Kennedy, an Army veteran who returned to MMA earlier this year to defeat Nick Thompson in his Strikeforce debut, appears ready for a step up in competition following his latest win, dominating Cummings with ground and pound in the opening frame before finishing him off with a north-south choke in the second.

With the win, Kennedy improves to 11-2, losing only to notables Jason Miller and Scott Smith while winning last three-straight, while Cummings falls to 10-1 after suffering his first career defeat.

In other notable action, Tyron Woodley improved his undefeated record to 4-0 with an impressive showing in his second-round submission victory over Zach Light, while two-time Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier won his MMA debut with a second-round TKO of Gary Frazier.

The complete results for Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers event are below, followed by a photo gallery from the card courtesy of Strikeforce/Esther Lin:

MAIN CARD

• Tim Kennedy def. Zak Cummings via submission (north-south choke) — Round 2, 2:43
• Ray Sefo def. Kevin Jordan via TKO (injury) — Round 2, 0:24
• Tyron Woodley def. Zach Light via submission (armbar) — Round 2, 3:38
• Thomas Longacre def. Travis Calanoc via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Daniel Cormier def. Gary Frazier via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 3:39

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Jeri Sitzes def. Lacey Schuckman via TKO (strikes) — Round 3, 2:18
• Paul Bradley def. Levi Avera via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Trey Houston def. Brandon Gaines via submission (arm-triangle choke) — Round 2, 1:28
• Kenny Giddens def. Jon Carson via submission (D’arce choke) — Round 2, 4:15
• Josh Pulsifer def. Nick Gibbons via submission (D’arce choke) — Round 1, 1:05
• Dillon Smith def. Lemont Davis via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 1:15

Kennedy (10-2), an Army veteran who returned from a year-and-a-half layoff in June with a second-round knockout of Nick Thompson, tipped the scale at 186 pounds, while the undefeated up-and-comer Cummings (10-0) also weighed in at 186.

The official weigh-in results for “Strikeforce Challengers: Kennedy vs. Cummings” were:

MAIN CARD (Showtime – 11pm ET)

• Zak Cummings (186) vs. Tim Kennedy (186)
• Kevin Jordan (236.6) vs. Ray Sefo (240.8)
• Zach Light (170.4) vs. Tyron Woodley (171)
• Travis Calonoc (146.6) vs. Thomas Longacre (148)
• Daniel Cormier (250.2) vs. Gary Frazier (245.2)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Lacey Schuckman (121) vs. Jeri Sitzes (120.4)
• Levi Avera (175.4) vs. Paul Bradley (176.6)
• Brandon Gaines (187.8) vs. Trey Houston (183.6)
• John Carson (155.8) vs. Kenny Giddens (155.2)
• Nick Gibbons (147) vs. Josh Pulsifer (147.6)
• Lemont Davis (168.4) vs. Dillon Smith (169.4)

Stop back to MMAFrenzy.com tomorrow night for results from “Strikeforce Challengers: Kennedy vs. Cummings” and check out a photo gallery from today’s weigh-ins below.

Spike TV announced on Friday that it will air Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller and Drew McFedries vs. Tomasz Drwal from the UFC 103 undercard during a live, one-hour, commercial-free broadcast beginning at 9pm ET on September 19 leading up to the UFC 103 pay-per-view.

Pictured: Anderson Silva

Here’s a recap of the co-main events from MMA Weekly:

For the first ever MMA event in the city of Pittsburgh, the crowd of 5,109 in attendance were treated to an exciting event overall, but disappointed after the main event between Rich Clementi and Kyle Jensen ended prematurely when Clementi suffered a broken clavicle at just :45 seconds in the first round.

Clementi and Jensen came after each other early, and after a clinch it was Clementi who went for a throw, but ended up crashing on the mat himself as Jensen reversed the move. As Jensen worked to improve his position, Clementi yelled up to referee Mark Matheny that he broke his collarbone, and immediately the fight was stopped.

Jensen commented after the win how hard he trained for the fight with Clementi, and the former WEC fighter will now look to make his mark at 155lbs after this event.

American Top Team product, Micah Miller, put on a show for the Pittsburgh crowd looking very impressive, submitting J.C. Pennington in the 2nd round of their co-main event fight.

Miller used his reach to light Pennington up when the fight stayed standing, and once on the mat he showed his superior ground game, opening up shots, and moving to a rear naked choke forcing the tap out. Miller, a top featherweight prospect, will now head back home to Florida where he will have another fight on August 1st.

Also on the card, TUF 7 cast member Paul Bradley successfully made his welterweight debut with a decision win over Leonardo Pecahana and 2008 NCAA Division I wrestling champion Phil Davis improved to 4-0 with a first-round rear naked choke submission of David Baggett.

[Pictured: Micah Miller]

• Affliction heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (14-3), the younger brother of WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko, posted a first-round knockout of South Korean Sang Soo Lee (10-5) on Saturday in the main event of M-1 Challenger 9 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Emelianenko earned the victory with a right hook midway through the opening round that dropped Lee to the canvas. In other notable action from the event, PRIDE veteran Gilbert Yvel stopped Alexander Timanov with strikes in the first round and Kiril “Baby Fedor” Sidelnikov defeated Jang Yong Kim via first-round TKO.
• Former WEC light heavyweight champion Doug Marshall successfully made his middleweight debut on Thursday in the main event of Palace Fighting Championship 11 at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, California. Marshall stopped opponent Rafael Real with strikes just 69-second into the headlining bout. Also on the card, Jorge Olivera retained the PFC light heavyweight title in the co-main event, defeating challenger Isaiah Larson via third-round submission, and Erin Toughill improved her record to 8-2-1 with a unanimous decision win over Jan Finney.
• Heavyweight prospect Dave Herman returned to action on Saturday, earning a TKO of Chris Guillen early in the first-round of their bout at King of Kombat in Texas.
• UFC veteran Dan Christison was also victorious on Saturday, submitting Steve Banks with a kimura late in the first-round of their matchup at Intimidation Cage Fighting “Redemption”.
• The Ultimate Fighter 7 cast member Paul Bradley, who was forced out of the middleweight tournament due to a skin infection, defeated fellow TUF 7 fighter Dante Rivera via TKO just 34-seconds into their bout at a Ring of Combat event at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, NJ on Saturday.

TEAM RAMPAGE

• Mike Dolce
• Daniel Cramer
• CB Dollaway
• Paul Bradley
• Matthew Riddler
• Gerald Harris
• Jeremy May
• Brandon Sene

TEAM FORREST

• Tim Credeur
• Amir Sadollah
• Jesse Taylor
• Matt Brown
• Cale Yarbrough
• Dante Rivera
• Nick Klein
• Luke Zachrich

The rosters aren’t set for long as Team Rampage notices an odd rash on the neck of Paul Bradley and a dermatologist is called in to check it out. Though Bradley indicates that he has had the same rash before, the dermatologist stresses that the rash, caused by herpes simplex, is contagious and could be passed onto the other fighters and coaches. A day passes and Bradley is called in to speak with White who informs him that he has to go home to prevent the other fighters from getting infected. Bradley is upset with the decision but White stresses that he can’t put the other fighters at risk and that this is what has to be done.

Bradley departs and Jackson is forced to pick a replacement from the fighters who lost in the opening round. His first choice was injured in the opening round and cannot return and he next picks a fighter already on the cast. Finally the coaching staff selects Pat Schultz to return to the house but the pick is quickly criticized by White and Schultz’s new teammates, as they all feel Schultz’s first round showing didn’t deserve an invite back to the house.

Forrest Griffin decides to have Jesse Taylor face n Rampage’s Mike Dolce in the first fight. The fight quickly commences and Taylor controls the majority of the fight with takedowns and ground control as well as several submission attempts. Dolce escapes several times but is unable to provide much in the form of offense as the first round concludes. The second round is much of the same with Taylor using solid wrestling to control the fight before finally locking in rear naked choke to end the fight in the second round and keep next week’s fight selection with Team Forrest.

RESULTS

• Jesse Taylor def. Mike Dolce via submission – Round 2

TEAM RAMPAGE (0-1)

• Daniel Cramer
• CB Dollaway
• Matthew Riddler
• Gerald Harris
• Jeremy May
• Brandon Sene
• Pat Schultz
• Mike Dolce (0-1)
  Eliminated by Jesse Taylor – Week 3
• Paul Bradley (0-0)
  Eliminated due to medical issues

TEAM FORREST (1-0)

• Jesse Taylor (1-0)
• Tim Credeur
• Amir Sadollah
• Matt Brown
• Cale Yarbrough
• Dante Rivera
• Nick Klein
• Luke Zachrich

MMAFrenzy.com is your source for in-depth recaps and news from the”The Ultimate Fighter 7: Team Forrest vs. Team Rampage”.

In walks UFC President Dana White who assembles the fighters and introduces this season’s coaches: Forrest Griffin and Quinton Jackson. White next informs the fighters that he is sick of people taking the opportunity to be on the show for granted and that everyone will be fighting in 48-hours for their spot in The Ultimate Fighter house. The matchups have already been determined and Jackson and Griffin will observe the bouts before teams are decided following all 16 opening round fights.

The weigh-ins take place the following day and go off without a hitch as all 32 fighters make weight for their fights the following day. Eight opening round bouts air on the debut episode with eight more scheduled for episode two, including a knockout that is being called one of the most brutal in the history of the show.

RESULTS

• Mike Dolce def. Prince McLean via TKO – Round 1
• Cale Yarbrough def. John Clarke via TKO – Round 1
• Amir Sadollah def. Steve Byrnes via submission – Round 2
• CB Dollaway def. David Baggett via TKO – Round 1
• Dante Rivera def. John Wood via submission – Round 1
• Nick Klein def. David Mewborn via submission – Round 1
• Paul Bradley def. Reggie Orr via unanimous decision
• Jeremy May def. Dave Roberts via submission – Round 1

MMAFrenzy.com is your source for in-depth recaps and news from the”The Ultimate Fighter 7: Team Forrest vs. Team Rampage”.