Must-watch MMA on Spike TV this week

This year, though, the UFC revived the show with a long-awaited heavyweights-only season that features – among others – three former UFC fighters, four ex-NFL players, a former IFL champion and EliteXC’s one-time meal ticket.

It’s the latter two – Roy Nelson and Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson, respectively – who meet in a first-round matchup that will likely set a single-episode ratings record this week. The Sept. 16 debut episode of “TUF 10” set the record with 4.1 million viewers (besting the previous high of 2.9 million viewers), but the Nelson vs. Ferguson fight could top even that.

Nelson (14-4) is arguably the best fighter on the show this season. Heavy hands and an iron chin have allowed him to beat some of the world’s best on some of the sport’s biggest stages.

Ferguson (3-1), though, is the real draw. When the (now-bankrupt) EliteXC promotion signed Ferguson, a former bare-knuckle brawler whose underground fights were heavily promoted on YouTube, UFC president Dana White harshly criticized the move.

Now, though, White will likely be the latest promoter to cash in big on the fighter. Tune in Wednesday at 10 p.m. to see if the gamble pays off.

Dent returns at UFC 106

Jason Dent (19-9), who found a second life in the UFC after making the semifinals of “The Ultimate Fighter 9” earlier this year, next fights in November when he takes on George Sotiropoulos (10-2).

Dent, a Cincinnati native who now runs the GriffonRawl MMA Academy in Mentor, looks for his fifth straight win and second straight in the UFC.

Dent fought in the UFC before but was dropped in 2007 after decision losses to Gleison Tibau and Roger Huerta. After a solid run on “TUF,” he scored a come-from-behind win over fellow cast member Cameron Dollar at the show’s live finale in June and earned a new contract. A win over Sotiropoulos could be the biggest of his six-year career.

Welterweight contender and West Chester Twp. resident Dustin Hazelett also competes at UFC 106, which takes place Nov. 21 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Hazelett (12-4) takes on Karo Parisyan (18-5).

Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of mmajunkie.com, voted best media outlet in the 2008 World MMA Awards. For the latest mixed-martial-arts news, go to www.mmajunkie.com.