It’s official: The Ultimate Fighting Championship will own the South end of the Las Vegas Strip on Memorial Day weekend. With the second-annual UFC Fan Expo already announced for the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, the coinciding UFC 114 event is now set for the nearby MGM Grand Garden Arena. The location was first reported by MMAjunkie.com, and though not yet officially announced by the promotion, the Nevada State Athletic Commission recently approved the UFC’s application to host an event for the date and venue.

Sengoku middleweight champ Jorge Santiago, challenger Mamed Khalidov, and the rest of the eight-fight Sengoku Raiden Championships 12 card successfully made weight today for tomorrow’s event, which takes place at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Both Santiago and Khalidov tipped the scale at just over 182 pounds for the Sengoku 12 headliner, while welterweights Akihiro Gono and Diego Gonzalez weighed in at 167 pounds for the co-main event. The complete SRC 12 fight card features: Jorge Santiago (c) vs

Undefeated heavyweight Travis Browne (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has signed a multi-fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is expected to make his octagon debut against “The Ultimate Fighter 10″ veteran James McSweeney (4-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC). Sources close to the situation informed MMAjunkie.com of the new deal and said both fighters have agreed to the contest, but a date has not been finalized for the meeting. The bout could either take place at UFC 115, expected to take place June 12 at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, or at The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale held one week later in Las Vegas.

Although attendance figures for Saturday’s WEC 47 event won’t come close to the totals its sister promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, registered in recent years, they could still rank among the best in the promotion’s history. The UFC first ventured to Nationwide Arena Columbus, Ohio, in 2007 for UFC 68, which set a still-standing U.S

Although attendance figures for Saturday’s WEC 47 event won’t come close to the totals its sister promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, registered in recent years, they could still rank among the best in the promotion’s history. The UFC first ventured to Nationwide Arena Columbus, Ohio, in 2007 for UFC 68, which set a still-standing U.S. MMA attendance record with 19,049. The modified seating configuration for WEC 47, though, will limit the event to approximately 8,500 spectators, WEC officials today told MMAjunkie.com.

Ben Smith of POLITICO reports in an exclusive that the Republican National Committee is using live events like those of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Professional Bull Riding to attract younger donors. A major Republican donor described the state of the RNC’s relationship with major donors as “disastrous,” with veteran givers beginning to abandon the committee, which is becoming increasingly reliant on small donors.   The party’s average contribution in 2009, according to the document, was just $40, and the shift toward a financial reliance on the grassroots may help explain Steele’s increasingly strident tone toward the Obama Administration.   While the crude portrayal of Obama may be – as Steele ‘s spokesman put it – “unacceptable,” other elements of the presentation may be of equal interest to close political observers.

Alaska based UFC newcomer Julio Paulino is set to make his debut for the promotion this month against Mike Pierce . The Ultimate Fighting Championship made the bout official today. The pair of weltwerweights will lock horns during preliminary portion of the first “ UFC on Versus ” event slated for March 21 from the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colorado, while airing live on the Versus Network. Pierce sports a career record of 13-3 and a UFC record of 1-1. The heavy handed Brave Legion trained former collegiate wrestler notched a victory over Brock Larson via unanimous decision before suffering defeat in his next outing at the hands of Jon Fitch by the same means. Paulino holds a professional record of 17-3 and is currently on a seven fight win streak. Julio has established himself as a finisher with sixteen of his seventeen total victories coming by stoppage, with ten knockouts and six submissions to his credit.