DaytonDailyNews.com

A number of official and unofficial bouts surfaced this past week for the Ultimate Fighting Championships "UFC 77" event, which takes place Oct. 20 at U.S. Bank Arena in downtown Cincinnati.

As is tradition for UFC events, UFC 77 has been stocked with some local talent.

However, unlike some recent events, the local talent is completely deserving of slots on the card.

Although the desire to fill local cards with local fighters sometimes supersedes simply using the best talent available, the UFC isn't sacrificing anything with its crop of Ohio fighters.

Top UFC middleweight contender and Cincinnati native Rich Franklin headlines the event with a title shot against current 185-pound champion Anderson Silva. Franklin lost his belt to Silva in October 2006, and after racking up two wins against quality opponents (Jason MacDonald and Yushin Okami), "Ace" will try to reclaim the title.

Jorge Gurgel, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who runs a training academy in West Chester, has also been given a spot on the card. Since appearing as a cast member on "The Ultimate Fighter 2," Gurgel has gone 2-1 in the UFC to push his overall record to 11-2. He's now awaiting word on a possible opponent for his undercard bout.

Additionally, Cleveland's Forrest Petz, fresh off a solid unanimous-decision victory over Luigi Fioravanti in June, has surfaced as a possible opponent for Josh Burkman.

(Now, if only the UFC would put Team Jorge Gurgel's up-and-coming lightweight Dustin Hazelett on the card ...)

Franklin writes book

Speaking of Franklin, the former high school teacher has co-authored "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Ultimate Fighting."

The book, which earned a stamp of approval from the UFC, focuses on the history of mixed-martial arts, rules of engagement, scoring and even training techniques.

The 304-page paperback, part of the hugely success "Idiot's" line of books, hits stores on Sept. 4.

Local fighters in action

Indianapolis firefighter and UFC veteran Chris Lytle scored a second-round submission victory over Matt Brown at this past Saturday's United Fight League event at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Lytle submitted Brown, a Columbus resident, with a second-round guillotine choke.

Overall, it was a solid event for the upstart UFL, which drew 3,000-4,000 spectators. The organization showcased quality fighters, slick production values, a lively emcee and a smooth overall show.

In other action, former Ohio high school state wrestling champion and two-time UFC fighter Sean Salmon scored a unanimous-decision victory over Bill Hall at Xtreme Fighting Organization's "XFO 19" event in Island Lake, Ill.

Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of UFCjunkie.com. Visit www.ufcjunkie.com for the latest UFC and other MMA-related news and rumors.

Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of UFCjunkie.com. Get your daily UFC and MMA fix www.ufcjunkie.com.