The Weekly Wrap: Dec. 5 - Dec. 11

Odds and Ends

• The UFC 108 card took even more hits this week, as co-main-event fighter Carlos Condit withdrew from his fight with U.K. slugger Paul Daley, and Tyson Griffin dropped out of his bout against Jim Miller. Condit’s trainer, Greg Jackson, told Sherdog.com that Condit suffered a deep cut in his hand moving sheet metal. Submission ace Dustin Hazelett, who lost out of a fight when Karo Parisyan withdrew at the last minute from UFC 106, was tapped to face Daley.

• U.S. Olympic wrestler Ben Askren, one of the sport’s hottest prospects, announced this week he had signed with the Bellator Fighting Championships. The welterweight, who trains at Arizona Combat Sports, was also courted by Strikeforce but told ESPN.com’s “MMA Live” that he was swayed by the chance to fight three times in three months in Bellator’s tournament. Plus, the promotion gave him the OK to continue his wrestling and try out for the 2010 world team. Bellator begins its next season in April with Fox Sports and NBC television deals in place.

• Bellator made another move this week in dropping matchmaker Matt Stansell, who resigned amicably from the promotion. Stansell also works as an agent for fighters including Brandon Vera, Ed Ratcliff, Wilson Reis and Eddie Sanchez.

• The UFC and WEC have banned a clothing line called Hoelzer Reich from their cages after preliminary fighter Joe Brammer sported a T-shirt from the company on “The Ultimate Fighter” finale broadcast. The shirts have come under fire for depictions of the Iron Cross and other symbolism linked to Nazi Germany. Mac Danzig and Donald Cerrone have also worn the shirts on Zuffa broadcasts. Hoelzer Reich dismissed associations, saying the shirts reflect German heritage, but removed references to MMA fighters from its Web site. Strikeforce has also banned the brand.

• The UFC continues to trim its roster, releasing Brock Larson, Denis Kang, Roli Delgado and Jason Dent after they lost fights at UFC 106.

• Sports Business Daily reported that Versus, the WEC’s cable platform, lost exposure in 9 million homes on Dec. 1, when a free preview period on the Dish Network, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications ended. The development means Versus, which is owned by cable giant Comcast, has virtually no satellite distribution, having been off DirecTV since a September dispute over tiers and rights fees.

• He scored a crushing knockout in the first round, but top MMA heavyweight Alistair Overeem was unable to get past the second round in the prestigious K-1 World Grand Prix kickboxing tournament on Dec. 5 in Yokohama, Japan.

The Strikeforce champion took out Ewerton Texeira with a knee in the first round, but fell to the manic haymakers of Badr Hari in a rematch of Overeem’s shocking knockout of the K-1 staple last Dec. 31. Hari went on to lose in the finals to MMA veteran and Dutch giant Semmy Schilt, who captured his fourth grand prix.

Both Overeem and Schilt are said to be possibilities for MMA fights on the FEG/K-1/Dream “Dynamite” event on New Year’s Eve in Japan.

• Thales Leites got a win Dec. 4 in his first fight since he was cut from the UFC, plodding his way to a decision over fellow BJJ black belt Dean Lister. Both fighters threw only three punches in the main event of Maximum Fighting Championships 23, which aired on HDNet from Enoch, Alberta, Canada. Leites threw some leg kicks and blocked Lister's takedowns and submission attempts for the bulk of the dull bout. The win put Leites in line for a shot at the vacant MFC middleweight title.

• Another UFC castoff put himself in the MFC 185-pound mix on the card. Jason McDonald halted a three-fight losing skid by working a full slate of submission attempts on Solomon Hutcherson en route to a split decision victory. There was no immediate celebration as judges appeared to make a math error in initially tallying the score and returning a draw, with one 28-28 score and split 29-28 cards. The score was corrected later in the broadcast. Also at middleweight, Ryan Jimmo of Nova Scotia picked up his 12th straight win against Emmanuel Newton, getting off key point-scoring strikes in between Newton's persistent standing clinches.

• The fight of the night was between WEC veteran Bryan Baker and 37-year-old Art Santore of Team Quest. Baker hurt Santore in the first round and opened a large cut, allowing Santore to show some dramatic resilience. Santore slipped out of a Baker triangle attempt to cheers as the fight ended. Baker was awarded the unanimous decision, his fifth straight win.