Las Vegas, NV (USA) – Canada will get their first dose of the Kimbo Slice phenomenon on Saturday, May 8th, when the Ultimate Fighter alumnus looks to make it 2-0 in the Octagon on the UFC 113: Machida vs Shogun 2 card at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Slice (4-1), fresh off his three round unanimous decision victory over Houston Alexander at the TUF10 finale last December, will be in with a familiar foe on May 8th, as he takes on his Ultimate Fighter castmate, Matt Mitrione in a heavyweight bout made official today.

Mitrione (1-0), an NFL veteran, made his proper mixed martial arts debut on the TUF10 finale card and showed impressive poise and power as he knocked out Marcus Jones in the second round, and he hopes to make another statement when he squares off with Kimbo this spring.

Tickets for UFC 113 are on sale now and are priced at $600, $400, $250, $150, $100 and $50. Tickets are available at the Bell Centre box office, by phone at (514) 790-2525 / 1-877-668-8269 or at www.geg.ca.

UFC 113 will be available live on pay-per-view on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).

The Ultimate Fighting Championship made an interesting move this week with the signing of boxing great James “Lights Out” Toney, adding the boxing champion to the list of boxers looking to make a statement in the sport of mixed martial arts.

Speculation surrounded the situation between Toney and UFC President Dana White for several months and reached a high point at the beginning of the year when the two discussed a possible deal that would make Toney the most notable boxer to make the move to any mixed martial arts promotion.

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It had been rumored for a while, but a fight between Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson (4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Matt Mitrione (1-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is now confirmed to be on the card of UFC 113. Both men were involved with the Ultimate Fighter Season 10: Heavyweights.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the bout this week, and scheduled it for the May UFC event.

UFC 113 will take place live on Saturday, May 8, 2010 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

credit: MMAJunkie

When it comes to the term professional athlete, no one fits the bill quite like Herschel Walker.

Walker, NCAA football’s 1982 Heisman winner, NFL-veteran, and Olympian, has now entered a new stage in his career as a professional athlete by winning his first-ever mixed martial arts competition.

At the age of 47, Walker defeated Greg Nagy via technical knockout in the third round of his debut fight at Strikeforce: “Miami”. While Walker claims his age is merely a number, it was actually a big factor for the athlete who has done it all, and for the promotion he currently calls his home.

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Every company wants to hitch their wagon to a fighter with “charisma”, but which five have gotten the biggest push without the pedigree or skills to back it up?

5. Michael “The Count” Bisping (18 Wins, 2 Losses)

Even though “The Count” is one of the most popular and dangerous fighters to step into the UFC octagon from the United Kingdom, his legitimacy as a top-contender and a headliner should be questioned. Bisping’s impressive striking and mind-games may have won over fans, but he has never defeated an elite fighter. His two chances to prove he was a top-contender in both the light-heavyweight division and in the middleweight division failed miserably when he lost to Rashad Evans (unanimous decision) and Dan Henderson (knockout). Aside from the occasional highlight-knockout, the only reason Michael Bisping is popular is because he is the poster-boy for the UFC in the United Kingdom.

2009 was a year full of great in-ring action as dominant champions such as George St. Pierre and Anderson Silva took the sport to new heights with breathtaking performances, while heated grudge matches such as Henderson-Bisping or Lesnar-Mir provided visceral entertainment. However, often the big stories were outside the ring with backstage developments and feuds often dominating the headlines in the MMA press.

Here are the top ten news stories from the past twelve month.

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When you sit down to talk MMA with Shine Fights Matchmaker Ron Foster, you get a compelling feeling.  You’re speaking with someone who knows this sport. You’re talking to someone who is an advocate for the sport, the fighter, and the fan.

Ron Foster took a moment to speak with me recently regarding many aspects of the fight game, ranging from bare knuckle pioneers like Arturo Lievano , to American Top Team, to Karo Parisyan, and much more.

Foster and Shine Fights are hard at work to bring a world class approach to this sport.  Their philosophies are refreshing and encouraging in a time that displays a sort of transitional period within the sport.

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The tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter comes to a close tonight when a winner is crowned in the heavyweight tournament. Other contestants from the show will be in action tonight and Inside Fights will have round-by-round coverage of tonight’s action. Fight time is 9 pm ET. Click inside and refresh throughout the evening for the latest updates.

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The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale takes place this Saturday at The Pearl at The Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Coverage begins at 9 pm ET and can be seen on Spike TV. Inside Fights will also offer round-by-round coverage of the event. The fight card shakes down as follows, from UFC.com:

Roy Nelson vs. Brendan Schaub (TUF 10 Finals)
Matt Hamill vs. Jon Jones
Kimbo Slice vs. Houston Alexander
Frankie Edgar vs. Matt Veach
Marcus Jones vs. Matt Mitrione
Darrill Schoonover vs. James McSweeney
Jon Madsen vs. Justin Wren
Brian Stann vs. Rodney Wallace
John Howard vs. Dennis Hallman
Mark Bocek vs. Joe Brammer

This is the last episode of the season as the tournament winds down to the final two fighters. The finale will be this Saturday night on Spike TV where the TUF 10 winner will be awarded a UFC contract.

We begin with Dana giving his speech from last episode. Dana wasn’t happy that no one stepped up in Matt’s place and Dana said he probably would have given the spot to anyone that did.

Dana talks to Kimbo and Kimbo tells him that he doesn’t want to take another loss. A knee specialist tells Kimbo that he has arthritis in his knee and that is where the pain comes from. Dana is essentially offering Kimbo the shot and Kimbo doesn’t step up. He says that he is 40% and fighting James just wouldn’t be a smart move. He wants to live to fight another day.

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