UFC will spotlight heroes in next card

With its “Fight for the Troops” event Wednesday at Fayetteville, N.C., the Ultimate Fighting Championship hopes to ease the burden on American soldiers who were hurt in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The event was conceived as a way to entertain soldiers at Fort Bragg and raise funds for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which provides support for military personnel who have been severely wounded.

Josh Koscheck will face Yoshiyuki Yoshida in the main event on a card that also features a clash between Mike Swick and Jonathan Goulet.

The broadcast will air tape-delayed at 9 p.m. on Spike (Cable 29).

• ‘ULTIMATE’ FINALS SET — The championship fights of the eighth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the UFC’s reality show, will be held at the Palms on Saturday night, concluding a week that features two televised UFC cable cards.

The eighth season featured tournaments in two weight classes for the first time since Season 4.

At light heavyweight, Ryan Bader will face Vinny Magalhaes. Bader is yet another mixed martial artist to come from the Arizona State wrestling program. He also was a two-time Nevada state wrestling champion at McQueen High School in Reno.

Magalhaes has relocated to Las Vegas and trains full time at Xtreme Couture. He advanced to the finals by submitting both of his opponents by armbar in the first round.

The lightweight final features Phillipe Nover, who was recently awarded his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from instructor Alexandre Freitas. He is also a registered nurse.

His opponent will be 22-year-old Efrain Escudero, the youngest of the four Season 8 finalists. He also has the most professional experience.

Several other fighters from the season will be on the card, including Junie Browning, who was nearly kicked off the show on three occasions because of angry outbursts and aggressive behavior.

Like Magalhaes, Browning is training full time in Las Vegas at Xtreme Couture.

• CARANO INFLUENTIAL — For now, Gina Carano is a fighter without an organization, but that didn’t stop her from being named the fifth most influential woman in America by Yahoo! Buzz in its 2008 year in review.

Carano placed behind Angelina Jolie, Sarah Palin, Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton.

It was a big year for the Las Vegas native. She starred as Crush on “American Gladiators” and fought in the first female MMA bout on prime-time network television in May when she fought Kaitlin Young on CBS. Carano also beat Kelly Kobold on CBS in October.

EliteXC has since ceased operations and Carano is in limbo while the organization’s fighter contacts are sifted through.

Tina Fey, Michelle Obama, Katie Couric, Barbara Walters and Dara Torres rounded out the top 10. The list was based on an analysis of search queries by Yahoo! Buzz editors.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@ reviewjournal.com or (702) 224-5509.