Michael Bisping

PRESS RELEASE; NEW YORK, March 9 — More than two centuries after the United States achieved its independence from England, friction between the two nations is about to flare up again when “The Ultimate Fighter: United States Vs. United Kingdom” premieres Wednesday, April 1 at 10:00 PM, ET/PT on Spike TV.

For these 32 up-and-coming mixed martial arts fighters, two things are on the line: bragging rights for their respective countries, and a six-figure contract with the preeminent mixed martial arts organization in the world, The Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Season nine of Spike TV’s wildly successful original series, “The Ultimate Fighter,” features 16 lightweights (155 lbs) and 16 welterweights (170 lbs). They will train and compete under the watchful eye of the coaches, “The Ultimate Fighter 3? champion and top middleweight contender Michael Bisping, and former concurrent PRIDE champion of the 185 lbs and 205 lbs divisions and U.S. Olympian, Dan Henderson.

Each of the 32 contestants must fight his way into the Ultimate Fighter House by winning a preliminary bout that will be featured during the first two episodes (April 1 and 8). The remaining 10 episodes will feature the victorious 16 fighters and their quest for the coveted “Ultimate Fighter” crown.

The 32 fighters for “The Ultimate Fighter: United States Vs. United Kingdom” include:

Fighting to Represent the United States

Welterweight:

• Ryan Biglar — A member of team Cobra Kai in Las Vegas, Biglar is a 24-year-old jiu-jitsu artist originally from Guam.
• Ray Elbe — Born and raised in Arizona, the 25-year-old Elbe (20-11) has spent parts of the last three years perfecting his muay thai skills in Phuket, Thailand.
• Christian Fulgium — Fighting out of the Gladiator camp in Lafayette, Louisiana, Fulgium is a wrestler with a combined 6-2-1 mixed martial arts record.
• DaMarques Johnson — Johnson, a member of Elite Performance in Salt Lake City, Utah, began training in mixed martial arts in 2001 while serving in the military. He has since amassed a 13-6 mixed martial arts record.
• Kevin Knabjian — Born and raised in Chicago, Knabjian (10-3-1) wrestled at Division 1 Eastern Illinois University and graduated with a degree in Business Management. Knabjian trains out of Gilbert Grappling in Chicago.
• Mark Miller — A 5′ 10″ welterweight muay thai artist, Miller (10-4) trains out of Dino Costeas MMA and Toro Muay Thai in Chicago.
• Jason Pierce — A former soccer standout at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Pierce (9-0) trains with Bettendorf’s Miletich Fighting Systems camp.
• Kiel Reid — Born and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa, Reid (8-1) returned to the area in 2005 to take up mixed martial arts full-time with the Miletich Fighting Systems camp.

Lightweight:

• Paul Bird — A stand-up fighter, Paul Bird (4-1) trains in West Des Moines, Iowa out of the Des Moines MMA camp.
• Santino DeFranco — 26-year-old Santino DeFranco trains out of Southwest MMA in Tempe, AZ. A 5′ 10″ jiu-jitsu specialist, DeFranco holds a 13-4 mixed martial arts record.
• Jason Dent — Submission specialist Jason Dent owns and operates Griffon Rawl gym in Mentor, Ohio. He holds a combined 19-9 mixed martial arts record with bouts against Roger Huerta at UFC 63 and Gleison Tibau at UFC 68 under his belt.
• Cameron Dollar — A member of Fight Factory in Colorado Springs, CO, Dollar (4-1) has trained with TUF alums Cory Hill and Noah Thomas.
• Tom Hayden — Tom Hayden, 4-0, is a ground specialist who trains out of TUF 2 alum’s Jorge Gurgel camp in West Chester, OH.
• Waylon Lowe — Fighting out of Jorge Gurgel’s camp in Ohio, the 28-year-old Waylon Lowe owns a 5-2 mixed martial arts record.
• Josh Souder — A well-rounded fighter out of Team Prodigy in Ohio, the 5′ 7″ Josh Souder owns a 7-2 overall mixed martial arts record.
• Richie Whitson — Born and raised in Alaska, the heavy-handed Whitson holds a perfect 4-0 mixed martial arts record. He currently trains out of Temecula, CA with Team Quest.

Fighting to Represent the United Kingdom

Welterweight:

• Dean Amarasinghe — Rough House Gym’s Dean Amarasinghe (4-1) is a 5′ 10″ grappler from Nottingham, England.
• James Bateman — 5′ 10″ striker James Bateman (2-1) trains with Grimsby NHB in Grimsby, England.
• David Faulkner — 5′ 9″ ground specialist David Faulkner trains with Wolfslair in Widnes, England. The 28-year-old born in Kirkby holds a 2-1 mixed martial arts record.
• Tommy Maguire — 20-year-old Tommy Maguire trains in Wisbech, England with Tsunami Gym. The 5′ 7″ stand-up fighter holds a 5-2 mixed martial arts record, with three wins coming via TKO.
• Che Mills — Born is Gloucester, England, 6′ 2″ welterweight Che Mills (7-2) trains with Mark Weir’s Range Fighting in the UK.
• Nicholas Osipczak — Sporting a perfect 3-0 record, Nicholas Osipczak trains in London, England with Pancrase UK.
• Alex Reid — Alexander Reid trains in London, England with the London Shoot Fighters. The 33-year-old stand up artist is 10-9-1 in his twenty mixed martial arts bouts.
• James Wilks — Born and raised in England, 30-year-old fighter James Wilks has trained with Eric Paulson in Orange County, California since 2000. The 6′ 1″ striker is 5-2 in his mixed martial arts career.

Lightweight:

• James Bryan — Lightweight James Bryan (3-1) is a 25-year-old stand up fighter from Somerset, England.
• Dan James — Dan James, 3-0, is a stand up artist fighting out of Swansea, Wales. The 5′ 10″ fighter has won two of his fights by TKO.
• Gary Kelly — Wolfslair fighter Gary Kelly (2-1) is a 25-year-old striker from Liverpool, England.
• Jeff Lawson — 5′ 6″ lightweight Jess Lawson (13-2) trains with Team Bulldog out of Dorset, England.
• Ross Pearson — 24-year-old striker Ross Pearson (9-3) is a member of Sunderland Jiu-Jitsu & MMA Club in Sunderland, England.
• Martin Stapleton — Born in Manchester, England, 25-year-old Thai boxer Martin Stapleton (5-1) trains with Quannum Combat Arts.
• AJ Wenn — Cambs, England’s AJ Wenn is a well-rounded fighter training out of Tsunami Gym. The 24-year-old has a 7-2 mixed martial arts record.
• Andre Winner — Lightweight Andre Winner (9-2-1) trains out of Rough House in London, England.

During the six-week taping of “The Ultimate Fighter: United States Vs. United Kingdom,” these 16 men who survived the prelims endured a grueling regimen of jiu-jitsu, judo, muay thai, karate, boxing and wrestling. The intense competition between the fighters continues after they leave the gym – at The Ultimate Fighter House. These warriors must live together, knowing that any day they might be forced to fight each other in the famed UFC Octagon.

The two finalists will square off in a live finale Saturday, June 20 on Spike TV, when the two weight class winners will be declared “The Ultimate Fighter” and net the aforementioned contract and a cash prize. UFC President Dana White will once again serve as host of the series.

Nelson started with a blitz of punches right at the start of the first round which Imes was able to recover briefly. Nelson finished the bout with a crunching series of blows for the quick KO.

Schultz and Taurosevicius battled hard, with both surviving near-submissions and solid strikes. Ultimately, Schultz claimed the unanimous decision.

Miller’s was a quick finish, after an exciting first three minutes of the first round in which both competitors maintained a high-energy pace. Miller caught McGivern in a kneebar to win his first title.

The preliminary bouts featured athletes from four MMA camps, including Team Quest, Team Bombsquad, World Class Fight Center and Team Prodigy. Lightweight John Franchi (Cortland, N.Y.) of Bombsquad got the night off to an exciting start with a first-round submission victory over Frank Latina (Middletown, Conn.). Team Quest’s Aaron Stark (Portland, Ore.) then scored a unanimous decision over Bombsquad’s Lamont Lister (Philadelphia) in a light heavyweight bout. John Howard (Boston) then knocked out Nick Calandrino (Emerson, N.J.) of Bombsquad with a third-round flurry of strikes in an entertaining matchup of welterweights.

The second set of preliminary bouts began with Matt Horwich (Portland, Ore.) of Team Quest recording a unanimous decision over Joey Guel (Oregon) in a middleweight matchup. Josh Souder (Mason, Ohio) of Team Prodigy then wrapped up a quick TKO over Team Quest’s Zac George (Norman, Okla.), before World Class Fight Center’s Danillo Villefort (Pompano Beach, Fla.) scored a first-round submission victory via kneebar over Mike Massenzio (Paterson, N.J.) of Bombsquad.

The IFL’s next scheduled event is set for August 15 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., when it will unveil its new six-sided ring surface, dubbed “The Hex.”

For complete results from the event CLICK HERE.

• Ryan Schultz (154) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (154)
• Roy Nelson (264.2) vs. Brad Imes (249.2)
• Ryan McGivern (181.2) vs. Dan Miller (180.5)

PRELIMINARY BOUTS

• Mike Massenzio (185.2) vs. Danillo Villefort (184.7)
• Zac George (155.2) vs. Josh Souder (155.2)
• Matt Horwich (185.7) vs. Joey Guel (185.5)
• Nick Calandrino (170) vs. John Howard (170.5)
• Lamont Lister (205.2) vs. Aaron Stark (205.7)
• John Franchi (155) vs. Frank Latina (152)

The added fighters include two – Danillo Villefort (Pompano Beach, Fla.) and Josh Souder (Mason, Ohio) who competed at IFL Draft events last September. Also added is Jim Miller (Sparta, N.J.), who is coming off an impressive victory in his IFL debut at the Izod Center in E. Rutherford, N.J. earlier this month.

Also newly named to the card are Lamont Lister (Philadelphia), Joey Guel (Olympia, Wash.), Fabricio Camoes (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Nick Calandrino (Emerson, N.J.). The bouts involving the added athletes include:

• Lister vs. Aaron Stark (Portland, Ore.), 205 lbs.
• Clandrino vs. John Howard (Boston), 170 lbs.
• Souder vs. Zac George (Norman, Okla.), 155 lbs.
• Guel vs. Matt Horwich (Portland, Ore.), 185 lbs.
• Camoes vs. Miller, 155 lbs.
• Villefort vs. Mike Massenzio (Paterson, N.J.), 185 lbs.

As previously announced, three IFL Champions will put their respective titles on the line to headline the card, as Ryan McGivern (Bettendorf, Iowa) takes on Dan Miller (Sparta, N.J.) at middleweight, Roy Nelson (Las Vegas) battles Branden Lee Hinkle (Weirton, W. Va.) at heavyweight, and Ryan Schultz (North Platte, Neb.) defends against Deividas Taurosevicius (Lithuania) at lightweight.

The preliminary bouts feature athletes from four noted MMA camps, including Team Quest, Team Bombsquad, World Class Fight Center and Team Prodigy.

Tickets are available via www.ticketmaster.com, the Mohegan Sun Arena Box Office, and by telephone at 860-886-0070.

The now-complete fight card for the event is after the jump…

IFL Mohegan Sun
Friday, May 16, 2008 (order TBD)

Preliminary Bouts

• 205 lbs.: Aaron Stark (Portland, Ore.) (Team Quest) (2-2 IFL, 5-4 overall MMA) vs. Lamont Lister (Philadelphia) (Team Bombsquad) (0-0, 5-3)
• 170 lbs.: John Howard (Boston) (0-0 IFL, 8-3 overall MMA) vs. Nick Calandrino (Emerson, N.J.) (Team Bombsquad) (0-0, 5-0)
• 155 lbs.: Zac George (Norman, Okla.) (Team Quest) (1-1, 12-2) vs. Josh Souder (Mason, Ohio) (Team Prodigy) (0-0, 10-6)
• 185 lbs.: Matt Horwich (Portland, Ore.) (Team Quest) (6-4, 21-10-1) vs. Joey Guel (Oregon) (0-0, 12-5)
• 155 lbs.: Fabricio Camoes (Brazil) (World Class Fight Center) (0-0, 8-4) vs. Jim Miller (Sparta, N.J.) (Team Bombsquad/AMA Fight Club) (1-0, 11-1)
• 185 lbs.: Danillo Villefort (Pompano Beach, Fla.) (World Class Fight Center) (0-0, 6-2) vs. Mike Massenzio (Paterson, N.J.) (Team Bombsquad) (0-0, 10-1)

Championship Bouts

• 185 lbs.: Champion Ryan McGivern (Bettendorf, Iowa) (Miletich Fighting Systems) (6-4, 12-5) vs. Dan Miller (AMA Fight Club) (Sparta, N.J.) (1-0, 7-1)
• 265 lbs.: Champion Roy Nelson (Las Vegas) (Lion’s Den) (5-1, 12-2) vs. Branden Lee Hinkle (Weirton, W. Va.) (0-0, 13-9)
• 155 lbs.: Champion Ryan Schultz (North Platte, Neb.) (Team Quest) (6-2, 19-9-1) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (Lithuania) (Renzo Gracie) (3-0, 9-2)