DaytonDailyNews.com

COLUMBUS — Sean Salmon, an Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran and former Ohio State wrestler, hopes to bring to his home of Columbus something the city desperately needs: a quality mixed-martial-arts training facility.

Salmon think the S.S. Combat & Fitness Center (171 N. Hamilton Road in Columbus) will fill that need.

"The area produces a lot of fighters, but there's not a whole lot of places to go to get complete, all-around training," said Salmon, an active fighter who owns a 15-6 career record, during a recent tour of the facility.

Salmon and his father-in-law, Rick Pyles (the owner of the Ohio-based Ultimate Victory Challenge promotion), are remodeling a former karate studio for a Feb. 1 grand opening.

The facility will include a regulation cage, boxing ring, mat space, heavy bags and other equipment. Boxing, wrestling, kickboxing and jiu-jitsu instructors are being brought in to offer training for complete amateurs to top-level professionals.

"The place won't be just for fighters," Salmon said. "We plan to offer self-defense classes, get involved with the school programs and offer training to people who simply want to get in shape. Big picture, I'd love to see everyone in Columbus be fit."

Go to myspace.com/sscombatandfitnesscenter for more info.

Herman suffers first loss

Dave "Pee Wee" Herman, a former Indiana University wrestler who became one of MMA's top prospects on Ohio's regional fight circuit, suffered his first career loss this past Sunday, Jan. 4, at a Sengoku event in Japan.

Herman (13-1) engaged in a first-round slugfest with Korean wrestler Mu Bae Choi – and he suffered a beating in the second round. The end came at 2:22 of the second round.

Prior to the loss, the 24-year-old Herman — a top prospect from the all-but-defunct EliteXC organization — had secured first-round stoppages in 12 of his 13 career wins.

World Victory Road, which promotes the Sengoku events, also crowned two champions at the event. Satoru Kitaoka defeated former No. 1 ranked Takanori Gomi for the lightweight belt, and American Jorge Santiago stopped Japanese star Kazuo Misaki for the middleweight title.

UFC headed to Tennessee

The UFC will make its first-ever trip to Tennessee on April 1 for an event in Nashville.

UFC Fight Night 18 will be held at a venue to be determined, though the UFC hasn't officially announced the show. "The Ultimate Fighter 8" winner Efrain Escudero takes on Jeremy Stephens in a featured bout.

Tennessee began regulating MMA just last year.

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