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Interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former
title-holder Frank Mir will serve as coaches on the eighth season of
“The Ultimate Fighter,” which debuts Sept. 17 on Spike TV.

Spike TV made the announcement on Monday.

The two fighters will not compete again until a tentatively scheduled
pay-per-view match-up that will take place after the season is finished
airing in December.

The American Fight League has announced its full card for May 30’s
“AFL: BULLETPROOF,” the first-ever mixed martial arts event to take
place at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta.

Three titles will be on the line as AFL lightweight champ Diego Saraiva
meets challenger Josh Cate, and AFL welterweight title-holder Douglas
Lima takes on Brent Weedman.

Additionally, George Lockhart and George Allen meet for the AFL’s
first-ever AFL middleweight title, and UFC veteran Dan Christison takes
on Sam Holloway.

Not only are EliteXC officials considering the creation of championship
belts for its growing stable of female fighters, but they’re also
planning to host a women’s-only show that could take place next year.

EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw reaffirmed his company’s
dedication to female MMA during today’s media conference call with Gina
Carano (5-0) and Kaitlin Young (4-1), who fight May 31 during the debut
EliteXC-CBS event.

In fact, the first women’s belt will likely be at 140 lbs., and the
winner of the the upcoming Carano vs. Young bout could earn the right
to fight for the title in the fall.

It was a big night for the American contingent at the third card put on
by the Japanese DREAM promotion, with Eddie Alvarez, Nick Diaz and
Jason “Mayhem” Miller all scoring impressive wins Sunday before an
announced crowd of 21,789 at the Saitama Super Arena.

The idea behind DREAM was to give the Japanese audience the new version
of PRIDE, the popular promotion that collapsed due to a Yakuza scandal
that cost the company its network television contract.

The card, which aired live in the U.S. on HDNet, had a lot of the PRIDE
feel, with the same type of entrances, and the trademark 10-minute
first round and five-minute second. The ring looks similar, and most of
the shows are held in PRIDE’s former home base in Saitama, a city just
outside Tokyo.

It’s official: Affliction Clothing will officially launch its
fight-promotion business in July, and the event will feature Fedor
Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia, as well as Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo.

A company executive made the announcement during tonight’s episode of
“Inside MMA.” A preview of the segment can be watched here on
MMAjunkie.com thanks to our partnership with the
weekly MMA news show.

VP of Affliction Clothing Tom Atencio confirmed that the event, “Affliction: Banned,” takes
place July 19 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The show’s main
card will air live on pay per view.

Additionally, find out how you can find some great prizes in the latest
HDNet giveaway. However, the deadline to enter is quickly approaching.

Adrenaline MMA, the organization formerly known as M-1 Global and run
by Monte Cox, has released an updated card for its debut June 14 card.

The event, which features a main event between former UFC heavyweight
contender Jeff Monson and Mike Russow, takes place at the Sears Centre
near Chicago.

The 14-fight card includes a number of familiar names, including Terry
Martin, Tony Fryklund, Bart Palaszewski, Aaron Rosa and others.
Additionally, a number of Chicago-area fighters have been booked for
the night’s preliminary card.