-- The ongoing legal battle between Marc Cuban's HDNet and the Ultimate Fighting Championships over the contractual status of Randy Couture has taken another turn - and it's not good news for "The Natural." Couture is prohibited from fighting until the mess is resolved and recent ruling from the Texas Court of Appeals escalates the legal battle and draws out the whole process even further. UFC.com writes: "� the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has been informed by the Texas Court of Appeals that it has granted Zuffa's Motion to Compel Randy Couture to arbitrate in the District of Nevada, thereby staying all further action by HDNet against Zuffa in the state of Texas. Specifically, the Court of Appeals found that the lower court had engaged in ‘a clear abuse of discretion' by permitting HDNet to litigate claims relating to Mr. Couture's contract in Texas, rather than in Nevada, where Zuffa is presently pressing a breach of contract action against Mr. Couture."

-- UFC has announced that the live finale of "The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir" is slated for December 13th from The Palms in Las Vegas. It will air on Spike TV immediately after "Fight Night 15", headlined by Nate Diaz vs. Josh Neer and Mac Danzig vs. Clay Guida. Season 8 premiers on September 7th on SpikeTV. Unlike recent seasons, Season 8 will showcase two weight classes - light heavyweights and lightweights. The show is keeping the 32-fighter format that was introduced last season - with all competitors first having to win a fight to earn a spot in the house.