• The London Telegraph reported the UFC will tailor its international broadcasts to highlight fighters in their native countries.
• Maine became the latest state to approve regulations for mixed martial arts this year, as Gov. John Baldacci signed the bill in a ceremony. WEC featherweight champion and Maine native Mike Thomas Brown, in town for a friend’s wedding, was on hand for the occasion. The earliest an MMA card could be held in the state is thought to be around March 2010.
• Two-time NCAA national champion and 2008 U.S. Olympic team wrestler Ben Askren picked up his third win in three fights on Aug. 28, as he submitted Matt Delanoit with a north-south choke in the first round. The bout took place at a Max Fights show in Des Moines, Iowa.
• The Nevada State Athletic Commission confirmed that WEC 42 on Aug. 9, headlined by Miguel Torres vs. Brian Bowles, drew 2,082 fans to the newly expanded Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and that 1,640 of those fans were paying customers. The gate was around $175,835 in the 4,000-seat arena.
• In a rare public admission, UFC veteran Sean Salmon admitted in a column on MMAJunkie.com that he threw a fight in Ohio three months ago. The referenced bout, presumably his submission loss to WEC veteran Allan Weickert, ended when Salmon tapped out at 2:05 of the second round. Salmon claimed he purposely put himself into the armbar in order to escape unscathed, fearing a cut would compromise his ability to return to the Wolfslair Academy in England to train. Ohio Athletic Commission Executive Director Bernie Profato told Sherdog.com he plans to admonish Salmon for the situation, wants to see a retraction written and would ban him from fighting if he had sufficient proof to do so. Salmon’s scheduled Oct. 17 bout in Ohio has been cancelled.