The Weekly Wrap: Dec. 19 - Dec. 25

Odds and Ends

• Iconic referee “Big” John McCarthy has been assigned as a judge for World Extreme Cagefighting 46 on Jan. 10 in Sacramento, Calif., according to The Wrestling Observer. It marks the first time since December 2007 that McCarthy has been assigned by an athletic commission as a referee or judge for a UFC/WEC event.

• Spike TV will debut “The Best of Pride Fighting Championships,” featuring some of the best fights in the legendary Japanese promotion’s history, on Jan. 15 at 10 p.m. The UFC’s parent company purchased the Pride video library along with the promotion in 2007. The first episode will feature Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson, Anderson Silva vs. Carlos Newton, Chuck Liddell vs. Alistair Overeem and Mauricio Rua vs. Kevin Randleman.

• A memorable fighter from the early days of the UFC, Canadian martial artist Harold Howard, 51, was arrested and charged with attempted murder this week in Niagara Falls, Ontario, according to local news reports. Howard was charged after allegedly crashing his truck through the front entrance of a casino after he’d been involved in a dispute at a nearby residence in which a man and a woman were assaulted with a weapon before the man sped off in his vehicle. A police chase ended with the crash into the casino and Howard being held at gunpoint by police.

• The UFC has released Octagon girls Logan Stanton and Natasha Wicks. It was not clear why the move was made. Former Playboy model Chandella Powel has been hired as a new ring card holder. Dana White told The Las Vegas Sun that he has nothing against the pair, but “it was time to move on.”

• World Extreme Cagefighting has reached a broadcast deal in Canada with sports network The Score. All WEC cards and highlight specials will air on the station; the first live presentation will be WEC 46 on Jan. 10.

• Team Russia Legion shut out Team USA East in the final meet of the 10-week 2009 M-1 Challenge international fighting tournament, which features 80 fighters representing 16 teams from countries in North America, Europe and Asia. The finals, which took place Dec. 3 in Russia but aired this past week on HDNet, saw Yuri Ivlev defeat Ivan Jorge, Magomed Shikshabekov defeat Gerson dos Santos, Ansar Chalangov defeat Danilo Pereira, Besike Gerinava defeat Chuck Grisby, and Gadzhimurad Omarov defeat Lloyd Marshbanks.

• The UFC has reserved Aug. 28 as a date for its first card in Boston at the TD Bank Garden, Dana White told The Boston Herald. The event is scheduled to be a pay-per-view.

• The Bellator Fighting Championships continues to stock its welterweight division as it aims to stage an eight-man tournament to determine the first challenger for champion Lyman Good. As of this week, the promotion has signed 170-pound notables Dan Hornbuckle, Jacob McClintock, Ben Askren and Jim Wallhead.

• The Deep promotion in Japan held its first event in a cage in its eight-year history on Dec. 18. The six-sided structure more closely resembles stateside cages than the white mesh cage unveiled in October by the Dream promotion. Former Dream competitor Masakazu Imanari tapped Justin Cruz of Guam via crossface neck crank in the most prominent bout on the 17-bout card.