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The second episode of "The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest" featured eight elimination fights to determine the final 16 cast members for this season of the UFC and Spike TV's reality show.

One of the memorable performances belonged to area fighter Matt Brown, a veteran who's trained in Columbus and Cincinnati.

Despite being one of the more experienced competitors with 15 professional fights, Brown (9-6) was one of the show's smaller middleweights, and at first look, he impressed no one.

"He's small," said coach Quinton Jackson.

"Unassuming" is what fellow coach Forrest Griffin called him.

However, even as the coaches yelled out tips for his opponent during the fight, Brown went on to dismantle Josh Hall and earned the knockout with just seconds remaining in the first round.

The surprising, well-rounded performance had everyone singing a different tune about Brown.

"That kid's a (expletive) animal," said UFC President Dana White, whose opinion is about the only one that matters.

With Brown, the final cast of 16 includes a total of three Ohioans. Cincinnatian Luke Zachrick and former Ohio high school wrestling standout C.B. Dollaway also won spots on the show in previous weeks.

Griffin and Jackson will divvy up the teams on this week's episode, which airs Wednesday at 10 p.m. on Spike TV.

UFC 83 to set records

Perhaps the biggest event in UFC history takes place Saturday, April 19, at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

The UFC's inaugural show in Canada is expected to draw a record attendance and live gate, and with a long-awaited rematch between current UFC welterweight champ Matt Serra (9-4) and interim title-holder Georges St. Pierre (15-2), the event should get a larger-than-usual amount of pay-per-view buys.

Former UFC middleweight champion and Cincinnati-based fighter Rich Franklin (22-3) meets "The Ultimate Fighter 4" winner Travis Lutter (9-4) on the night's main card.

New MMA on TV

• "Strikeforce on NBC" airs Sunday mornings at 2 a.m. Includes past fight footage and fighter interviews.

• "Iron Ring" airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on BET. The surprise hit show features MMA teams "owned" by famous hip-hop personalities.

• "GI vs. Pro" airs Saturdays on FSN from July 19-Sept. 13. Military veterans take on pro MMA fighters. UFC vets Nick Agallar and Chris Brennan serve as captains.

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

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