Wren appeared to have the upper hand in the quarterfinals matchup after landing the majority of the punches in the opening round, but Nelson bounced back in the second, connecting with shots after Wren gassed.

Though the fight appeared likely to head to a third and decisive round, the judges handed down a decision after just two frames, declaring Nelson the winner by majority decision with scores of 20-18, 19-19, and 20-18.

Next week on The Ultimate Fighter 10, Team Rashad’s Brendan Schaub and Jon Madsen meet in the second quarterfinals matchup, while Matt Mitrione continues to suffer from concussion-like symptoms and could be forced to drop out of the competition.

Click here for more The Ultimate Fighter 10 coverage.

Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” is the undisputed ratings champ on Wednesday nights. The most recent episode of the tenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” drew 5.3 million viewers, peaking at a staggering 6.1 million viewers on Wednesday, September 30 (10:00pm-11:00pm ET/PT). Featuring a fight between contestants Kimbo Slice and Roy Nelson, the telecast ranks as the most-watched episode of an original series in the six-year history of the channel* and the most-watched program of any kind in Men 18-34 and Men 18-49.

“The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” was clearly the top-rated program on television on Wednesday with men in all key demographics including Men 18-34, M18-49, M18-24, and M25-34. It also was the most watched program among Persons 18-34 with a 4.7 rating (2.7 million), illustrating co-viewing among young men and women.

The episode also drew more Men 18-34 than anything else on television this week thus far, except Monday Night Football on ESPN. Also of note, only seven series in all of television this fall season drew more men 18-34, despite “The Ultimate Fighter” being in its tenth season.

Overall, the record-breaking telecast drew a 6.9 in Men 18-34 (2 million), a 5.4 in M18-49 (3.1 million), a household rating of 3.7 and 5.3 million total viewers.

The 6.1 million viewership peak at 9:45pm for the Kimbo Slice- Roy Nelson fight trumps any UFC programming ever on Spike TV. The previous mark was 5.9 million viewers for Rampage Jackson-Dan Henderson fight at UFC 75 in September, 2007. Also, the repeat at 11:00pm drew an impressive 1.5 million viewers. Thus, the combined audience of both telecasts reached 6.8 million viewers.

The Ultimate Fighter 10 Coverage

Pictured: Kimbo Slice

Evan’s teammate, Keith Jardine, shows up at the gym to help the fighters train, but the attention quickly turns to the intensifying feud between Evans and rival coach Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. While “Rampage” feels Jardine is a nice guy, Evans is convinced that Jardine hurt Rampage’s jaw in their March fight, which prompted Evans to fight Machida. James McSweeny, Evan’s top pick, defends his coach and the argument intensifies, but Evans steps in to separate the pair and cooler heads prevail.

The attention shifts back to Kimbo, with “Rampage” discussing the history of his beard and how he’s a likable guy. Kimbo trains on the ground and is able to escape from his heavyweight teammates, but Rampage is concerned that they have no way to simulate Nelson’s “big belly”.

Back at the house, Nelson’s fellow team members are confident he has the skills to beat Kimbo, saying that even if Kimbo starts to connect on the feet Roy should be able to take him down at will and control him on the ground.

Back at the gym, Kimbo and the rest of Team Rampage do conditioning drills but Marcus Jones has to stop midway through the session due to a knee injury. Jones maintains that he wants to fight next, but “Rampage” wants to give him time to allow his knee to recover.

At the house, Jones talks about his passions: comic books and gardening. Despite being one of the self-described most-boring people in the house, he and Kimbo have grown close with the pair joking that they’d be well-rounded if they could combine Kimbo’s striking with Jones’ ground game.

Kimbo and Nelson next weigh-in for their fight, with Kimbo weighing in at 230, while Nelson tips the scale at 264. Dana White says the fight could go either way, with Nelson being the more well-rounded fighter while Kimbo has the power to knock Nelson out with one punch.

At another Team Rampage training session, Kimbo spars with his partners and his teammates are all complimentary of his skills, while Nelson trains one final time with Team Rashad.

It’s fight day and Kimbo and Nelson get prepared and warm up for their fights backstage before making their way to the Octagon.

Nelson reiterates his plan to take it to the ground if he starts eating shots, while Kimbo says he’ll stick stick to his strengths.

There’s no touch of the gloves to start this fight as Nelson throws weak punches and close the distance, while Kimbo keeps his feet moving and chooses his strikes carefully before connecting with a hard leg kick. Slice moves forward and has Nelson backpedaling with his jab. Kimbo connects against the fence, but Nelson avoids major damage before looking for the takedown. Kimbo stays on his feet as Nelson presses him against the fence in the clinch. Nelson keeps up the pressure and finally scores the takedown and is immediately into mount. Kimbo does a good job neutralizing from the bottom, but Nelson passes to side control, where he pins Kimbo under his gut and tees off with short punches to the head. Slice is unable to escape, but despite warnings from the referee makes it to the end of the round. MMAFrenzy.com scores the round for Nelson 10-9.

Between rounds, “Rampage” warns Kimbo that Nelson won’t want to stand with him and that he’ll need to adjust to his takedowns.

Round 2 opens with tentative punching from both fighters. Kimbo connects with some big punches and Nelson immediately scores another takedown into side control. There’s little action on the ground as Nelson lays on top of Slice, but Nelson eventually manages to create an opening and throws weak punches to the head on Kimbo. Though the punches are far from impressive, with Slice unable to escape, the referee is forced to stop the bout.

The fight’s official result was:

• Roy Nelson def. Kimbo Slice via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 2:01

“Rampage” says Nelson is like having the moon on top of you and asks “How do you get the moon off you?”.

Dana White criticizes Nelson’s performance, comparing his punching power to that of his daughter, while praising Kimbo for stepping up early in the tournament and suggesting he train hard during the rest of his time in the house, because there could be an opportunity for him to re-join the competition.

It appears that it may not take long for Slice to fight again, as a preview of next week’s episode shows Marcus Jones collapsing at the house and teases Kimbo as a possible replacement.

Shivers attacks early with punches and gets McSweeny to the canvas, but McSweeny escapes back to his feet and goes to work with low kicks on his fatigued opponent. After wearing Shivers down with kicks and punches, McSweeny wobbles him with a combo late in the second and grabs a guillotine following a desperation takedown but is unable to finish Shivers off. A third round appears likely, but the judges have reached a decision and declare McSweeny the winner by majority decision, improving Team Rashad to 2-0 in the opening round.

The official result of the second opening round bout was:

• James McSweeney def. Wes Shivers via majority decision (19-19, 20-18, 20-18)

The episode closes with Rashad Evans choosing Team Rampage’s Kimbo Slice to fight former IFL champ Roy Nelson in the next opening round bout.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com each Wednesday for a recap of The Ultimate Fighter 10 leading up to the December 5 TUF 10 Finale.

Before a two-hour training session gets underway to allow the coaches to assess the fighters, “Rampage” makes it clear that he intends to take Slice with his first pick to the delight of Evans, who wins a coin toss and opts to take James McSweeney with the top overall pick, while Slice and the first fight selection go to Jackson.

The coaches continue to alternate picks until all 16 fighters are drafted and their teams are set:

TEAM RASHAD

• James McSweeney
• Brendan Schaub
• Justin Wren
• John Madsen
• Roy Nelson
• Darrill Schoonover
• Matt Matrione
• Mike Wessel

TEAM RAMPAGE

• Kimbo Slice
• Abe Wagner
• Demico Rogers
• Wes Sims
• Scott Junk
• Wes Shivers
• Marcus Jones
• Zak Jensen

After a training session for each team, “Rampage” announces the first matchup as Abe Wagner will take on Team Rashad’s John Madsen.

The fight is quickly underway as Madsen scores an early takedown and sets the pace for the rest of the fight before opening up a deep gash on Wagner’s forehead that pours blood. Madsen maintains the top position for the remainder of the round while offering little offense and cruises into the second round, while Wagner is surprisingly cleared to continue. Madsen again gets a takedown early in round two and, despite several standups due to a lack of action and little offense from Madsen, he’s able to control a tired Wagner on the ground to ride out an easy decision win, with the judges handing down scores of 20-16, 20-17, and 20-17.

The official result of the first opening round bout was:

• John Madsen def. Abe Wagner via unanimous decision (20-16, 20-17, 20-17)

After the decision is announced by UFC President Dana White, who calls the bout the bloodiest in TUF history, Wagner’s gruesome cut is shown being tended to by a doctor as the Team Rampage fighter asks whether he can see his skull.

The episode concludes with Jackson telling his team not to touch gloves followed by a preview of the rest of the season, including more spats between the rival coaches and an outburst by “Rampage” that sees him destroy a gym door.

Here’s how the teams look after Team Rashad took a 1-0 lead on the debut of TUF 10:

TEAM RASHAD

• James McSweeney
• Brendan Schaub
• Justin Wren
• John Madsen (1-0)
• Roy Nelson
• Darrill Schoonover
• Matt Matrione
• Mike Wessel

TEAM RAMPAGE

• Kimbo Slice
• Abe Wagner
  Eliminated by John Madsen on Episode 1
• Demico Rogers
• Wes Sims
• Scott Junk
• Wes Shivers
• Marcus Jones
• Zak Jensen

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com each Wednesday for a recap of The Ultimate Fighter 10 leading up to the December 5 TUF 10 Finale.

Light heavyweight contenders Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans will appear as coaches on the show before squaring off at UFC 107 in mid-December in Jackson’s hometown of Memphis, Tennesse.

The complete cast features:

• Zak Jensen – standout wrestler at Augsburg College
• Marcus Jones – former 1st round NFL draft pick who had a six-year career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Scott Junk – Division II All-American football player at Southwest Oklahoma State and fought in UFC 76.
• James McSweeney – former international kickboxing and Muay Thai champion
• John Madsen – defeated Brock Lesnar in a high school wrestling match
• Matt Mitrione – played for New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings
• Roy Nelson – former IFL Heavyweight Champion
• Demico Rogers – high school football and wrestling star
• Brendan Schaub – played for Buffalo Bills and Arena Football’s Utah Blaze
• Darrill Schoonover – decorated Army veteran
• Wes Shivers – former member of the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons
• Wes Sims – fought two heated battles with former UFC champ Frank Mir at UFC 43 and UFC 46
• Kimbo Slice – former EliteXC heavyweight contender and YouTube sensation
• Abe Wagner – played linebacker at Michigan Tech and has a degree in mechanical engineering
• Mike Wessel – UFC veteran and former strength and conditioning coach at University of Arkansas
• Justin Wren – All-American high school wrestler

The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale is scheduled to take place on December 5 in Las Vegas and will air live on Spike TV.

MMA Madness first reported the news on Monday citing a source close to the show.

Following five-straight wins, including a reign as the IFL’s heavyweight champion, Nelson (13-4) was defeated by Andrei Arlovski in October at EliteXC: Heat on CBS, then dropped a unanimous decision to Jeff Monson in March.

A member of Team Hammer House, Sims (21-12-1) had an unsuccessful 0-3 stint in the UFC between 2003 and 2004 that saw him lose to Frank Mir (twice) and Mike Kyle. After losing four-straight bouts between May 2007 and June 2008, Sims has since won three-straight bouts, including an 18-second KO of Jason DeAngelo in November in his most-recent fight.

Nelson and Sims join a cast that includes former street fighter and EliteXC headliner Kimbo Slice and NFL veterans Marcus Jones, Matt Mitrione, Brendan Schaub, and Wes Shivers.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest The Ultimate Fighter 10 news.

[Pictured: Roy Nelson]

Jeff Monson

Veteran heavyweight Jeff Monson topped IFL and EliteXC veteran Roy Nelson via controversial unanimous decision in the MMA main event of Square Ring Promotion’s “March Badness” at the Pensacola Civic Arena in Pensacola, Florida.

Nelson controlled the pace of the fight and was dominant on the ground throughout, leading commentator Seth Petruzelli and most observers to score the fight in favor of “Big Country”. However, Monson’s more effective striking stole the second and third rounds on the judge’s scorecards, allowing him to walk away the winner with triple 29-28 scores. Monson is now 28-8 with four-straight victories while Nelson falls to 13-4.

“I wanted to go on the ground,” Monson commented. “I kept right with him. It was a big win. Roy’s a tough guy.”

“I got robbed,” said Nelson after the contest. “It was a boring fight on the ground, but I was controlling the fight and that usually determines the winner. Only in Florida does Roy get robbed (referring to his controversial loss to Andrei Arlovski last year in EliteXC).”

In the anticipated co-headliner, heavyweight Bobby Lashley looked like the inexperienced mixed martial artist that he is, using his unpolished, wrestling-influenced game to smother and pressure Jason Guida for three full rounds, doing just enough in each to pick up a unanimous decision with 30-27 scores across the board. Despite all the pre-fight hype and predictions of an easy victory, Lashley showed he still has a long way to go before potentially jumping up to the big leagues and joining fellow former professional wrestler Brock Lesnar in the UFC. Lashley’s inability to finish Guida despite landing several big punches and combinations almost cost him the fight, as he nearly fell victim to a deep guillotine choke in the final frame before escaping. Lashley improves his record to 2-0 with the victory while Guida falls to 17-20 with the short-notice loss.

“He had (the guillotine) on tight and deep,” Lashley remarked. “But I held on and got out. I didn’t use all of my wrestling skills. This is a sport where we’re gentleman and fighters. His talk got to me a little but my corner helped me keep my mind strong. I’m going right back to the training room.”

In other main card MMA action, Din Thomas defeated Gabe Lemley via first-round knockout with a string of punches and a knee to the face while Dennis Hallman picked up a win over Danny Ruiz with a submission midway through the opening round.

“I set him up with my punches. I had a lot of fun here; I love Pensacola,” said Thomas. “Boxing is a major part of MMA and was glad to be part of this. I took advantage of my experience. I can fight in a cage, ring or parking lot – I don’t care…About that whole Chris Brown-Rihanna situation, it’s not cool to put your hands on a lady. So Rihanna, if you need someone to help you, I’ll kick his ass!”

“I guess the layoff didn’t hurt,” Hallman said after the fight. “It took a few seconds for me to get going, but once he hit me I knew I was in a fight and got going.”

On the boxing portion of the hybrid card, Roy Jones Jr. battered Omar Sheika to earn a fifth-round TKO in the evening’s main event while BJ Flores topped Jose Luis Herrera via unanimous decision in the boxing co-headliner.

The event’s official results were:

MMA RESULTS

• Jeff Monson def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Bobby Lashley def. Jason Guida via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Din Thomas def. Gabe Lemley via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:13
• Dennis Hallman def. Danny Ruiz via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 1:50
• James Freeman def. John Mowry via knockout (punch) — Round 1, 2:38

BOXING RESULTS

• Roy Jones Jr. def. Omar Sheika via TKO — Round 5, 1:45
• B.J. Flores def. Jose Luis Herrera via unanimous decision (98-92, 99-91, 99-91)
• Eric Clinton def. Richmond Dalphone via unanimous decision (38-37, 38-37, 38-37)
• Kieyon Bussey def. Robert DaLuz via majority decision (57-57, 58-56, 58-56)
• Kelvin Price def. Kevin Howard via majority decision (57-57, 58-56, 59-55)