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

Rich Clementi

The UFC is continuing to shrink their roster, cutting a hand full of fighters in recent days, according to Five Ounces of Pain, including Rich Clementi, Luigi Fioravanti, Derek Downey, Christian Wellisch, and Eddie Sanchez. This move not only downsizes the UFC’s massive roster, but will also put the fear of being cut on the minds of many struggling UFC fighters.

Luigi Fioravanti is an American Top Team member that has fought to a .500 record by going 2-2 in his last four fights. He was defeated by 170-pound up and comer Anthony Johnson via first round TKO at UFC Fight Night 17 last Saturday. Although this didn’t appear to be a terrible loss, it does appear to be the one that cost Luigi his Job.

The magic number to be worried about being released seems to be two-straight as Clementi, Wellisch, and Sanchez all had two-straight losses.

Rich Clementi is not far off from a 3 fight win streak that had him starting to climb the lightweight rankings. That streak came to a crashing halt as he then lost his next two bouts. Fresh off of losses to Gray Maynard and Gleison Tibau he is now on the outside looking in.

Christian Wellisch’s string of bad luck started with a loss to Shane Carwin and continued against Jake O’Brien while Eddie Sanchez suffered losses to Justin McCully and Antoni Hardonk.

Downey lost his UFC debut at UFN 17 last weekend against fellow newcomer Nick Catone and will not get another chance to prove to the UFC brass that he is worth keeping.

The UFC is known for having the best fighters in the world and one way to make sure they live up to this reputation is to drop fighters that may be struggling or have not shown signs of being a true contender. Luigi Fioravanti and Rich Clementi have both shown signs of being at least a mid-tier fighter, but the UFC didn’t agree. Other fighters that could be on the way out in the future could be Pete Sell (lost 4 out of last 5), Kendall Grove (lost 2 out of last 3), and Jorge Rivera (lost 5 out of last 9).

Joe Lauzon Submits Jeremy Stephens at UFC Fight Night 17

After a close first-round, lightweight Joe Lauzon forced late-replacement Jeremy Stephens to submit to an armbar late in the second-round of their headlining matchup, which capped off UFC Fight Night 17 on Saturday at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida.

Heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez, veteran Josh Neer, and knockout artist Anthony Johnson also picked up main card victories.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 17 RESULTS

• Joe Lauzon def. Jeremy Stephens via submission (armbar) — Round 2, 4:43
• Cain Velasquez def. Denis Stojnic via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 2:34
• Josh Neer def. Mac Danzig via submission (triangle choke) — Round 2, 3:36
• Anthony Johnson def. Luigi Fioravanti via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:39
• Kurt Pellegrino def. Rob Emerson via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 2, 3:14
• Dan Miller def. Jake Rosholt via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1, 1:03
• Matt Veach def. Matt Grice via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:34
• Gleison Tibau def. Rich Clementi via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1, 4:35
• Nick Catone def. Derek Downey via submission (keylock) — Round 2, 1:15
• Matthew Riddle def. Steve Bruno via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Josh Koscheck and Yoshiyuki Weigh-In For UFC Fight Night 16

UFC Fight Night 16: UFC Fight for the Troops welterweight headliners Josh Koscheck (171) and Yoshiyuki Yoshida (171) successfully weighed in for their main event bout today at the Sports USA Bar near Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

The remainder of the ten-bout, Spike TV-broadcast card also successfully made weight, including main event participants Jonathan Goulet (171) and Mike Swick (171), Razak Al-Hassan (205) and Steve Cantwell (206), and Matt Wiman (156) and Jim Miller (156).

The event, which will serve as a fundraiser for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, takes place at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

The full UFC Fight Night 16 weigh-in results included:

• 170: Josh Koscheck (171) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (171)
• 170: Jonathan Goulet (171) vs. Mike Swick (171)
• 205: Razak Al-Hassan (205) vs. Steve Cantwell (206)
• 155: Matt Wiman (156) vs. Jim Miller (156)
• 173: Brodie Farber (174) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (173.5)
• 170: Johnny Rees (169) vs. Steve Bruno (171)
• 170: Brandon Wolff (170) vs. Ben Saunders (170)
• 185: Nate Loughran (185) vs. Tim Credeur (186)
• 155: Dale Hartt (156) vs. Corey Hill (155)
• HWT: Justin McCully (228) vs. Eddie Sanchez (246)

Spike TV, which will broadcast the event beginning at 9pm ET, yesterday announced an updated lineup for the event, which will benefit the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

The confirmed lineup includes:

MAIN CARD

• Josh Koscheck vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
• Mike Swick vs. Jonathan Goulet
• Matt Wiman vs. Frankie Edgar

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Steve Cantwell vs. Razak Al- Hussan
• Luigi Fioravanti vs. Brodie Farber
• Dale Hartt vs. Corey Hill
• Ben Saunders vs. Brandon Wolff
• Tim Credeur vs. Nate Loughran
• Johnny Rees vs. Steve Bruno
• Justin McCully vs. Eddie Sanchez

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

The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale Medical Suspensions

• Evan Tanner (defeated by Kendall Grove via split decision) – Suspended until August 6th with no contact until July 22nd due to a left eye laceration.
• Luigi Fioravanti (defeated by Diego Sanchez via TKO) – Must have right knee cleared by an orthopedic doctor or no contest until December 19th. Minimum suspension until July 22nd with no contact until July 13th.
• Diego Sanchez (defeated Luigi Fioravanti via TKO) – Suspended until July 22nd with no contact until July 13th for precautionary reasons.
• Spencer Fisher (defeated Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision) – Suspended until July 22nd with no contact until July 13th for precautionary reasons.
• Matt Riddle (defeated Dante Rivera via unanimous decision) – Must have finger x-rayed and cleared by an Orthopedic doctor or no contest until December 19th. Minimum suspension until July 22nd with no contact until July 13th.
• Josh Burkman (defeated by Dustin Hazelett via submission) – Suspended until August 6th with no contact until July 22nd for precautionary reasons.
• Marvin Eastman (defeated by Drew McFedries via TKO) – Suspended until August 21st with no contact until August 6th for precautionary reasons.
• Matt Arroyo (defeated by Matt Brown via TKO) – Suspended until August 6th with no contact until July 22nd for precautionary reasons.
• Matt Brown (defeated Matt Arroyo via TKO) – Suspended until July 22nd with no contact until July 13th for precautionary reasons.

Complete results from the event can be found here.

The event’s top payout went to “The Ultimate Fighter” 1 winner Diego Sanchez, who earned $70,000 for his third-round technical knockout of Luigi Fioravanti. “The Ultimate Fighter” 7 winner Amir Sadollah was paid $16,000 for his finals victory over CB Dollaway, “The Ultimate Fighter” 3 winner Kendall Grove took home $32,000 for his main event split decision win over Evan Tanner, and Tanner, a former UFC champion, earned $25,000 in the loss.

The official salaries reported to the athletic commission do not include bonuses, sponsorships, or fees.

In addition to the salaries reported below, Dustin Hazelett took home an additional $40,000 for “Submission of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” with his second-round armbar submission of Josh Burkman, Burkman was awarded $20,000 for his loss in the “Fight of the Night” against Hazelett, and Drew McFedries earned an additional $20,000 for his “Knockout of the Night” first-round knockout of Marvin Eastman.

Continue reading for the official The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale salaries…

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 14 FIGHTER SALARIES

Kendall Grove def. Evan Tanner

• Grove — $32,000 ($16,000 to show, $16,000 to win)
• Tanner — $25,000

Amir Sadollah def. CB Dollaway

• Sadollah — $16,000 ($8,000to show, $8,000 to win)
• Dollaway — $8,000

Diego Sanchez def. Luigi Fioravanti

• Diego Sanchez — $70,000 ($35,000 to show, $35,000 to win)
• Fioravanti — $10,000

Spencer Fisher def. Jeremy Stephens

• Fisher — $36,000 ($18,000 to show, $18,000 to win)
• Stephens — $8,000

Matt Riddle def. Dante Rivera

• Riddle — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
• Rivera — $8,000

Dustin Hazelett def. Josh Burkman

• Hazelett — $24,000 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 to win)
• Burkman — $10,000

Drew McFedries def. Marvin Eastman

• McFedries — $26,000 ($13,000 to show, $13,000 to win)
• Eastman — $9,000

Matt Brown def. Matt Arroyo

• Brown — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
• Arroyo — $8,000

Dean Lister def. Jeremy Horn

• Lister — $28,000 ($14,000 to show, $14,000 to win)
• Horn — $25,000

Tim Credeur vs. Cale Yarbrough – CANCELLED

• Credeur — $8,000
• Yarbrough — $8,000

Rob Kimmons def. Rob Yundt

• Kimmons — $6,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win)
• Yundt — $5,000

The scheduled preliminary bout between Tim Credeur and  Cale Yarbrough was cancelled after Credeur tested positive for Adderall in a pre-fight drug test. Because Credeur alerted the NSAC of his use of the prescription drug no disciplinary action was taken and both fighters received their $8,000 base pay. For more on the situation click here.

The total official fighter payroll for the event was $402,000.

For complete results from The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale click here.

*** A scheduled preliminary bout between Tim Credeur and Cale Yarbrough was cancelled after pre-fight drug tests revealed trace amounts of the prescription drug Adderall were present in Credeur’s system. Additional details on the cancellation can be found here.