While a line has been drawn in the sand between industry leader Zuffa LLC and Affliction Entertainment for its July 19 showdown, there are nine fighters that will tell you that there's nothing wrong with a little "friendly" competition.

On that crowded night of mixed martial arts action, those lucky nine will make their Octagon debuts on the free UFC "Silva vs. Irvin" card on Spike TV, a direct jab at Affliction's first pay-per-view offering. Reminiscent of UFC 37.5 -- which was also organized on short notice then to usher in the sport on cable television -- "Silva vs. Irvin" is the break that these debutants have been waiting for.

"To be honest, I'm so glad Affliction started that show," says Shannon Gugerty (Pictures) (9-2), who will make his UFC debut against fellow newcomer Dale Hartt (5-0). "I think Affliction's going to be a great card too and as a fan I'd want to watch both of them, but the UFC is the cream of the crop."

Gugerty, a standout on the Southern California circuit, has plied his trade since 2004. The San Diego lightweight holds both an epic win and loss against World Extreme Fighting featherweight contender Cub Swanson (Pictures), and it looked as if Gugerty was heading in the direction of a rubber match when his phone call came.

"My managers, Matt Stansell (Pictures) and Jeff Clark (Pictures), told me my name was in the hat with the WEC and I was probably going to be fighting in the WEC within the next few months," says the 26-year-old.

Still, Gugerty had a gut feeling he might be called up for the promotion's Aug. 3 event. He began cranking out two-a-day sessions with his jiu-jitsu instructor Dean Lister (Pictures), who was training at the Throwdown Elite gym in San Diego for his June 21 bout against Jeremy Horn (Pictures) at "The Ultimate Fighter 7" finale.

Gugerty's foresight may have been off by a few weeks, but the Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt will still be in prime shape to take on Hartt, a training partner of UFC regular Marcus Davis (Pictures).

Like Gugerty, welterweight Brodie Farber (Pictures) (13-3) also had a feeling his shot might be right around the corner. Farber was a middleweight alternate for "The Ultimate Fighter 7" though the opportunity never came for him to step onto the reality TV series. Farber was also on the short list to face Diego Sanchez (Pictures) at UFC 82 last March, though the New Mexico fighter was later matched with Sweden's David Bielkheden (Pictures) instead.

"I knew I was kind of close," says Farber, who is currently working towards a degree at Sierra College.

To stay afloat while he waited for his turn, Farber juggled a myriad of jobs. He built a project home and sold it, worked at a Chevy dealership, co-owned a gym in San Diego, and trademarked his nickname "Bad Intentions" for around two thousand dollars. So far, he's netted nearly fifty thousand dollars from licensing the name to pro boxer Jermain Taylor and the Everlast brand.

Farber faces probably the highest profiled debuter on July 19's UFC card in Rory Markham (Pictures) (14-4), who was an early star for the now crumbling International Fight League with a string of knockouts and TKOs.

"I think he's a great opponent for my first fight," says Farber, who had finished training for a pro boxing bout on ESPN2 when the UFC contacted his managers. "He's a striker with limited wrestling. I feel like I'm pretty well rounded and if I have enough time, I can make whatever be my strength. But what I'm best at would be my boxing."

A member of the North Country Fight Club team in Carlsbad, Calif., 27-year-old Farber trains with UFC veteran Jason Lambert (Pictures) and Camp Pendleton Marine Josh Griggs (Pictures). Farber's recent successes have come at the MMAX events in Tijuana, Mexico, where he is the under 180-pound champion.

Signed to a four-fight deal with the UFC, Farber would likely agree that all's fair in love, and in this case, the art of war.

"It was the savvy side of the business," Farber says of the UFC's counter-programming coup. "You're going throw a card and going try and get off the ground. Well, we're going throw a card for free then."