by Jack Encarnacao (jencarnacao@sherdog.com) Original Sherdog Article

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Sam Hoger entered the ring to the song “Welcome to the Jungle” and weighing 251 pounds.

The smiley “thief” of season one of “The Ultimate Fighter” then had his first fight in 17 months, and it was over almost instantly. Even Hoger looked surprised when the referee stepped in just 17 seconds after he had dropped his 289-pound opponent and landed some additional shots.

It wasn’t much, and almost definitely less than Hoger traveled all the way from Houston for.

“I’m looking to be better,” Hoger said. “Right now, I’m just going to wait for the next fight. I want to fight. I’m hungry.”

Hoger defeated a corn-rowed, tattooed 289-pounder from Maine named Jason “The Angry Man” Dolloff, who took the place of Brandon Bice, who took a fight too close to the Hoger bout to pass medical requirements. Hoger signed Polaroids afterward and hammed it up.

“Let’s go eat some junk food!” Hoger told friends at ringside as fans emptied out of the building.

Thursday September 18,2008 MFS fighters Sherman "The Tank" Pendergarst and Noah Inhofer travel North to fight at King of the Cage Canada. The event was titled "Unrefined". Sherman's was KOTC Canada Heavyweight champion Tim Hague (7-1) . Sherman lost in the second round via tko. Noah's opponent was UFC veteran Victor Valimaki. Noah lost in the second round via tko.

The action started out Friday night June 27th at the Courage Fighting Championship event in Decatur IL. 9x IFL veteran Mike Ciesnolevicz fought for the Courage Fighting Championship's Light Heavyweight Championship. Mike won the championship with a 1st round stoppage.

Than on Saturday night June 28th at Extreme Challenge 100 in Davenport IA, Mike Ciesnolevicz, Junior Hernandez (amateur) and Noah Inhofer were all in action. For Mike C., this was his second fight in two nights. Mike defeated Matt Anderson in a light heavyweight fight with a 1st round submission. Junior fought a tough Jake Klemme in a lightweight fight and won a unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 in favor of Junior. Noah Inhofer defeated Andy Stock in a light heavyweight fight via submission with a kimura.

Xtreme Fighting Organization
"XFO 24"
Lakemoor Banquet Facility
Lakemoor, IL
Friday June 6th, 2008

On Friday Night June 6th, 2008, Sherman "The Tank" Pendergarst fought Brian Heden for the XFO Heavyweight Championship at "XFO 24". The Tank won the XFO Heavyweight Championship with a rear naked choke at 2:10 of Rd 1.

On Saturday Night May 31st, 2008 EliteXC held the first ever live primetime major network tv mma event in Newark NJ at the Prudential Center.

James "Binky" Jones Vs Calvin Kattar- 150 lbs : Jones' striking looked bad to start things and Kattar was obviously the better striker aside from Binky's knees. However once it went to the ground "Binky" was able to flex the wrestling and BJJ skills. He worked for kimuras and eventually was able to sink in a rear naked choke after Kattar gave up his back. James Jones wins by Submission - Rear Naked Choke - Round 1 (4:44)

By Brent Brookhouse (May 31st, 2008 by Bloody elbow)

Recently Nemesis Fight Gear LLC is added three young talented fighters to our roster. Undefeated Amateur Lightweight from MFS (Iowa) Junior Hernandez, Undefeated Light Heavyweight from Gracie Barra of Georgia Dustin Proctor and Undefeated Light Heavyweight from Team Naja Muay Thai (Orlando Florida) Freddy Logie.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Tuesday announced the signing of British welterweight Dan Hardy.

He is a staple of the U.K. mixed martial arts scene, having fought the majority of his career for the Cage Warriors fight promotion. Hardy is currently the promotion’s welterweight champion. He also fought his way to the finals of Japan’s Cage Force welterweight tournament before losing to Yoshiyuki Yoshida via disqualification due to delivering an illegal kick to the groin.

Hardy is a member of Team Rough House, which is also the home of fellow British standouts Paul Daley and Andre Winner.

“The plan was always to fight in the UFC when I felt I was 100% ready. But there were things I felt, as a fighter, I needed to work on before I made my UFC debut,” Hardy said on CageWarriors.com. “I probably could have fought in the UFC before now, but I wanted to work on my skills, my BJJ and my wrestling. I have trained as a striker since I was six years old, but have really worked very hard on my ground game over the last four years, including working with Eddie Bravo out in the States, and I feel I've got one of the most well rounded games of any fighter in Europe."

With an impressive 8-1 record in his last nine fights, including a TKO win over UFC veteran Chad Reiner, the multi-colored Mohawk sporting Brit enters one of the UFC’s most crowded divisions. Currently ruled by welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, the division includes many of the top fighters in the world including Jon Fitch, Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Thiago Alves, Diego Sanchez, Karo Parisyan, Josh Koscheck, and more.

No information has been forthcoming from the UFC or Hardy on when he will make his debut in the Octagon.

The office of Maryland Delegate Kirill Reznik has informed FightTicker.com that Maryland governor Martin O'Malley signed into law today a bill that legalizes the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA.)

With this law, Maryland joins a growing list of states (now close to 35) in this country that regulate the sport, including neighboring Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The next step is for the Maryland State Athletic Commission to draw up the rules and regulations governing MMA. This process can take anywhere from 6 to 18 months to complete. Therefore, sanctioned MMA events will be coming to Maryland as early as 2009 and no later than 2010.

By Pramit Mohapatra (May 22nd, 2008 by Fight Ticker)