MMAterial Facts 04/08/10: Zuffa Needed Investors? Bellator Debuts On FSN

• Sheikh’s love of jiu-jitsu leads UFC to Abu Dhabi
• Bellator championships preview
• UFC eyes cards in Afghanistan and China
• “The Ultimate Fighter 11” ratings at 1.5 million viewers for episode No. 2

Sheikh’s love of jiu-jitsu leads UFC to Abu Dhabi

“I probably had more to do with (the UFC-Flash partnership) than people will probably ever realize,” said Gracie, who will make his UFC debut on Saturday. “When I found out they were looking for investors, I was in Singapore and I brought back this package they were sending out to investors. I brought a copy of that back to the Sheikh and he was very interested because he loves fighting.

“After that, they got in touch through a lawyer and [UFC president] Dana [White] and [UFC CEO] Lorenzo [Fertitta], came over and they got a deal done.” (Yahoo! Sports)

Bellator championships preview

Thursday in Hollywood, Fla., Bellator Fighting Championships kicks off its second season with an event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Bolstered by a television deal for 2010 that includes 24 live prime time Thursday night broadcasts on Fox Sports Net, the upstart promotion, which also secured weekly highlight shows on NBC and Telemundo, is pushing its single-elimination-tournament format as a major selling point to fight fans.  (Sports Illustrated )

UFC eyes cards in Afghanistan and China

Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White said Thursday he will stage a card to benefit United States military forces in Afghanistan in the next several months, and said a card in China “is closer than you might think.”

In a wide-ranging interview with reporters prior to UFC 112 on Saturday at Ferrari World, White also hinted at renewed contract talks with iconic heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko and said the UFC is going to create a Middle Eastern edition of its popular reality series, “The Ultimate Fighter.” (Yahoo! Sports)

“The Ultimate Fighter 11” ratings at 1.5 million viewers for episode No. 2

This week’s second episode of “The Ultimate Fighter 11” drew a 1.2 household rating and scored an average of 1.5 million viewers, Spike TV officials today announced.

The April 7 hour-long show was the No. 2 ranked program in its timeslot among men 18-49 and men 18-34.

Last week’s season debut of “TUF 11” drew 1.9 million viewers.  (MMAJunkie)

VIDEO OF THE DAY

• MMA Live: 4-8-10: MMA Live gets you ready for UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, as champions Anderson Silva and B.J. Penn put their belts on the line. Also, King Mo Lawal checks in before his Strikeforce title fight against Gegard Mousasi next week on CBS.

IMAGES OF THE DAY

QUICK HITS

• UFC Eyes Afghanistan Show (Sherdog)
• ‘Cacareco’-Patterson Confirmed for Shine Fights 3 (Sherdog)
• Dana White says UFC event in Afghanistan “two to three months” away, will benefit troops (MMAJunkie)
• Madame Tussauds chooses UFC legend Chuck Liddell as MMA’s first wax figurine (MMAJunkie)
• Chad Mendes replaces Mackens Semerzier, faces Anthony Morrison at WEC 48 (MMAJunkie)
• White Talks Abu Dhabi, GSP vs. Silva (MMAFighting)
• Roger Huerta Wins Bellator Debut Via Third-Round Kneebar (MMAFighting)
• NCAA CHAMPION ERIC LARKIN MOVES TO MMA (MMAWeekly)
• FEDOR NEGOTIATIONS ONGOING, PENCILED FOR JUNE (MMAWeekly)
• “The Ultimate Fighter 11” Episode 2 Recap (Heavy)

TV LISTINGS

• Bellator Fighting Championships XIII at 7:30 PM ET on FSN (04/08/10)
• HDNet Fights Vault: XFL Team Takedown at 8 PM ET on HDNet (04/09/10)
• Fighting Words with Mike Straka (feat. Matt Hughes) at 8:30 PM ET on HDNet (04/09/10)
• InsideMMA (Aaron Simpson, CB Dollaway, Javier Vasquez) at 9 PM ET on HDNet (04/09/10)
• HDNet Fights: K-1 World GP 2010 at 10 PM ET on HDNet (04/09/10)
• UFC 112 : Silva vs Maia at 10 PM ET on PPV (04/10/10)

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Bellator Fighting Championships XIII at 7:30 PM ET on FSN (04/08/10)
• UFC 112 : Silva vs Maia at 10 PM ET on PPV (04/10/10)
• Bellator Fighting Championships XIV at 7:30 PM ET on FSN (04/15/10)
• HDNet Fights: KOTC Bad Boys Too at 10 PM ET on HDNet (04/16/10)
• Strikeforce Nashville: Henderson vs Shields at 11 PM ET/PT on CBS (04/17/10)
• Bellator Fighting Championships XV at 7:30 PM ET on FSN (04/24/10)
• WEC 48: Aldo vs Faber at 10 PM ET on PPV (04/24/10)
• Bellator Fighting Championships XVI at 7:30 PM ET on FSN (04/29/10)
• Bellator Fighting Championships XVII at 7:30 PM ET on FSN (05/06/10)
• HDNet Fights: MFC Vindication at 10 PM ET on HDNet (05/07/10)
• UFC 113 : Machida vs Shogun 2 at 10 PM ET on PPV (05/08/10)
• Bellator Fighting Championships XVIII at 7:30 PM ET on FSN (05/13/10)
• Strikeforce St. Louis: Overeem vs Rogers at 10 PM ET/PT on Showtime (05/15/10)
• Bellator Fighting Championships XIX at 7:30 PM ET on FSN (05/20/10)
• UFC 114 : Rampage vs Evans at 10 PM ET on PPV (05/29/10)