The Ultimate Fighting Championship held the only open tryouts for the eighth season of its popular "The Ultimate Fighter" television show in Boston on April 10.
It's a guarded UFC secret which fighters made it past the tryouts. But those who showed enough for the UFC to want to see more will be in Las Vegas on Monday for more interviews. About 50 athletes are expected to make it to Vegas.
At least one Canadian is going. The Winnipeg Sun reported that Krzysztof Soszynski (Pictures) was told six hours before his UCW victory last weekend that he'll be one of the 50.
The Fight Network Goes Global
The Canadian-based Fight Network has announced that it has acquired the United Kingdom's "The Wrestling Channel Limited," which it will rebrand as "The Fight Network U.K."
The Fight Network is the world's only sports network dedicated to mixed martial arts, boxing, wrestling, kickboxing and other combat sports. With this acquisition, it will be seen in almost 10 million homes in Canada and the United Kingdom.
"The combined impact of these developments propels us into the major leagues of sports broadcasting," said George Burger, president and CEO of TFN Global Inc.
Phoenix Fight ‘Street Justice' Card
Phoenix Fight has announced the lineup for its second card, to be held April 26 in the Halifax Forum:
Mike Gates (Pictures) vs. Joe Riggs (Pictures)
Yves Jabouin vs. Daiki Hata (Pictures)
Sean Huffman vs. Steve Claveau (Pictures)
Rowan Cunningham (Pictures) vs. Stephan Lamarche (Pictures)
Thierry Quenneville (Pictures) vs. Jon Stutzman
Peter McGrath (Pictures) vs. Syd Barnier
Richard Arsenault (Pictures) vs. Jason Rorison (Pictures)
Craig Skinner (Pictures) vs. Travis Axeworthy
Vartan Pour Nick vs. Devin Henry
Samir Seif vs. Jeff Lundeberg
Francis Thibault vs. Scott Levesque
Canadian Calendar
April 18: TKO 33 "Battle In Paradise" - Oranjestad, Aruba
April 19: UFC 83 - Montreal
April 19: Gladiator Fighting Series - Trail, B.C.
April 26: Fighters Nation MMA - Calgary
April 26: Iroquois Mixed Martial Arts Championship - Hagersville, Ontario
April 26: Phoenix Fight Promotions II "Street Justice" - Halifax
May 3: KOTC "Terror on the Tundra" - Yellowknife, N.W.T.
May 3: UMC - Yorkton, Sask.
May 9: Maximum Fighting Championship 16 - Anger Management - Edmonton
May 10: Hardcore Championship Fighting - Calgary
May 17: Xtreme MMA 4 - Jonquière, Quebec
May 24: Absolute Fighting "Brawl at the Border" - Amherst, Nova Scotia
May 30: Colosseum Fighting Championships 8 - Winnipeg
June 7: TKO 34 - Montreal
June 20: KOTC - Montreal
June 27: Ultimate Cage Wars 12 - Winnipeg
July 19: KOTC - Edmonton
July 26: Freedom Fight "Title Quest" - Hull, Quebec
Oct 3: TKO 35 - Montreal
Dec 5: TKO 36 - Montreal