At the young age of 14, Struve was introduced to the MMA world by his older brother, and was instantly drawn to the sport. After completing middle school Struve made the decision to train full time and dropped out of school; the decision seems to have paid off thus far. At 21 Struve sports a 22-3 record, his only loss in the UFC coming by way of TKO from Junior Dos Santos (9-1). Struve looks to defeat Buentello, solidifying his place in the UFC Heavyweight Division by taking out a proven veteran.

Also on the show today from Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter 10, Demico Rogers (4-0). Rogers, a stand out athlete in high school, got his Master Technician Certification from Wyo-Tech in Laramie Wyoming, and still holds a job as a Mercedes Benz Technician while he trains with Mark Messer at Ring Sports United. Although Rogers didn’t make it to The Ultimate Fighter Finale to win the UFC contract, he still looks to make his mark as a legit heavyweight in the MMA world.

Myrriah, from Tap That MMA and Velvet Industries, will also be stopping in to talk about her company and its growing popularity.

Join The Reverend Turk and Gary today on MMAGospel Radio for a great show on their first Wednesday broadcast. MMA Gospel Radio will air tonight from 7:30 – 9:30PM ET. Listen to the show or join in the live chat at www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel .

The shoulder was popped back into its socket at the hospital and Hamill will have an MRI to assess any soft tissue damage.

Hamill’s shoulder was dislocated during a Jones throw to the mat which began a mounted assault of punches and elbows to Hamill’s head ending in the illegal elbow thrown “12-6″.

The stoppage by referee Steve Mazzagatti and decision to award Hamill the “W” after reviewing the instant replay is controversial.  Mazzagatti allowed Hamill to survive through a long, viscious attack from Jones while Hamill’s only defense was shielding his face.  The assault was only stopped after Jones through the illegal elbow and Hamill indicated he was unable to continue due to the shoulder injury.

Jones assumed he had won the fight and celebrated with his corner; but, Mazzagatti requested an instant replay review to determine whether the illegal strike lead to Hamill’s inability to continue fighting.  The determination at cageside was that it did; and, Jones was disqualified, giving Hamill the victory.

Jones apologized for the illegal blow after the fight.

White said Nelson has “the worst physique in professional sports” and complained about Nelson’s confidence throughout the competition.

But, none of the fighters on TUF 10 who actually had to step into the Octagon versus Nelson made similar critiques.  All of Nelson’s opponents dutifully promised to win, of course; and, Schaub even promised to knock Nelson out.  But, no one questioned Nelson’s confidence or called him a “fat guy.”

The difference between White and Nelson’s opponents is that White has to promote a phenomenal fat guy while Nelson’s opponents have to fight a phenomenal fat guy.  And, if you’re the king of the streets like “Kimbo Slice” Kevin Ferguson (4-1), a Greco-Roman wrestling champion like Justin Wren (8-2), a decorated kickboxer like James McSweeney (4-4), or a former NFL football player like Schaub, after Nelson etches an “L” into your record, you just got beat-up by that same fat guy you were demeaning as just a fat guy.

White has logged a lot of hours changing the image of the UFC from gritty brawler “Tank” David Abbott (10-14) to clean-cut certified überathlete Fighters.com’s second-ranked heavyweight and UFC champion Brock Lesnar (4-1).

Nelson, his buddha belly, and his curly mohawk crash White’s party.

And, in a sense, White is right. Watching the final episode of TUF 10 with a friend who is aware of MMA, but doesn’t consider it much of a sport, I realized how Nelson turns off fans of mainstream team sports where the rules are conceived to ensure the best athlete wins.  He was appalled that Nelson had reached the finals of a supposed athletic competition.

“Roy is good,” I protested.

“But, wouldn’t he be better if he were in shape,” my friend asked.

I explained, “He is in shape.  Look, he’s training with three former NFL players, doing everything everyone else is doing, and two of those NFL players have had to sit out days of training.  Roy never has.”

My friend was skeptical, even hostile towards Nelson based wholly on Nelson’s physique compared to his confidence.  My friend was rooting for the clean-cut, former professional football player Schaub after watching just one episode of TUF 10.

But, for MMA purists like you and I, Nelson’s physique and dearth of athletic genetics combined with his deep understanding of fighting, proves that MMA, at it’s heart, is a high-skilled athletic endeavor.  Unlike football and unlike action films, fighting is skill-intensive, not based on genetics or looks.  It’s a chess game that tests your will to win by ensuring painful results when you make a bad move.

Watching Nelson knockout Schaub was similar to watching third-ranked Frank Mir (12-4) tap out Lesnar at UFC 81 in Las Vegas in 2008.  As much as onlookers outside of the sport want MMA to be a bunch of thick-headed bar brawlers trading head shots until someone falls, it’s proven time-and-again that, when athletes from other sports step into MMA, they’re quickly humbled by the volume of skills that they have to study and the intensity of training day-in-and-day-out.

On TUF 10, former Tampay Bay Bucs top draft pick “Big Baby” Marcus Jones (4-2) admitted his training in the NFL was nothing close to the intensity and effort of training to fight.

Nelson has done that training for years while also picking up all of the skills necessary to compete at a high level in MMA.  Though spectators ignorant about the sport will look at Nelson and have their misconceptions about MMA confirmed, I look at Nelson and he proves that fighting is as much about skill and heart as genetics.  That’s what attracted many core fans to the sport years ago.  It’s the promise that, even if you’re not born to succeed, you can work hard, study, and overcome your limitations to become successful anyway.

Nelson wasn’t born a 6’6″, 265- pound muscle-bound giant like Jones.  Nelson was born the way you see him today and will kick Jones’s ass with the skills he’s developed through hours of hard work in the gym.

White should spend less time being annoyed with having to now promote Nelson as a certified UFC fighter and devote his effort to promoting Nelson for the symbol of what a high-skilled, heart-testing sport MMA is.  And, whenever one of these magazine cover, chiseled athletes wants to call Nelson just a fat guy, White should serve the guy to Nelson in a clamshell box and watch Nelson descend on him like a Burger King Whopper.

Hamill, a seasoned wrestler and tough as nails fighter, came out looking strong with some of the most fluid striking we have seen from him.  Jones, a young and aggressive fighter with a strong Greco backgrond, came out in his typical fashion, throwing kicks and strikes from unusual angles.

Jones took Hamill down with a well-timed trip half way into the first round, moved to full mount, and immediately went to work with ground’n'pound elbows and strikes.

Referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the action at the 1:02 left in the first due to an illegal elbow. Mazzagatti stood Jones up and deducted a point from the fighter. When Mazzagatti returned to the still-downed  Hamill, Hamill indicated he was unable to continue.

The fight was deemed a win for Hamill by a Jones disqualification due to intentional elbows thrown from a “12 t0 6″ angle (up to down).

After the fight, Hamill also said he dislocated his shoulder which prevented him from properly defending himself from beneath Jones’s mount.

Expect a Burger King endorsement deal for the self-described “fat guy” who entered season eleven of The Ultimate Fighter as the heavy favorite and lived up to the hype right through the finale.

Schaub flicked a jab one time too many and Nelson went over top with a right hook to Schaub’s temple, dropping his Team Rashad teammate to the mat.

Referee Herb Dean jumped in and ended the fight.

Nelson had also scored a takedown earlier in the round; but, Schaub was able to squirm to his feet.  Schaub threw plenty of quick, powerful punches, but hit very little for having such a big target in front of him.

Judges scores were 29-28 twice and 29-27 all in favor of Slice.

The first round was barely mentionable as Alexander circled outside and waved leg kicks while Slice stood firmly in the center of the Octagon looking for a brawl.  The two fighters clinched twice, but briefly and uneventfully.

But, round two…wow!  Alexander came out of his corner to take another walk around the Octagon; but, Slice came out like Alexander was in Kimbo’s backyard.  Slice clinched and took Alexander to the mat in full mount, landing a few shots.  Alexander wormed back to his feet; but, Slice took Alexander’s back and suplexed him.  Alexander shot for a single-leg in the scramble; but, again, Slice stood and fell atop Alexander on the mat and passed to full mount.  Alexander gave up his back after Slice began landing shots to Alexander’s dome.  Slice briefly worked a guillotine, but decided to mount Alexander and land short elbows before the bell ended the round.

Alexander’s strategy finally paid off in round three when he dropped Slice with a solid leg kick.  Slice didn’t so much stand up, as shoot for a single leg takedown directly from his butt.  But, after a lay’n'pray from both fighters, referee Josh Rosenthal compelled them to their feet.  It was obvious Slice could barely stand on his lead leg after Alexander’s kick early in the round; but, Slice engaged Alexander for an exciting, if sloppy brawl that ended when an Alexander elbow sent Slice backpedaling and bell saved both fighters.

Edgar followed up a jab-hook combo with an overhand right that turned Veach around.

“I seen he was hurt and I wanted to go in for the kill,” Edgar described after the fight.

Edgar shot in, took Veach to the floor, and mounted, pounding clean shots as Veach wormed his way to his back.  Edgar rolled Veach over and sank a deep guillotine choke.  Veach tapped out.

Veach had all but dominated round one, scoring three powerful slams in the first round and absorbing only a body kick in response, though Edgar was also able to regain his feet after each slam.

“Marcus is a great dude,” Mitrione complimented his foe after the victory.

Early in round one, Jones lunged forward with a hanging straight right and Mitrione countered backpedaling with a duo of counter straight rights that sent Jones face first into the mat.  Referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight immediately.

Jones had won the first round with a trio of slams and a worthy guillotine choke attempt; but, Mitrione was effective getting back to his feet from beneath the man called “The Darkness”.

“Marcus is much stronger what I give him credit for.  I figured I played in the NFL, I have retard strength too,” Mitrione said.  “I thought he was going to be timid when I touched him; but, he wasn’t.”

Jones nearly retired after losing during the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, so this loss in his official UFC debut could lead to his retirement.

Mitrione, however, made his pro MMA debut with a win in the Octagon and was impressive doing so.

Having won ten out of 11 fights in MMA is impressive enough; but, when you look at the opponents against whom Edgar has amassed this record, it puts the mark into a whole new perspective.  He holds victories over ninth-ranked “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-4-1), former UFC lightweight challenger Hermes Franca (18-6), “The King” Spencer Fisher (21-4), Mark Bocek (5-2), Tyson Griffin (12-1), and Jim Miller(11-1). Had he been able to get past fifth-ranked “Bully” Gray Maynard (8-0), he would have completed a sweep of a murderers row of lightweights.

Veach brings to the Octagon more questions than answers. He has been dominating in his run to an undefeated mark, but it is difficult to place his readiness for a fighter of Edgar’s stature. Veach is best known for taking out “Wolverine” Matt Grice (9-1) in one round at UFC Fight Night 17 in Tampa February 7, but his list of opponents pales significantly to Edgar’s opponents.

Both fighters come from a wrestling background, which Edgar has used effectively to maul through a number of decision victories. Veach, despite his wrestling background has a respectable spread of knockouts and submissions on his resume.  It will likely be this disparity in ending fights that sets the tone for this one.

Veach will come out fast and hope to keep things standing for a while.  Edgar, on the other hand, will take it the ground and use his advantage in strength. After an exciting first round, experience will win out and Edgar will maintain enough control to win by unanimous decision.

SAF Warriors is a foundation to help provide assistance to care givers of those diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer’s disease.  SAF Warriors is helped in their fight by top fighters such as Fighters.com’s eighth-ranked lightwiegh “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (8-3), tenth-ranked welterweight’ “Quick’ Mike Swick ( 11-2), and fourth-ranked middleweight “Great” Nate Marquardt (26-7-2)

Join MMA Gospel as they learn more about this disease and the organization that chose to partner with mixed martial arts.

MMA Gospel Radio will air tonight at 6:00 – 8:00 PM ET. Listen to the show or join in the live chat at www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel and see when we will be moving.

The announcement was made on Jackson’s website Thursday.

Jackson had been matched versus fourth-ranked “Sugar” Rashad Evans (13-1-1) for UFC 107 in Jackson’s hometown of Memphis December 12 and the pair coached on the recently concluded tenth season of SpikeTV’s The Ultimate Fighter; but, Jackson landed the role of BA Baracus in the forthcoming “A-Team” movie and pulled out of the fight.

UFC President Dana White began criticizing Jackson for taking the acting gig over the fight versus Evans in Jackson’s hometown.  Jackson accused White of releasing false information about Jackson’s payment for the film.

On September 22, Jackson posted on his website, “I feel like my second career could be in jeopardy…so I’m done fighting.  I’ve been getting negative reviews from the dumb ass fans that don’t pay my bills or put my kids through college.  So, I’m hanging it up.”

Of course, Fighters.com never doubted Jackson was bluffing his retirement; and, what better time for Jackson to announce his return than during a big stretch of consecutive UFC events beginning Saturday in Las Vegas with The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale and followed up in Memphis, where Jackson and Evans were to settle their score.

Hamill, a 32-year old New York resident, gives up over ten years in age, but is a seasoned veteran who is tough as nails. Following a very controversial split decision loss to The Ultimate Fighter 3 champion “Count” Michael Bisping (18-2) at UFC 75 in London in 2007, Hamill went on to find victory in the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 13 against “Barbarian” Tim Boetsch (9-3) via a second round TKO.  During that fight Hamill caught a nastily well placed knee that split his bottom lip. Despite the split lip, Hamill remained composed and carried on to defeat his opponent, proving his toughness and ability to keep cool.

Hamill has tremendous wrestling, but relies on his heavy handed striking to finish his fights, only winning by decision once with no submission victories under his belt. Hamill only has one other loss, to “Ace” Rich Franklin (26-5), that came by way of a liver kick in the final round at UFC 88 in Atlanta in September 2008. Time and time again, Hamill surprises me with his ability to pull out victories and do so in powerful fashion. Hamill won “Knockout of the Night” for his head kick KO of “Filipino Wrecking Machine” Mark Munoz (3-1) at UFC 96 in Columbus March 7.

Jones is ten years younger than Hamill, but boasts the same number of professional fights. Jones, the youngest signed UFC fighter at the time of his contract signing, began his career as a mixed martial artist much like others in the business, fighting smaller shows and working his way into the UFC. Jones is a JUCO wrestling champ and, like Hamill, has heavy hands, with five of his nine victories coming by way of KO or TKO due to strikes. Jones also has two submission victories under his belt, both via guillotine choke and one of which put “Irish” Jake O’Brien (11-3). to sleep even after O’Brien had tapped. Jones, also from NY, is a fast, aggressive youngster who looks to continue his quick-rising fame by finishing Hamill, perhaps with one of his trademark spinning back elbows.

I have seen both of these men fight live, and although I am a huge Hamill fan, he doesn’t have the tools to stop what Jones brings to the table. Jones is fast and powerful and the wrestling backgrounds will cancel each other out, leaving a stand up war. Hamill is tough, and has a proven chin, but Jones is as fast as any opponent Hamill has ever seen and will land more strikes than Hamill is used to taking. Jones touts submission victories, and has a better ground game, so look for Jones to immediately move to dominate if the fight goes to the ground. You better believe Hamill has done his homework on Jones’s submission game, so there is a possibility that we won’t see a single shot throughout the duration of the fight. Don’t forget that this is the first fight for Hamill after the knee surgery, so expect there to not only be rust in the pipes, but also a Jones attack on said Knee via leg kicks.

Jones has too many tools for Hamill to handle and will TKO him in round two.

Listen for more TUF 10 Finale predictions on MMA Gospel Radio this Saturday before the fights at www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel.

The matchup is rumored to be held at a 215-pound catchweight.

Alexander TKO’d “Tank” Sherman Pendergarst (11-15) at Adrenaline MMA 4 in Omaha September 18 after losing three consecutive in the Octagon by first-round stoppage.

Slice was TKO’d by “Silverback” Seth Petruzelli (11-4) at EliteXC in Fort Lauderdale in October 2008 and lost again in an exhibition bout versus “Big Country” Roy Nelson (13-4) on SpikeTV’s The Ultimate Fighter 10.

Fighters.com broke the news of the UFC’s signing of Wallace and followed him as he prepared for Vendetta FC’s eight-man tournament and eventual victory in Aruba September 5 when he tapped out “Juggernaut” Antwain Britt (11-3) in an armbar in the tournament’s finale after disposing of Gregory Milliard (1-2) by decision in the first round and Team Quest’s Aaron Stark (9-5) by decision in the semi-final.

Stann won a unanimous decision over “Robot” Steve Cantwell (7-2) at UFC Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma City September 16 in the third iteration of a trilogy that began in the WEC in 2007.

Sanchez has certainly fought in some of SpikeTV’s most memorable fights, including his most recent split decision victory over perennial gatekeeper “Carpenter” Clay Guida (25-10) at The Ultimate Fighter 9 finale in Las Vegas June 20.

But, UFC lightweights fifth-ranked “Bully” Gray Maynard (8-0) and sixth-ranked “The Answer” Frank Edgar (10-1) are more deserving of a title shot, though admittedly less well-known to casual UFC fans.

Maynard won a split decision over another unranked, but popular UFC lightweight “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-3-1) at UFC Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma City September 16.

Edgar will follow-up his unanimous decision over former UFC champ ninth-ranked “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-4-1) at UFC 98 in Las Vegas May 23 versus “Batman” Kurt Pellegrino (15-4) at The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale in Las Vegas December 5.

Diaz beats unrelenting, but beatable Guida and gets a title shot versus Penn.  Edgar beats the former champ Sherk and is notched down to fight Pellegrino.  Explain that…

Sherk was scheduled to fight Gleison Tibau (16-6) at UFC 104 in Los Angeles October 24, but withdrew with an injury.

Most recent UFC title challenger, seventh-ranked “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (11-4), will swap opponents with Diaz when he fights Guida at UFC 107.

Meanwhile, across the Pacific second-ranked DREAM champ “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-4) avenged his most recent loss in the division with an armbar submission of fourth-ranked “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (18-7) at DREAM.11 in Yokohama October 6 and is already slated to defend his title from eighth-ranked “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2) at Dynamite!! 2009 north of Tokyo on New Year’s Eve.

Third-ranked Eddie Alvarez (16-2) and tenth-ranked Katsunori Kikuno (5-0-1) will fight at DREAM.12 in Osaka October 25 for the next DREAM title shot versus the winner of Aoki v Kawajiri.

Fighters.com’s October Lightweight Rankings

1. “Prodigy” BJ Penn (14-5-1)

2. “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-4)

3. Eddie Alvarez (16-2)

4. “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (18-7)

5. “Bully” Gray Maynard (8-0)

6. “The Answer” Frank Edgar (10-1)

7. “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (11-4)

8. “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2)

9. “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-4-1)

10. Katsunori Kikuno (5-0-1)