Tim Sylvia (left) vs. Paul Buentello: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com
• Powerhouse World Promotions crowned three champions in its pay-per-view debut Aug. 14 in Irvine, Calif., on a card dubbed “War on the Mainland.” Tim Sylvia took the heavyweight crown by knocking out Paul Buentello in the second round; Matt Horwich won the middleweight title in a fourth-round upset over Thales Leites by rear-naked choke; and local circuit veteran Tony Lopez secured the light heavyweight title by stopping Jason Lambert. The promotion began promoting a Sylvia vs. Pedro Rizzo fight after the main event. In another notable outcome, Jens Pulver dropped his sixth straight fight after unheralded Diego Garijo stunned him with a straight punch and tapped him with a guillotine choke in the first round. It was Pulver’s first fight outside of the UFC or WEC since 2006.
• The California State Athletic Commission reported that Anderson Silva and Matt Hughes, at $200,000 each, collected the highest disclosed paydays at UFC 117 on Aug. 7 in Oakland. The only other fighter to break the six-figure mark was Jon Fitch at $108,000. Chael Sonnen, who masterfully promoted his main event with Silva in interviews, took home $35,000 in disclosed pay.
• Two-time Olympian Daniel Cormier took his second heavyweight MMA title in his fourth professional fight on Aug. 13, winning the King of the Cage crown from Tony Johnson Jr. with a rear-naked choke in the first round. Cormier won the Australian promotion XMMA title on July 31 with a first-round TKO over Lucas Browne. Cormier will keep busy, facing Jason Riley in a preliminary bout on Saturday at Strikeforce “Houston.” The fight will stream on Sherdog.com. Also defending their titles successfully at King of the Cage’s latest event were welterweight Quinn Mulhern and junior welterweight Bobby Green.
• St. Louis kickboxing star Jesse Finney drew an impressive 10,000-seat sellout on Aug. 14. He faced UFC veteran Josh Neer in the Fight Me MMA 1 main event at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. Neer defeated Finney with a first-round guillotine choke.
• German MMA site GroundandPound.de reported that Pascal Krauss, an undefeated welterweight, has signed a four-fight UFC deal and will debut on a yet-to-be-announced card on Nov. 13 in Oberhausen, Germany.
• The UFC announced the grappling super fights for its Aug. 27-28 Fan Expo in Boston. They will be Rolles Gracie vs. Roberto Abreu, Gregor Gracie vs. Pablo Popovitch, Penny Thomas vs. Tracey Goodell and Hermes Franca vs. Ryan Hall. The expo will be held in conjunction with UFC 118.
• Spike TV announced it will air Ryan Jensen vs. Court McGee and Patrick Cote vs. Tom Lawlor on its preliminary fights special prior to UFC 121 on Oct. 23, from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
• “The Expendables,” a film starring Randy Couture, had a strong opening weekend, raking in $35 million; it was the top domestic take of the weekend.
• The Tachi Palace Fights promotion announced it has signed Sherdog.com’s No.1-ranked flyweight fighter in the world, Jussier da Silva, to a four-fight deal. An opponent has not been selected, but da Silva, who has fought primarily in Japan, will debut on a Dec. 2 card in Lemoore, Calif. The fight will not be against the promotion’s 125-pound champion, Ulysses Gomez, as he will be competing in the Bellator Fighting Championships Season 3 135-pound tournament.