DaytonDailyNews.com

American Fight League promoters promised the biggest mixed martial arts show in Kentucky history, and if it's up to the organization's first-ever lightweight champ, future shows will only get bigger.

The AFL hosted an 11-fight event Friday, March 7, at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. Snowstorms cut an expected crowd of 3,000 in half, but a solid fight card — dotted by a host of former UFC fighters — produced one of the region's better shows.

In the night's main event, Diego Saraiva (11-6-1) rebounded from three consecutive losses in the UFC for his second straight win outside the organization. The Georgia-based fighter needed little time to dispose of Joe Ammerman (2-1). Saraiva secured a fight-ending rear-naked choke to win the first-ever AFL lightweight title.

"These fight promotions are so important to the sport," Saraiva said. "If you like the sport, it's up to the fans to support these shows so more guys have the opportunity to train and fight (for a living)."

In other action, former UFC fighter and "The Ultimate Fighter 2" cast member Dan Christison (11-6) scored a second-round TKO of John LeBlanc (1-8), and former UFC lightweight Junior Assuncao (6-3) earned a third-round submission victory over Steve Sharp (4-4).

The only UFC fighter to suffer a defeat was middleweight Rory Singer (11-8), who was upset with a first-round kneebar submission by Chilo Gonzalez (14-10).

Additionally, Rafael Assuncao (12-1) kept his world featherweight top-10 ranking intact with a first-round submission (via armbar) of Aaron Williams (14-8).

'TUF7' cast announced

The UFC and Spike TV officially announced the cast for "The Ultimate Fighter 7." As expected, area fighters Luke Zachrich (7-1), Price Mclean (4-5) and Matt Brown (8-6) were all chosen for the reality series.

The show, which debuts April 2 on Spike TV, features 32 middleweight fighters. Once in Las Vegas, though, the fighters learned they had to first win a bout before earning a spot on the cast. Those 16 fights will be shown during the show's first two episodes.

UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson and "The Ultimate Fighter 1" winner Forrest Griffin serve as coaches. The show's winner earns an assortment of prizes and a lucrative long-term deal with the UFC.

The show's live season finale airs June 21 on Spike TV.

Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of MMAjunkie.com, a content-partner site of Yahoo! Sports. Check out www.mmajunkie.com for the latest MMA news.