When Tony Ferguson finished off Ramsey Nijem in the first round on Saturday night in Las Vegas, the lowest rated season, by far, of “The Ultimate Fighter” came to a close.

And with it comes questions about the future of the show that both made and saved the sport of mixed martial arts.

When Brock Lesnar was announced as coach for the 13th “TUF” season, it was assumed his presence would be a ratings bonanza. Like him or hate him, Lesnar had turned into a UFC gold mine. He was the company’s biggest draw on pay-per-view, tapes of his fights draw bigger than anyone else’s, and he also does some of the biggest numbers for Countdown shows building his fights.

But instead, Season 13, not including the live finale card, averaged a 0.97 rating and 1.27 million viewers. That’s down 24 percent in ratings and 27 percent in overall viewers from Season 12, with Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck as coaches.

There are a truckload of reasons that have been given, ranging in validity, regarding what

Clay Guida’s Ultimate Fighting Championship record is only 8-5. And he’s only had two main events, both on cable television cards.

The Chicago native may well be the single most popular long-term UFC fighter who has never been in the company’s championship mix.

Saturday night he’s looking to change things up, as he faces Anthony "Showtime" Pettis (13-1) in his third UFC main event. The fight tops The Ultimate Fighter Finals event on Spike TV, from The Pearl at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas.

Pettis, the last World Extreme Cagefighting champion before the company merged into UFC in December, is making his UFC debut. He gained notoriety for his "Showtime" kick in which he jumped up, kicked himself off the side of the cage and nailed Ben Henderson with a kick to the head in the closing seconds of a five-round war, sealing the decision in his title win and spawning a viral video in the process.

Pettis has been promised the next title shot against the winner of the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray

UFC 130 overall was generally considered a mediocre show, yet it might have heralded big things ahead for three fighters on the undercard.

Bantamweight Demetrious Johnson (14-1) scored a unanimous decision win over former champion Miguel Angel Torres. The victory puts Johnson and former champion Brian Bowles in position as the two most likely fighters to face the winner of the July 2 Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber title fight.

Welterweight Rick Story (13-3) moved up in a deep division with a unanimous decision win over former top contender Thiago Alves. Story specifically asked for Jon Fitch, the most successful UFC fighter in the division not named Georges St. Pierre, as his next opponent. A win over Fitch, whose only UFC loss was to St. Pierre, would make him leap frog the crowded pack.

But to the public, the hero of Saturday night’s show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas was middleweight Brian Stann (11-3). The promotion of the former U.S. Marine Corps Captain fighting on

LAS VEGAS – Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker officially announced on Saturday the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson fight for July 30 at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

The fight, which had been heavily rumored for months, will be at a 220-pound catch weight bout, which means Henderson’s Strikeforce light heavyweight championship will not be at stake. There had been rumors the fight would air on pay-per-view, but it will instead be broadcast on Showtime.

Emelianenko (31-3, 1 no contest), who was considered the top heavyweight in the sport for a number of years, has usually fought between 230-235 pounds, so this would be the lightest weight he has fought at since winning the PRIDE heavyweight title in 2003.

The 220-pound catchweight was a compromise between the respective camps. Coker said Emelianenko’s camp made it clear that Fedor is a heavyweight, and was not interested in fighting as a light heavyweight.

There had been a lot of speculation regarding Emelianenko, who is

Matt Hamill on Saturday night is looking to prove that the old saying "be careful what you wish for" doesn’t apply to him.

Hamill (10-2) made a wish to get a fight against former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (31-8), one of the biggest names in the sport. He not only got it, he also landed his first pay-per-view main event at UFC 130 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas after injuries canceled the scheduled lightweight tilt between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.

"I expect to win and I expect to win impressively," Hamill, who is deaf, wrote in an e-mail correspondence. "We know what a great fighter Rampage is, but we also know that he is quite one-dimensional. He looks for the big punch all the time. We feel we have prepared the perfect game plan to beat Rampage, and it is now my job to go out there and execute that game plan." When Hamill asked for Jackson as an opponent, he did not expect his wish to be granted.

Jackson responded to rumors of the

Whether you love or hate Frank Mir – and he’s got scores of fans on both sides of the fence – a lot of the fun for the former UFC heavyweight champion's fights comes long before the bouts even happen.

Mir is among the best in the business at building up a fight by going into detail about how he is superior and expects to dissect his opponent – in a way that garners headlines and usually infuriates his foe.

And sometimes, as in his most recent fight – a win over Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic eight months ago in a lackluster battle – the buildup was probably the highlight.

But this time around, Mir has been far less colorful leading into Saturday night’s UFC 130 show in his and his Roy Nelson’s home city of Las Vegas, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Nelson is his opponent but also his friend. More important, Nelson’s wife Jess and Mir’s wife Jennifer are best friends.

"I’ve got friends and family who are friends with him," noted Mir (14-5), who at 10 straight years in the UFC is one of the

Randy "Macho Man" Savage, a pro wrestling icon whose fame reached far past the wrestling ring as a television pitchman with the phrase, "Snap into a Slim Jim, oooh yeah," died on Friday morning in Pinellas County, Fla., after reportedly suffering a heart attack while driving, leading to an auto accident.

Savage, born Randall Mario Poffo, was 58. While perhaps best known for his pro wrestling battles as Hulk Hogan's major storyline rival in the late 1980s, Savage was also an actor and a one-time major league baseball prospect.

Lanny Poffo, his brother and also a former pro wrestler under the handle "Leaping" Lanny Poffo, told TMZ.com that Savage suffered a heart attack behind the wheel while driving a 2009 Jeep Wrangler.

The Seminole fire department responded to the scene to provide medical care, and he was transported to Largo Memorial Hospital, where he died at 9:25 a.m. The incident remains under investigation and an autopsy will be performed over the weekend.

Savage's wife, Barbara

Upholding Chael Sonnen's indefinite suspension seemed the only logical conclusion to Wednesday's hearing before the California State Athletic Commission in Los Angeles.

The commission voted 4-1 to continue his suspension, deciding that Sonnen was less than truthful at his Dec. 2 Sacramento hearing in which he got a one-year suspension for testing positive for steroids halved to six months.

The technical result is that Sonnen is suspended for the remainder of his California license term, which expires on June 29. Under CSAC rules, Sonnen cannot re-apply for his California license until June 29, 2012. While he could apply for a license in another state, most commissions honor other state's punishments.

What happens next is murky, but what is certain is that UFC's major plans for him over the next year are out the window, and Sonnen said during the hearing that an unfavorable verdict would spell the end of his career.

The company had decided to put Sonnen and British star Michael Bisping