Sako Chivitchyan: Spike TV
• Sako Chivitchyan became the last fighter to advance in the preliminary round of “The Ultimate Fighter 12” this week, controlling an improving Dane Sayers in the clinch and with his judo to take two rounds and hand Team Koscheck its second win of the season.
Chivitchyan joins Alex Caceres, Michael Johnson, Kyle Watson, Nam Phan, Cody McKenzie and Jonathan Brookins as locks for the quarter-final round. Wrestler Marc Stevens and U.K. standout Aaron Wilkinson both earned second opportunities in the wild card round, which takes place next week.
Though Team GSP closed the preliminaries with a 5-2 win record in fights, Georges St. Pierre fell woefully short in this season’s coaches’ challenge. Josh Koscheck cleaned up the Canadian in home run derby to win $10,000 and $1,500 paydays for each member of his team.
This week’s episode also revealed the identity of the man Koscheck shoves in one of the season’s crazier moments, the subject of much speculation on MMA forums. Team GSP medic Brad Tate gets pie-faced next week by the mercurial welterweight title challenger.
TUF 12 continues to perform well in the ratings, drawing a 1.3 rating on Spike and an average audience of 1.9 million viewers this week, matching the highest mark yet for the season.
• UFC President Dana White kept talk alive that the promotion would land on network television in a recent interview with Broadcasting & Cable. White said he expects to be on network television in 2011, and kept FOX and NBC alive as possibilities when asked.
• A report from MMAJunkie.com claims that boxer James Toney never received his $500,000 pay for his UFC 118 loss to Randy Couture because the IRS put a lien on his fight purse while they examined past tax returns. Toney learned of the situation on Aug. 28, the day of the Couture fight. The Toney camp has ongoing litigation with the IRS.
• The Japanese promotion Deep marked its 10th anniversary with a pair of title fights and by matching Dream lightweight champ Shinya Aoki against an MMA first timer. On the Oct. 24 card in Tokyo, lightweight champion Katsunori Kikuno topped Nobuhiro Obiya to retain his belt via decision while welterweight champion Yuya Shirai used judo en route to a successful decision nod over Shigetoshi Iwase. Aoki used a keylock to briskly tap former boxing champ Yokthai Sithoar in his MMA debut.
• Russian lightweight prospect Magomed Shikshabekov was handed his first career defeat on an M-1 Challenge card on Oct. 28, falling to England’s Che Mills via decision after an extension round. Shiksabekov was closely watched after racking up seven first-round finishes.