ST. LOUIS - Following his professional mixed-martial-arts debut in 2006, Roger Gracie hasn't exactly kept a frantic fight schedule.

In more than three years, he's fought just three times, and a full two years lapsed between his two most recent fights.

However, following an impressive victory over former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman at Saturday's "Strikeforce St. Louis: Heavy Artillery" event in St. Louis, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion has vowed to make MMA a top priority.

Bellator Fighting Championships officials were pleased with the ratings
earned by the promotion's Bellator 13 card, the debut event for the
group's second season.

They're likely downright giddy over the latest numbers from the
company's FOX Sports Net broadcasts.

Bellator officials today announced that the ratings for the May 6
Bellator 17 event were up 184 percent from the season-two debut four
weeks prior.

Wednesday night's debut of "UFC Primetime: Rampage vs. Evans," which
previews the UFC 114 main event on May 29 between former UFC light
heavyweight champions Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Rashad Evans, was
the highest-rated "UFC Countdown" show in history, Spike TV today
announced.

The 30-minute show drew 1.2 million viewers during its initial run at 11
p.m. ET/PT.

The debut episode of "UFC Primetime: St-Pierre vs. Hardy" was the
previous record-holder with an average audience of 1 million viewers.

Following a disappointing disqualification loss in his UFC debut, Greg Soto takes a second shot at his first UFC win when he meets fellow welterweight Nick Osipczak at UFC 118.

Soto today confirmed via Twitter he has signed a bout agreement for the fight.

A source close to the event told MMAjunkie.com the fight is slated for the night's un-aired preliminary card.

James Toney is set to make his debut in the UFC at UFC 118, and the promotion has wasted no time in putting him against a tough opponent in MMA legend Randy Couture.

While the fight has yet to be confirmed, Fighters Only and MMA Junkie have both reported the fight happening for the UFC’s debut in Boston.

Toney is looking to make an impact in MMA, and went on a relentless trash-talk spree calling out every major fighter in the UFC and heavily pushing Dana White to sign him. Toney signed a multi-fight promotion with deal, originally reported by this site. Toney has enlisted well known MMA trainer Juanito Ibarra for his debut in the sport, who has worked with former UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Couture is currently fighting at light-heavyweight and a potential fight with Toney would be no issue for the multi-time champion. Couture has defeated Mark Coleman and Brandon Vera since his move back to 205 pounds after fighting at heavyweight for two years. Will Couture end up like Tim Sylvia and foolishly try and stand-up with the legendary boxer?

I guess we will find out at UFC 118.

UFC 118 takes place of August 1 and will emanate from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The PPV event will be headlined by a rematch between Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn for the lightweight title.

NEW YORK (April 22, 2009) –Unbeaten Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sensation Roger Gracie (2-0) will make his long-awaited STRIKEFORCE and United States Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) debut when he squares off with two-time NCAA National Wrestling Champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Kevin “The Monster” Randleman (17-14) in a featured light heavyweight (205 pound) contest at STRIKEFORCE St. Louis: Heavy Artillery at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. on Saturday, May 15.

Middleweight (185 pound) superstar and 2008 DREAM Grand Prix tournament runner up “Jacare” Souza (11-2) will collide with hard-hitting sensation Joey Villasenor (27-6) in another featured bout.

The winner of the coveted ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in 2005, the 28-year-old Gracie, a second degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Carlos Gracie, Jr., made history by submitting all eight of his opponents during the tournament, a feat that had never previously been achieved.

The 6-foot-4 Gracie’s submission skills have, thus far, proven their worth in MMA competition. In his pro debut on Dec. 2, 2006, he forced Ron “H20” Waterman to tap from an armbar and, on May 18, 2008, he submitted Japan’s Yuki Kondo with a rear naked choke.

A native of Brazil, Gracie resides in West London, England, where he owns and operates The Roger Gracie Academy.

At age 38, Randleman of Columbus, Ohio will attempt to re-enter the win column after two consecutive defeats and reclaim the glory he achieved more than a decade ago when he was crowned UFC heavyweight champion after scoring a knockout over Pete Williams at UFC 23 on November 19, 1999.

A tremendous athlete with explosive power, Randleman captured back-to-back NCAA Division I national wrestling titles in 1992 and 1993 while attending Ohio State University. His stellar collegiate career gained him entry into the school’s Hall Of Fame in 2004.

On Oct. 22, 1996, Randleman made his professional MMA debut in Brazil where he stopped Luiz Carlos Macial in the first round. After amassing a 6-2 record, he entered the octagon for the first time at UFC 19 on March 5, 1999, and pulled off a stunning upset of MMA and kickboxing legend Maurice Smith.

Randleman enjoyed a lengthy career with Japan’s PRIDE Fighting Championships, winning his first three fights with the now-defunct promotion and stopping superstar Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic in one round on April 25, 2004.

The 6 foot Souza, a 30-year-old submission wizard from Brazil, made a splash debut with STRIKEFORCE on Dec.19, 2009 when he forced former Olympic wrestling silver medalist Matt “The Law” Lindland to tap out from an arm triangle choke in the first round (4:18).

Two years ago, Souza made a brilliant run to the championship round of DREAM’s single-elimination middleweight tournament in Japan. After submitting Ian Murphy on April 29, 2008 with a rear naked choke in the first round (3:38) of their opening tournament round matchup, Souza went on to earn a unanimous decision over American star Jason “Mayhem” Miller on June 15, 2008 and, then, submitted Zelg Galesic with an armbar on Sept. 23, 2008.

The 35-year-old Villasenor, a seasoned striker and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu player who hails from Albuquerque, N.M., and is a member of the fearsome fight team led by Greg Jackson, is riding a four-fight win streak. He produced his last victory, a split decision over Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, in his STRIKEFORCE debut at ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash. on June 19, 2009.

During the first live, primetime telecast of an MMA event on network television (CBS) on May 31, 2008, Villasenor came out of the gates with guns blazing and overwhelmed notorious brawler, Phil “The New York Badass” Baroni, crushing Baroni with a barrage of punches in the first round (1:11).

Tickets for STRIKEFORCE St. Louis: Heavy Artillery are on sale at the Scottrade Center ticket office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com) and STRIKEFORCE’S official website (www.strikeforce.com).

In the main event, STRIKEFORCE World Heavyweight Champion Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem (32-11) will put his title on the line against heavy-handed knockout artist Brett “The Grim” Rogers (10-1).

In another heavyweight confrontation, former world champions Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski (15-7) and Antonio “Big Foot” Silva (13-2) will collide.

Doors at Scottrade Center will open for STRIKEFORCE St. Louis: Heavy Artillery at 6:15 p.m. CT on Saturday, May 15. The first non-televised preliminary bout will begin at 7 p.m.

The event will be televised live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Shamrock Promotions is assisting STRIKEFORCE with local marketing for the event.

MyHOUSE Shin In Steps will be making its debut at King Of the Ring on 5-7-2010 in Plymoth, PA. For more information visit http://www.MMAisCOMING.com

As a remember, the debut edition of M-1 Global's "M-1 Selection
Americas" tournament takes place tonight in Atlantic City, N.J.

HDNet's Mike Straka and MMAjunkie.com's John Morgan will take to the
broadcast booth to call the action from the first-ever mixed martial
arts card at Bally's Atlantic City.

Straka and Morgan replace veteran broadcasters Jimmy Smith and Sean
Wheelock who recently departed for a similar gig at Bellator Fighting
Championships.

In unsurprising ratings news, Spike TV today announced that the debut
episode of "The Ultimate Fighter 11" witnessed a 53 percent decline in
viewership from the first episode of "The Ultimate Fighter 10."

Of course, "TUF 10" featured YouTube legend and proven ratings draw
Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, whereas "TUF 11" hosts a crop of mostly
unknown middleweight prospects.

Despite the drop-off, the 1.9 million viewers that tuned in represents a
9 percent increase from 2009's "The Ultimate Fighter 9" debut.

"The Ultimate Fighter 11" cast member Brad Tavares, who blogs about
this season of the reality show exclusively for MMAjunkie.com, has
penned his debut column.

The undefeated middleweight fighter writes new blog entries each Thursday
morning.

Check out today's entry as Tavares talks about the first few days if filming, his elimination fight
and takes readers behind the scenes of Spike TV's debut episode for the
latest season of "TUF."