Ultimate fights: Season 3

Saturday, Nov. 19, 2005 | 9 a.m.

At some point during tonight's Ultimate Fighting Championship card at the MGM Grand, the two coaches will be named for Season 3 of the organization's reality show competition, "The Ultimate Fighter."

The ratings success of the first two seasons of the show, which airs on Spike TV (Cox cable channel 29), made it an easy decision not only to extend the series, but also to expand it to overseas markets, UFC president Dana White said.

The UFC, based in Las Vegas and owned by Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta of Station Casinos since 2001, has a casting call scheduled for next month for fighters in the United Kingdom, White said. Plans are also in the works to develop versions of "The Ultimate Fighter" in Mexico and South Africa.

"I don't care what color you are, what religion you are or what language you speak," White said. "When it comes to this kind of fighting, the appeal translates through all those barriers."

"This kind of fighting" is mixed martial arts fighting that integrates jiu-jitsu, karate, boxing, wrestling and other disciplines.

The UFC has become the leader in mixed martial arts since White & Co. took over in 2001 and revived a dying organization that had a dirty reputation. It reworked the rules and obtained sanctioning in Nevada, New Jersey, Connecticut and other key states.

The success of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show represents the UFC's latest victory, White said. In the competition, hopeful mixed martial arts fighters divided into two teams each coached by an established UFC star vie to win a lucrative contract to fight in the UFC.

The finale of Season 2, which aired earlier this month from the Hard Rock Hotel, drew 2.6 million viewers. The show was No. 1 for the day among male viewers ages 18-34, the UFC's core audience, White said, outdrawing even the big Notre Dame-Tennessee college football game.

"It was phenomenal," said White, a Las Vegas native and Bishop Gorman High grad. "When we first bought the company, we thought we had the most exciting sport in the world. We finally got the deal with Spike, and we think these ratings have demonstrated the sport's appeal."

White expects the momentum from that program to carry over into tonight's card, "UFC 56: Full Force," which was close to a sellout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and will air on pay per view ($34.95 suggested retail).

In the two featured fights, UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (20-1 in mixed martial arts) puts his title on the line against Nate Quarry (14-1), and UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes (39-4) risks his belt against Joe Riggs (26-6).

Franklin, a well-rounded fighter and superb striker, is a 3-1 betting favorite against Quarry, who competed in Season 1 of "The Ultimate Fighter."

Hughes, one of the UFC's most popular fighters, is also about a 3-1 favorite in his bout against Riggs, a former heavy-weight who took the fight on relatively short notice when Hughes' original opponent, Karo Parisyan, sustained an injury.

Also on tonight's card, it's Georges St. Pierre (10-1) vs. Sean Sherk (28-1-1); Jeremy Horn (85-14-6) vs. Trevor Prangley (11-2); Kevin Jordan (7-3) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (4-1); Sam Hoger (6-1) vs. Jeff Newton (4-1); Nick Thompson (22-8) vs. Keith Wisniewski (19-5); and Thiago Alves (13-3) vs. Ansar Chalangov (7-0).

Jeff Haney can be reached at 259-4041 or at haney@lasvegassun.com.