By Steve Cha "I like the small guys.  They go at it," UFC President Dana White stated to TUF 8 coach Frank Mir (11-3). Lightweights Wesley Murch (3-2) and John Polakowski (2-1), who, in his words, “loves giving hugs to everyone”, didn’t disappoint White in the first fight of the night on Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter 8. Both fighters were able to land strikes and take each other’s backs; however, at the end of the first round, British fighter Murch injured his shin on a low kick attempt.  Ouch! Murch braved the pain, but, early in the second round, collapsed; and, the ref was forced to stop the fight. True to his words, Polakowski hugged Fighters.com’s top heavyweight contender and TUF 8 coach “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1), White, and Mir, forcing an admission from Nog': " I don’t care, you know.  I like to hug too." ...

“The Immortal” Wesley Murch (3-2) is one of the lightweight competitors on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter.  He got his start in MMA when “Colossus” James Thompson (14-9) asked him to train with him for a fight due to his judo background. Fighters.com:  How did you get involved in TUF 8? Wesley Murch:  I saw that the deadline to get videos in was coming up soon and so I thought stuff that when is the tryouts. I looked and they were the following week but in Boston so I went straight online and booked a flight for Boston and a hotel for 5 nights and decided to try out. When my dad heard what I was doing he booked himself a flight and came with me and we made a bit of a holiday out of it. Fighters.com:  Who are some of your heroes, in sports and otherwise? Wesley Murch:  Winston Churchill is a great hero of mine.  I love all his speeches and think he showed the courage and determination that I like to think I can follow.  Martin Luther King is also a hero of mine and I respect anyone who really stands up for what they believe is right and because of his courage the world is a better place for many people today.  Mike Tyson is also someone I respect immensely.  [So] is James "The Colossus" Thompson because I have seen him start at the beginning and work to the top, never duck anyone and train hard despite many critics. Fighters.com:  Do you train full time or do you have another job? Wesley Murch:  I now train full time.  I used to be a doorman for eight years and a debt collector but I want to be at the top of this sport and I am willing to make sacrifices to get there so I now train full time. ...

Monday the UFC officially announced its line-up for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, premiering 17 September on SpikeTV. The 16 lightweights and 16 light heavyweights will be coached by Fighters.com's top heavyweight contender and interim UFC Champion “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) and former UFC Heavyweight Champ Frank Mir (11-3). Lightweights Jose Aguilar (0-0) Fernando Bernstein (0-0) Junie Allen Browning (1-0) Rolando Delgado (0-0) Joseph Duarte (0-0) Efrain Escudero (10-0) Brandon Garner (4-1) David Kaplan (0-0) Eric Magee (1-1) Brian McLaughlin (0-0) Wesley Murch (3-2) Shane Nelson (9-3) Phillipe Nover (5-0-1) Ido Pariente (8-3) John Polakowski (2-1) George Roop (8-3) Light Heavyweights Ryan Bader (7-0) Antwain Britt (3-1) Jules Bruchez (0-0) Charles Diaz (3-0) Lance Evans (2-2) Karen Grigoryan (6-1) Jason Guida (17-17) "Big Deal" Ryan Jimmo (6-1) Kyle Kingsbury (7-1) Tom Lawlor (4-1) Ryan Lopez (4-4) "Pezao" Vinicius Magalhaes (0-1) Eliot Marshall (5-1) Sean O’Connell (0-0) Shane Primm (1-0) Krzysztof Soszynski (15-8-1) ...