The Weekly Wrap: June 13 - June 19

TUF Finale Set

The fight to cap season nine of “The Ultimate Fighter” was broadcast this past week, as Team U.K. welterweight James Wilks outstruck sentimental favorite Frank Lester toward a third-round TKO victory. The two had battled earlier in the season, in a fight where Lester had four of his front teeth knocked out. Lester was brought back into contention after another contestant fell out due to injury. Wilks, 30, used a sharp jab, knees and head kicks to pick Lester apart, though the gutsy American connected with some decent flurries. Lester was the only the second fighter in TUF history to win a replacement fight, defeating David Faulkner to earn the shot at the finale. Lester fought four times in 34 days.

Wilks will face Damarques Johnson on Saturday night in Las Vegas to determine the TUF 9 welterweight champion, while Brits Ross Person and Andre Winner will battle for the lightweight contract. Unlike past seasons, not every TUF cast member will get a fight on this year's finale. Only four will, as Cameron Dollar faces Jason Dent and Lester faces Nick Osipczak.

The card will be headlined by Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida and Nate Diaz against Joe Stevenson. Confirmed this past week for the show's undercard were Melvin Guillard vs. Gleison Tibau, Brad Blackburn vs. Edgar Garcia and Mike Ciesnoleviscz vs. Tomasz Drwal. A fight between Rory Markham and T.J. Grant fell through after an injury forced Markham to pull out.

The final episode of TUF 9 drew a 1.1 rating for an average audience of 1.4 million viewers, according to MMAPayout.com. That is in the typical range for the season. As the final episode closed, the trash talk started for the Michael Bisping-Dan Henderson coaches’ battle at UFC 100. Henderson called Bisping "for lack of a better word, a douche bag" and Bisping said Henderson has had his time.

There are several more seasons of the reality show to come. UFC President Dana White announced during a recent Q&A that the company and Spike TV have reached an agreement to continue the show through TUF14. The initial contract called for 12 seasons, finishing in 2011. White said there will be another season with the U.S. v. U.K. theme.

Season 10 premieres Sept. 16 on Spike TV. The full roster for the all-heavyweight season is, according FightBomb.com: Kevin Ferguson, Roy Nelson, Darrill Schoonover, Justin Wren, Brendan Schaub, Marcus Jones, Wes Sims, Abe Wagner, Zak Jensen, Matt Mitrione, Wes Shivers, Mike Wessel, Scott Junk, Jim York, Jon Madsen and Tom Blackledge.