Ratings for the second episode of The Ultimate Fighter 10 dropped 29 percent to 2.9 million from the series record 4.1 million who tuned in for the TUF 10 debut. [Spike TV]

Pictured: Anderson Silva

A veteran of TKO and a former UFC fighter, Hominick (16-8), who fights out of Xtreme Couture in London, Ontario, last fought in the WEC in February 2008, suffering a first-round submission to Josh Grispi, but rebounded with a second-round armbar submission of Trenell Young in his Affliction debut last July. Taurosevicius (10-3) is an IFL veteran who had won six-straight bouts before suffering a decision loss to Ryan Schultz in his most-recent fight in May 2008.

Corbbrey (8-3) had won three-straight fights since suffering a loss to Jim Miller in August 2006, but was defeated by Nick Diaz in EliteXC last May in latest matchup. Njokuani (10-2) lost to lightweight contender Ben Henderson in his WEC debut in January, but bounced back with a second-round TKO of Bart Palaszewski in April.

WEC 43 is headlined by an interim lightweight championship bout between Donald Cerrone and Ben Henderson. Click here to check out the rumored fight card for WEC 43.

White opened the call by addressing the UFC’s attempt to sign Fedor Emelianenko following the recent-collapse of Affliction’s MMA promotion, saying the UFC offered him an “amazing” deal that won’t be matched anywhere else and satisfied all requests except co-promotion. Though White expected a deal to get done, the two sides have thus far been unable to reach an agreement, though he says Fedor’s management at M-1 Global can call him anytime to accept the offer.

The first announcement by the UFC President was the signing of Belfort, who was scheduled to fight at Affliction’s recently-canceled “Trilogy” event against Jorge Santiago, a winner of four-straight who returns to the UFC for the first time since 2005 and moves up to 195-pounds* to face the light heavyweight contender Franklin.

White also announced that Henderson, Franklin’s original opponent for the UFC 103 headliner who is coming off a recent knockout of Michael Bisping, will instead wait to meet middleweight title-holder Anderson Silva in his next fight. A date for the matchup has not yet been set pending Silva’s fight against Forrest Griffin next Saturday at UFC 101, but could take place “very soon” if Silva suffers little damage in the bout.

Tito Ortiz’s return to the UFC was also made official during the press conference, with White saying the former light heavyweight champ could fight the Hall of Famer Coleman at the UFC’s New Year’s show.

Other announcements included:

• The UFC has signed a three-year deal with ESPN’s new UK network, with fights slated to be broadcast free and in HD in both the UK and Ireland.
• Former Affliction fighters Belfort, Paul Daley, Paul Buentello, Ben Rothwell, Chase Gormley, and Dan Lauzon were confirmed to have signed with the UFC, with Javier Vazquez, LC Davis, and Mark Hominick are signed to the WEC. Up to 10 more former Affliction fighters remain in talks to join the promotions.

Minute-by-minute notes from the media conference call, including additional details on the UFC’s negotiations with Fedor and other news and notes, can be found below.

2:00pm ET: The UFC conference calls generally start a few minutes after their scheduled star time so stay tuned as we’ll be underway momentarily.

2:03pm: The call is now underway.

2:05pm: The UFC has signed Vitor Belfort, who will headline UFC 103 against Rich Franklin. Franklin’s previously-scheduled opponent Dan Henderson is next in line to fight Anderson Silva, according to White.

2:07pm: The UFC has signed a 3-year deal with ESPN UK, starting with UFC 101 on August 8th.

2:08pm: White confirms that Tito Ortiz is returning to the UFC and will retire with the promotion.

2:10pm: Dana confirms the signing of a number of Affliction fighters, says many are signed with UFC and WEC with up to 10 more still in talks. Paul Daley, Ben Rothwell, Chase Gormley, and Dan Lauzon confirmed to have signed with the UFC, with Javier Vazquez, LC Davis, and Mark Hominick all signed to the WEC.

2:12pm: Ortiz, who is also on the call, says he was just cleared last week to resume full training following back surgery and hopes to fight before the end of the year, specifically mentioning the New Year’s show.

2:14pm: Belfort-Franklin will be at light heavyweight (205 pounds)

2:15pm: White says Mark Coleman is likely to be Ortiz’s first opponent when he returns, says Ortiz won’t get any easy fights but will be rusty after his time off.

2:17pm: Asked about what “co-promotion” means, White says M-1 wanted half but would not benefit the UFC.

2:18pm: Asked about an ESPN deal in the US, White says they’re always negotiating with networks but offers not details on rumored negotiations.

2:19pm: The Nate Marquardt-Demian Maia winner is “in the mix” at 185-pounds, but Henderson is definitely next.

2:25pm: Dana White says UFC “can’t be stopped”, is coming to TV in Russia and Japan among others.

2:29pm: Timeline for Henderson-Silva depends on Silva’s fight with Griffin, but could be “very soon” if Silva sustains little damage.

2:30pm: The UFC has “no interest” in Arlovski or Sylvia.

2:30pm: White says he’s working to fulfill his promise of base jumping off the Mandalay Bay since UFC 100 surpassed 1.5 million buys.

2:32pm: White says he “doesn’t know” about a rematch between Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.

2:33pm: White says he’s “ready to make a deal” to bring Fedor Emelianenko to the UFC and was confident deal was going to happen, says M-1 can call him anytime.

2:38pm: White says major deal which was being worked on last month in Los Angeles should be finalized soon, but offers no details.

2:39pm: White says he “buried the hatchet” with Affliction, including Tom Atencio.

2:41pm: UFC 100 drew 25 million viewers, UFC 101 episode of UFC Unleashed had 18 million viewers in Mexico. Live event in the works for the country.

2:44pm: Co-promotion with M-1 will “never happen,” partially due to the Fertitta’s gaming license.

2:54pm: Dana says UFC showed Fedor and M-1 “nothing but respect,” offer allowed Fedor to fight Sambo “every Thursday night” if he wanted to.

2:57pm: Ortiz calls Strikeforce’s Scott Coker “an awesome guy,” but says there’s not enough competition in Strikeforce.

2:59pm: Dana says unlike boxing, UFC would put big fights on network TV if deal gets done.

3:00pm: Ortiz reiterates that contract with UFC runs until his career is over, wants to fight as long as possible.

–END–

* Dana White announced that Franklin-Belfort would be at 205-pounds, but Franklin updated his Twitter to say that the fight will be at a 195-pound catchweight at Belfort’s request.

• The MMAFrenzy.com rumors section has been completely updated. [MMAFrenzy.com/rumors]
• UFC fighters Rousimar Palhares and Thiago Tavares are likely to return in the fall from injuries. [MMAjunkie]
• With just one fight remaining on his current contract, Rich Franklin is ready to renegotiate with the UFC before his next fight. [MMAjunkie]
• Roger Gracie will make his Strikeforce debut against an opponent to-be-named at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg on August 15.
• Featherweight contender Wagnney Fabiano will fight at WEC 43 on September 2 in Youngstown, Ohio. An opponent has not yet been set. [MMAjunkie]
• Bobby Lashley will next fight in September. [MMA Fanhouse]
• Gilbert Yvel vs. Paul Buentello has officially been added to the fight card for Affliction: Trilogy.
• Heavyweight veteran Jeff Monson has signed with Ohio-based NAAFS and will debut against Tony Sylvester at Rock N Rumble III at the Nautica Pavilion in Cleveland.
• A timetable for UFC heavyweight Heath Herring’s return has not yet been set. [MMAjunkie]
• Middleweight Rob Kimmons has signed a new four-fight contract with the UFC. [MMAjunkie]
• Mark Hominick vs. Deividas Taurosevicius and LC Davis vs. Javier Vazquez have been booked for the HDNet-televised “Affliction: Trilogy” preliminary card
• Weigh-ins for UFC 100 will take place on Friday, July 10 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, the same venue which will host the July 11 pay-per-view event. (Note: MMAFrenzy.com will be providing a live stream of the weigh-ins)
• WEC lightweight contender and former champion Rob McCullough is likely to return in the “late fall” [MMAjunkie]
• Diego Sanchez will get the next lightweight title shot against the winner of the August 8 matchup between BJ Penn and Kenny Florian. [Yahoo! Sports]
• Ticket sales for UFC 101 on August 8 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia have surpassed 14,000 for a Pennsylviania record-breaking $3+ million live gate. [MMAjunkie]
• Strikeforce will hold a press conference for the promotion’s August 15 matchup between Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos on July 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
• Luiz Cane wants to fight Rich Franklin. [MMAjunkie]
• UFC heavyweight Antoni Hardonk thwarts a robbery in LA. [Yahoo! Sports]

[Pictured: Rich Franklin]

Note: Items without bracketed-links ([]) have either been officially announced or confirmed by MMAFrenzy.com

Trilogy is headlined by a heavyweight matchup between top-ranked Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett.

Also confirmed for the pay-per-view main card are Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato Sobral, Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago, and Paul Daley vs. Jay Hieron, as well as Paul Buentello, who is expected to take on the winner of a June 27 bout between Pedro Rizzo and Gilbert Yvel.

The fight card for Trilogy currently features:

PAY-PER-VIEW CARD

• Fedor Emelianenko (c) vs. Josh Barnett
  WAMMA Heavyweight Championship
• Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral
• Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago
• Paul Buentello vs. Gilbert Yvel-Pedro Rizzo winner*
• Paul Daley vs. Jay Hieron

HDNET CARD

• Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
• Ben Rothwell vs. Chase Gormley
• Deividas Taurosevicius vs. TBA
• Brett Cooper vs. Akbarh Arreola*
• Mark Hominick vs. TBA*

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Lucio Linhares vs. Mikhail Zayats
• Rob Broughton vs. Jessie Gibbs

* Not officially announced

Though no other matchups were confirmed, Gegard Mousasi, Ben Rothwell, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Tim Sylvia, Mark Hominick, Dan Lauzon, Chris Horodecki, and Paul Buentello will all be in action at the event, according to the card’s official poster (pictured at right).

Contrary to previous speculation, “Trilogy” won’t be Affliction’s last event, according to Affliction COO Michael D. Cohen, who revealed to MMA Fanhouse that a fourth event is being planned for late-2009 on the east coast.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest Affliction news and Affliction rumors.

The ten-bout event took place on Saturday, July 19th, at The Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Main event winner Fedor Emelianenko took home $300,000 for his 36-second knockout of Tim Sylvia, who received $800,000 for the first-round loss. Other notable salaries for the event included Andrei Arlovski, who earned $750,000, Ben Rothwell, who received $250,000, Josh Barnett, who took home $300,000, and Matt Lindland, who also earned $300,000.

“Banned” had a paid attendance of 11,242 and a total attendance of 14,832 for a live gate of $2,085,510.

The disclosed payroll for the event was $3,321,000.

The salaries listed below represent the official fighter salaries as reported by the promoter to the CSAC and do not include some bonuses, fees, or sponsorships.

Fedor Emelianenko def. Tim Sylvia
Emelianenko — $300,000 (no win bonus)
Sylvia — $800,000

Andrei Arlovski def. Ben Rothwell
Arlovski — $750,000 (includes $250,000 win bonus)
Rothwell — $250,000

Josh Barnett def. Pedro Rizzo
Barnett — $300,000 (no win bonus)
Rizzo — $70,000

Mark Hominick def. Savant Young
Hominick — $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
Young — $7,000

Renato “Babalu” Sobral def. Mike Whitehead
Sobral — $90,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
Whitehead — $50,000

Matt Lindland def. Fabio Negao
Lindland — $300,000 (includes $75,000 win bonus)
Negao — $20,000

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Edwin Dewees
Nogueira — $50,000 (no win bonus)
Dewees — $15,000

Mike Pyle def. JJ Ambrose
Pyle — $20,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
Ambrose — $5,000

Vitor Belfort def. Terry Martin
Belfort — $140,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus)
Martin — $30,000

Paul Buentello def. Gary Goodridge
Buentello — $80,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
Goodridge — $25,000

Ray Lamaza vs. Justin Levens – Canceled due to time constraints
Lamaza — $3,000
Levens — $6,000

For a complete recap of Affliction “Banned” click here.

The ten-bout event took place on Saturday, July 19th, in front of a sold out crowd of 13,988 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Sylvia came out punching at the opening of the bout but just seconds in Emelianenko floored Sylvia with several quick-but-powerful punch combinations. On the ground Fedor continued the barrage, pounding on Sylvia before sinking in hooks and securing a rear naked choke that forced Sylvia to tap out just 36 seconds into the championship contest.

Emelianenko, long-regarded as the best heavyweight but doubted over the strength of his opponents, was crowned the first-ever WAMMA heavyweight champion following the first-round submission victory while Sylvia looks to regroup after dropping his second straight bout and third of his past four.

“You never know how short or long the fight will be, but I just wanted to end it as quickly as possible. I just wanted to show the fans my skills,” said Fedor following the victory. “I would be very honored to fight Randy Couture.”

“I was amazed at how good he is. The guy’s a stud. I don’t think he’s human. He’s incredible. I don’t think anybody’s going to beat him for a while,” remarked Sylvia following the defeat.

Former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski displayed superior striking in his matchup with IFL standout Ben Rothwell, stopping his opponent with a right-uppercut combination early in the third round to earn the knockout victory.

“I think they got their money’s worth tonight. I did a lot of work on my boxing,” said Arlovski following the knockout win. “I want to fight Fedor, Josh or anybody Affliction chooses.”

Following a slow first round between Josh Barnett and Pedro Rizzo the pace picked up in the second as both fighters were content to trade. Barnett connected with a vicious left hook that dropped Rizzo to the canvas and finished him off with several more shots on the ground before Referee Herb Dean halted the bout at 1:44 of the second.

After a paced opening frame featherweight Mark Hominick submitted Savant Young via armbar at 4:25 of the second.

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Renato “Babalu” Sobral was victorious in his return, defeating Mike Whitehead via unanimous decision by utilizing crisp and accurate striking.

Matt Lindland overwhelmed Fabio Negao to earn a unanimous decision victory with scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 30-26.

“He was so damn tough. He was the real deal,” said Lindland of his opponent following the bout.

As expected, heavy favorite Antonio Rogerio Nogueira stopped Edwin Dewees with a combination at 4:06 of the opening round.

Vitor Belfort stopped Terry Martin in the second round of their middleweight contest with a flying knee followed by an uppercut-left combination that collapsed Martin into the ropes.

Paul Buentello was unable to finish off late replacement Gary Goodridge but did enough to earn a unanimous decision victory.

Mike Pyle defeated JJ Ambrose with a rear naked choke at 2:51 of the opening round.

A scheduled bout between Ray Lamaza and Justin Levens was canceled due to time constraints but both fighters were paid their base salary as well as a bonus.

QUICK RESULTS

Former PRIDE heavyweight champion and top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko took on former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia in the “Banned” main event. Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell, Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo, Mike Whitehead vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral, and Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao were also featured on the main, pay-per-view card while Terry Martin vs. Vitor Belfort and Gary Goodridge  vs. Paul Buentello were featured on a preliminary Fox Sports Net broadcast.

Continue reading for MMAFrenzy.com’s live coverage of Affliction “Banned”…

QUICK RESULTS

• Fedor Emelianenko def. Tim Sylvia via submission – Round 1, 0:36
  WAMMA Heavyweight Championship
• Andrei Arlovski def. Ben Rothwell via KO – Round 3, 1:13
• Josh Barnett def. Pedro Rizzo via KO – Round 2, 1:44
• Mark Hominick def. Savant Young via submission – Round 2, 4:25
• Renato “Babalu” Sobral def. Mike Whitehead via unanimous decision
• Matt Lindland def. Fabio Negao via unanimous decision
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Edwin Dewees via TKO – Round 1, 4:06
• Mike Pyle def. J.J. Ambrose via submission – Round 1, 2:51
• Vitor Belfort def. Terry Martin via KO – Round 2, 3:12
• Paul Buentello def. Gary Goodridge via unanimous decision
• Ray Lazama vs. Justin Levens