The Weekly Wrap: May 8 - May 14

UFC Primetime

The UFC and Spike TV launched the third “Primetime” documentary hype series, spotlighting to remarkable returns the UFC 114 main event between Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans.

The May 12 premiere drew a 0.9 rating for an average of 1.2 million viewers, a bigger audience than any UFC hype special has ever drawn. The number eclipsed the 1.1 million who viewed the UFC 100 “Countdown” special in July and the one million who took in the first installment of “Primetime: St. Pierre v. Hardy” in March. While ratings have traditionally dropped for the second and third “Primetime” installments, the initial number indicates the UFC may draw a banner pay-per-view figure on May 29.

The special spotlighted the main event in the fervent, focused fashion of HBO’s acclaimed “24/7” boxing series. Set to a playlist of rap, classic rock and jazz, the May 29 headliners were shown sweating it out in camp as their backgrounds and personalities were sketched out.

Evans, who tagged his opponent “Quittin’” Jackson was shown working with coaches Greg Jackson (head trainer), Trevor Wittman (striking), Mike Van Arsdale (wrestling) and Jonathan Chaimberg (strength and conditioning), based out of the Grudge Training Center in Denver. Rampage primarily worked his hands at the Wolfslair Academy in England, with coaches Mark Kinney (boxing), Lance Gibson (striking) and Mike Dolce (strength).

Evans was portrayed as a smooth operator who slips into a pinstripe suit as easily as workout gear, donning the headset as a desk analyst for ESPN’s “MMA Live” at UFC 113 in Montreal. Evans was shown pensively taking in at cage-side Lyoto Machida’s loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. It was Machida who took the light heavyweight title from Evans at UFC 98.

The production team visited Jackson’s old South Memphis and Raleigh, Tenn., neighborhood, interviewing his sister and wrestling coach at Raleigh-Egypt High School. This was spliced with old photos and home video footage of Jackson’s high school wrestling meets, including an unforgettable clip of him power bombing an opponent in competition.