LOOKING IN ON: MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007 | 6:58 a.m.

Las Vegas Sun

By Jeff Haney

"Razor" Rob McCullough, who retained his World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight title with a first-round stoppage of Richard Crunkilton this week, didn't see it coming.

As recently as December 2005, when he was fighting on the King of the Cage circuit, McCullough didn't see mixed martial arts as a way to achieve fame or make any money.

"I didn't see much of a future for myself in MMA," McCullough said. "It didn't seem like it was going to get that big. I just started doing it for fun."

But McCullough (15-3) , who is expected to put his title on the line again Nov. 9 against Alex Karalexis, found a home in the WEC, which emphasizes fighters in lighter weight divisions.

"I had a guy at my gym break it down," said McCullough, 30, of Huntington Beach, Calif. "He said, 'Dude, I've been in a band since I was in high school,' you know, similar to me hitting the bag and fighting since high school. He goes, 'Everybody wants to get signed and become that huge rock star.' He goes, 'Dude, you did that.'

"I started thinking about it. Yeah, I got signed by the WEC, they gave me a title shot, I smashed 'em, I keep evolving my game. I'm pretty happy all my hard work paid off."

A former Muay Thai boxing champion, McCullough used a series of powerful right hands to stop Crunkilton (15-2) before a standing-room only crowd at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel Wednesday night.

"Every morning when I get up, and I take all my supplements and I'm washing my face, brushing my teeth looking in the mirror, I've just got to smile," McCullough said. "I've had so much fun doing this and I enjoyed the journey and now it's all paying off."

WEC TV deal

Cable's Versus network (Cox channel 67), which televised Wednesday's card, re-upped with the WEC in a deal that will cover 15 more live WEC events and 20 episodes of "WrekCage," a series of taped fights.

Marc Fein, senior vice president of programming and production for Versus, pointed to the success of the industry powerhouse Ultimate Fighting Championship in announcing the pact. Zuffa, the UFC's parent company, also owns the WEC.

"They know what they're doing," Fein said. "They've done an amazing job with the UFC. We feel they can bring the WEC to that level. It was a no-brainer move to make at this time to continue to grow (the WEC)."

Versus, available in 74 million homes, also shows the NHL, the Professional Bull Riders and the Tour de France , among other sporting events.

'Ultimate Fighter' returns

Ultimate Fighting Championship stars Matt Hughes and Matt Serra serve as the opposing coaches of two eight-man teams of fighters on the sixth season of "The Ultimate Fighter," which begins Sept. 19 on Spike TV (Cox cable channel 29).

Season 6 of "TUF," the reality competition show produced by the UFC and filmed during the summer in Las Vegas, features fighters in the 170-pound division. The finals are scheduled for Dec. 8 at the Palms.

Serra parlayed his appearance as a fighter in Season 4 of "TUF" into a shot at the welterweight title, which he won by beating Georges St. Pierre.

"It was a huge opportunity, and I was a huge underdog to Georges," Serra said. "I took him out in the first round, which really surprised a lot of people. I think that earned me the shot to be a coach this season."

Serra and Hughes are expected to square off in a championship fight Dec. 29 in Las Vegas.

"I'll be fighting Matt Hughes after the show's done, and I'm very excited about that," Serra said. "Again, man, I just seized the opportunity."

UFC in London

Reigning champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is a minus-130 favorite (risk $1.30 to net $1) against Dan Henderson in today's Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title fight, the main event of UFC 75 in London.

Henderson, the 185-pound and 205-pound champion in the Pride Fighting Championship, is a even money, according to odds at the Venetian.

Jackson previously fought in Japan-based Pride, which was purchased by the UFC this year. He won the UFC title with a first-round stoppage of Chuck Liddell at the MGM Grand in May.

Heavyweight Mirko Crop Cop is a minus-360 favorite against Cheick Kongo (plus-280) in a featured match on the undercard.

Spike will televise the card from the O2 Arena on a tape-delayed broadcast (9 p.m.).