"CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS" MAIN EVENT FEATURING FEDOR VS. ROGERS DRAWS 5.46 MILLION VIEWERS

The main event of CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS featuring Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers reached 5.46 million viewers while drawing impressive young adult and male demographic ratings, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings from 11:00-11:15 PM on Saturday, Nov. 7. The demographic ratings include a 3.5/10 in men 25-54, 3.3/11 in men 18-49 and 3.1/12 in men 18-34, 2.5/7 rating in adults 25-54, 2.4/8 in adults 18-49 and 2.4/09 in adults 18-34.

For the entire broadcast, CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS (S) (9:00-11:24PM) averaged 4.04m viewers, winning its time period among adults 18-34 and men 18-34, and delivering ratings significantly higher than the Network's season to date averages in the time period among young adult and male demos. The ratings include a 1.8/06 in adults 18-49, 1.8/07 in adults 18-34, 2.6/07 in men 25-54, 2.5/08 in men 18-49 and 2.3/09 in men 18-34.

Compared to CBS's 9:00-11:00PM season-to-date averages, CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS was up +38% in adults 18-49 (from 1.3/04), +125% in adults 18-34 (from 0.8/03), +117% in men 25-54 (from 1.2/03), +178% in men 18-49 (from 0.9/03) and +283% in men 18-34 (from 0.6/02).

CBS's SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS outrated ABC's regionalized primetime college football in men 18-34 (2.3/09 vs. 1.9/07) and adults 18-34 (1.8/07 vs. 1.5/06) and ESPN's Florida State vs. Clemson primetime game in men 18-34 (2.3/09 vs. 0.7/03) and adults 18-34 (1.8/07 vs. 0.5/02). CBS also topped ESPN2's primetime Vanderbilt vs. Florida game in men 18-34 (2.3/09 vs. 1.1/04) and adults 18-34 (1.8/07 vs. 0.9/04).

The audience composition for CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS was 31% adults 18-34 and the median age for the broadcast was 41.4.

The Wrap-Up: Strikeforce Fedor vs Rogers

Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers took place Saturday night, November 7th, in Chicago, Illinois with the main card airing live on CBS. Here's the event wrap-up, including full results…

Biggest Winner: Strikeforce. Programming and promotional decisions aside, Strikeforce showed that they can put together a great main card. Every fight was exciting to watch, Sokoudjou and Rogers performed well beyond what was expected of them, Shields/Miller was a great back and forth grappling clinic and Silva/Werdum was much more entertaining than I anticipated. From Strikeforce's standpoint this was a success and for those who saw it on CBS (we'll get to that in a second) it was a wonderful night for MMA.

Mark Purdy: San Jose's Strikeforce goes prime time in mixed martial arts

Scott Coker was at home last weekend in Willow Glen, doggedly pursuing the American dream. He was watching football on television.

Suddenly, during a commercial break, Coker sat up straighter. On the screen, a screaming CBS announcer was talking about a big-deal Mixed Martial Arts fight that the network will broadcast Saturday night.

Coker found himself being surprised — even though the fight being promoted was the fight he created and was promoting.

"This," he said to himself, "is very cool."

Coker was relating this story the other day at one of his favorite San Jose breakfast joints, a few hours before flying off to Chicago, where the CBS fight will be held. The card features heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, who is generally recognized as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the MMA game.

I'm predicting a 6.1 rating for tonight, anything less than a 5.0 is a disappointment.

Local promoters staging MMA event on Seneca reservation

OLEAN - An Olean man moved last year to further his dream of becoming a professional mixed martial arts fighter. His name is Adam Gayton, and unlike many Olean natives, he moved home in efforts to realize his vision.

“I was born with the fighter’s heart. I’ve always loved to compete,” Mr. Gayton said. “The training, love it. Everything that comes with MMA, it’s almost the life of a rock star, but for some, it’s legally a way to blow off steam.”

Originally from the Olean area, Mr. Gayton had moved to Phoenix. MMA is illegal in many states, Mr. Gayton said. So, he said, he spent a decade trying to make a name for himself in Arizona and Las Vegas.

Mr. Gayton said many MMA fighters have to travel long distances due to the relatively few areas where fighters can legally compete. And, many times, he said, fighters don’t get travel expenses covered.

Breaking down the Strikeforce card

Strikeforce and M-1 Global stare down the UFC and draw a line in the sand Saturday as heavyweight kingpin Fedor Emelianenko anchors the promotions' CBS debut from the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill. In making such a stand, it helps to have the most indestructible Russian since Rasputin on your side, along with an opponent who looks like a mutated version of Mr. T.

Under Armour in deal with mixed martial arts star

CHICAGO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Under Armour Inc (UA.N) signed a multiyear deal with a top mixed martial arts fighter to endorse its underwear and other products, moving the athletic clothing and shoe maker into one of the world's fastest growing sports.

Under Armour, a smaller rival of Nike Inc (NKE.N), said Georges St-Pierre, an MMA welterweight champion, will serve as the face for the company's underwear -- one of its most popular items -- as well as for three new lines of compression-based clothing. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Broomfield wrestling guru sets sights on MMA

Ed Gutierrez is in the midst of an experiment.
After years of helping shape the national face of competitive youth wrestling, the tournament organizer and promoter is focusing on the next step of a grappler`s career. But the water Gutierrez is testing is far from the normal avenues wrestlers take after high school.

Instead of college or Olympic paths, he is attempting to blaze a new one by marrying wrestling with mixed martial arts.

"Wrestling doesn`t have a pro counterpart, like almost every other sport," Gutierrez said. "Other than events like ours, there are few options for wrestlers to get paid after their amateur careers are over."

Wrestlers aren`t new to MMA competitions and the no-holds-barred matches have become a sports mainstay for nearly a quarter century.

What Gutierrez is doing differently is creating a direct link between wrestling and what he hopes will become its pro counterpart. While he promoted three other MMA competitions before Friday`s at the Denver Coliseum, Friday was the first time Gutierrez held one in conjunction with one of his wrestling tournaments.

Mega fight card set for Moncton

Steven Williams is celebrating Halloween late this year.

Chris Johnson, left, of Rogersville, and Dale Simmonds of Moncton will clash on Nov. 28. The promoter confirmed at a news conference yesterday that he will give fans a treat with the biggest mixed martial arts card ever held in New Brunswick. The 17-bout event is set for Nov. 28 at the Moncton Coliseum and it will feature a format that's never been seen in this province.

There will be a mixed bag with 10 professional MMA fights, six amateur MMA bouts and one professional boxing match.

"I wanted to give Moncton an opportunity to get a big taste (for the fight game)," said Williams. "The last show we did in July the fan turnout was really positive and now I want to bring it to the next level.

Friday's MMA fight card delayed

Poor ticket sales and the collapse of several scheduled bouts forced the postponement of "Halloween Bashing," a mixed martial arts and boxing fight card scheduled for Friday at Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers, the promoter said Wednesday.

"We have not had a very good response from Fort Myers," said Ivan Gomez, president of South Florida Cage Wars, which plans to reschedule the event for January at Harborside.