and coming fighters. Headlining the event is a match up between Jason Guida (known for not making weight on “The Ultimate Fighter 8″) and Jeremy Horn, a veteran of over one hundred fights. Other notables in action on the card include former UFC fighters Trevor Prangley, Brad Imes, and Terry Martin, as well as undefeated Strikeforce prospect Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm, who has yet to have a fight go the distance.

The event is slated to feature 15 professional bouts, with no broadcast plans, according to MMAJunkie. The main card for Arena Rumble is:

• Jason Guida vs. Jeremy Horn
• Trevor Prangley vs. Dennis Reed
• Lyle Beerbohm vs. Josh Martin
• Brad Imes vs. Josh Queen
• Mike Hanks vs. Sidney Silva
• Justin Grizzard vs. Ben McCombs
• Terry Martin vs. Julio Paulino

Pictured: Jason Macdonald

Jeff Monson plead guilty to charges related to spray-painting graffiti on the Washington state Capitol on Tuesday, and was forced to surrender his passport as part of a plea deal, which may force his to withdraw from several upcoming bouts abroad. [The Olympian]

Pictured: Jeff Monson

[Kris Karkoski contributed to this post]

Jason MacDonald

Despite comments by UFC President Dana White following UFC 97 that Jason MacDonald was unlikely to be cut following his April loss to Nate Quarry, the promotion has done just that, releasing the veteran middleweight over the weekend, according to Sportsnet.ca.

The bloody first-round TKO defeat to Quarry was “The Athlete’s” second-straight loss and fifth in his last eight bouts. He ends his current stint in the UFC with an even 5-5 record. MacDonald earned victories over Ed Herman, Chris Leben, Rory Singer, Joe Doerksen, and Jason Lambert and suffered losses to Rich Franklin, Yushin Okami, Demian Maia, Wilson Gouveia, and Quarry.

Though there has been no confirmation on where MacDonald may ultimately end up, his well-known name is likely to attract interest from Strikeforce and Affliction, while the Canadian is also likely to receive offers from a number of Canadian promotions.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest MMA news.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

Anderson Silva defeated Thales Leites via unanimous decision in the UFC 97 main event on Saturday in Montreal, Canada in a fight that will be remembered as one of the most uneventful in UFC history. In the co-headliner, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua likely retired Chuck Liddell with a first-round knockout.

The event’s official results were:

• Anderson Silva (c) def. Thales Leites via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 50-46)
  UFC Middleweight Championship
• Sam Stout def. Matt Wiman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Mauricio “Shogun” Rua def. Chuck Liddell via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:28
• Krzysztof Soszynski def. Brian Stann via submission (kimura) — Round 1, 3:53
• Cheick Kongo def. Antoni Hardonk via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 2:29
• Luis Cane def. Steve Cantwell via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Denis Kang def. Xavier Foupa-Pokam via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Nate Quarry def. Jason MacDonald via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 2:27
• Ed Herman def. David Loiseau via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
• Mark Bocek def. David Bielkheden via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 4:57
• TJ Grant def. Ryo Chonan via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
• Eliot Marshall def. Vinicius Magalhaes via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

For complete UFC 97: Redemption play-by-play click here to check out our UFC 97 live blog replay.

The 12-bout event will get underway at 7:30pm ET with a 7-fight unaired preliminary card followed by 5 televised bouts, including Silva-Leites and Liddell-Rua.

Join MMAFrenzy.com beginning at 7:30pm ET for live results and main card play-by-play.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Anderson Silva (c) def. Thales Leites via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 50-46)
  UFC Middleweight Championship
• Sam Stout def. Matt Wiman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Mauricio “Shogun” Rua def. Chuck Liddell via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:28
• Krzysztof Soszynski def. Brian Stann via submission (kimura) — Round 1, 3:53
• Cheick Kongo def. Antoni Hardonk via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 2:29
• Luis Cane def. Steve Cantwell via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Denis Kang def. Xavier Foupa-Pokam via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Nate Quarry def. Jason MacDonald via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 2:27
• Ed Herman def. David Loiseau via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
• Mark Bocek def. David Bielkheden via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 4:57
• TJ Grant def. Ryo Chonan via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
• Eliot Marshall def. Vinicius Magalhaes via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

PLAY-BY-PLAY

• 185: Anderson Silva (c) (182) vs. Thales Leites (185)
  UFC Middleweight Championship
• 205 Chuck Liddell (206) vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (206)
• 265: Cheick Kongo (232) vs. Antoni Hardonk (249)
• 205: Luis Cane (206) vs. Steve Cantwell (205)
• 205: Krzysztof Soszynski (204) vs. Brian Stann (206)

PRELIMINARY CARD (un-televised)

• 185: Vinicius Magalhaes (204) vs. Eliot Marshall (205)
• 185: Xavier Foupa-Pokam (185) vs. Denis Kang (185)
• 185: Jason MacDonald (186) vs. Nate Quarry (186)
• 185: Ed Herman (186) vs. David Loiseau (185)
• 155: David Bielkheden (157) vs. Mark Bocek (154)
• 170: Ryo Chonan (171) vs. T.J. Grant (169)
• 155: Sam Stout (155) vs. Matt Wiman (155)

Note: Non-championship fighters can weigh-in one pound over their respective weight class limit.

Anderson Silva

MMAFrenzy.com learned this morning that more bouts have been announced for UFC 97: Redemption, which is to take place on April 18 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The event is to feature headlining bouts between Thales Leites and Middle Weight Champion Anderson Silva, as well as Former Light Heavy Weight Champion Chuck Liddell facing off against 2005 PRIDE middleweight grand prix winner Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

The added bouts include the return of one-time middleweight contender, and Montreal native, David “The Crow” Loiseau to face off against former TUF contender and Team Quest product Ed “Short Fuse” Herman. “The Crow” is on a three fight winning streak and hasn’t been stopped in almost five years. Herman was a highly touted prospect during his stint on The Ultimate Fighter, but has shown to be inconsistent in his UFC career, and suffered losses in each of his last two bouts.

Also added to the card, former World Extreme Cagefighting Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann will make his UFC debut against TUF 9 participant, and Team Quest product, Canadian Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 97. Former Marine Stann was expected to make his promotional debut against Steve Cantwell in December, but had to withdraw due to injury. Soszynski was dispatched from “The Ultimate Fighter” by Vinny Magalhaes, but went on to defeat Shane Primm via Kimura at the season’s finale event. Considering both fighters’ strengths and history one would expect this bout to take place mostly on the feet, and likely end in fireworks.

Other bouts booked for UFC 97: Redemption include a middleweight match-up pitting Nate “The Rock” Quarry against Canadian Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald and a lightweight tilt between Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts Mark Bocek and David Bielkheden.

For the latest UFC 97 rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC rumors section.

Jason MacDonald

Middleweights Jason MacDonald and Nate Quarry will look to rebound from recent losses and climb the 185-pound ladder when they meet at UFC 97 on April 18th in Montreal, Canada.

MMAFrenzy.com today confirmed the matchup, which was first reported by MMA Weekly.

Though he’s gone just 5-4 since debuting with the UFC in 2006, MacDonald (21-11) has earned three “Submission of the Night” awards for wins over Ed Herman, Chris Leben, and Jason Lambert as well as a “Knockout of the Night” honor for his second-round TKO of Joe Doerksen. “The Athlete” was last in action at The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale in December, losing via first round submission due to strikes.

Quarry kicked off his UFC career with three-straight victories over Lodune Sincaid, Shonie Carterm, and Pete Sell that earned him a title shot against Rich Franklin. Franklin defeated Quarry via first-round knockout in late-2005 and “The Rock” did not compete again inside the octagon for two years due to various injuries sustained prior to the championship bout and underwent surgery for a chronic back condition that allowed him to return to competition in 2007. Quarry returned with back-to-back wins over Pete Sell and Kalib Starnes, but suffered a first-round submission loss to Demia Maia at UFC 91 in November.

For the latest UFC 97 rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC rumors section.