Continuing to empower fitness enthusiasts around the world through its tough fitness approach, Reebok announces today its partnership with UFC featherweight contender, Conor McGregor. The signing follows the recent announcement of Reebok’s groundbreaking partnership with the UFC, the world’s leading mixed martial arts organization, and builds upon the global fitness brand’s impressive roster of UFC athletes which includes UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, and former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks amongst others.

Proving his potential truly is limitless, in two years Conor McGregor went from young up-and-comer to one of the most exciting athletes in the sport of MMA. “Conor’s hard work, determination and confidence have gotten him to where he is today,” said Reebok Brand President Matt O’Toole. “His passion and his commitment to continual self-improvement are a true reflection of the Reebok brand.”

According to UFC President Dana White, “Conor is without a doubt one of the most exciting fighters we have ever had in the UFC.”

Born in Dublin, Ireland, twenty –six year old McGregor represents Reebok’s first UFC athlete that originates from and trains in Europe. Officially ranked no.5 in the UFC featherweight division, McGregor is steadily growing in popularity as he rides a 12-fight win streak and builds on his impressive 16-2 record. McGregor continues his journey to the division title this Sunday at UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver in Boston, Mass., where he will wear his first-ever “Reebok Walkout T-Shirt” when he takes on 10th-ranked Dennis Siver.

McGregor will play an important role in launching Reebok’s new collection of footwear and apparel specifically created for the 35 million people around the world who train like fighters. “I believe my potential in the Octagon is limitless, but it all comes down to the training you put in pre-fight,” said McGregor. “With a top fitness brand like Reebok behind me, there’s no telling what I can do in the Octagon.”

“In addition to being one of the fastest growing sports in the world, MMA is also one of the most demanding in terms of conditioning and fitness. Reebok believes that by pushing ourselves to the brink and testing our limitations, we have the power to transform ourselves not only physically but also mentally and socially,” said O’Toole.

For further information and assets please visit the Reebok News Stream at news.reebok.com

For further information on UFC please visit www.ufc.com

END

About Reebok

Reebok International Ltd., headquartered in Canton, MA, USA, is a leading worldwide designer, marketer and distributor of fitness and lifestyle footwear, apparel and equipment. An American-inspired global brand, Reebok is a pioneer in the sporting goods industry with a rich and storied fitness heritage. Reebok develops products, technologies and programming which enable movement and is committed to accompanying people on their journey to fulfill their potential. Reebok connects with the fitness consumer wherever they are and however they choose to stay fit – whether it’s training, running, walking, dance, yoga or aerobics. Reebok Classics leverages the brand’s fitness heritage and represents the roots of the brand in the sports lifestyle market. A subsidiary of the adidas Group, Reebok operates under the multiple divisions of the Reebok brand, Reebok-CCM Hockey and the Sports Licensed Division. Reebok is the exclusive outfitter of CrossFit and the Reebok CrossFit Games, the official title sponsor of the Reebok Spartan Race and exclusive apparel provider for Les Mills. For more information, visit Reebok at www.reebok.com or, for the latest news at http://news.reebok.com/. Or, discover Reebok at the following locations: http://facebook.com/reebok; http://twitter.com/reebok; and http://youtube.com/reebok

About UFC®

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the UFC® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

New York, Jan. 9 – – On the heels of UFC® 182, one of the biggest UFC PPV events ever, iN DEMAND, the leading distributor of transactional entertainment to cable and telcos, and Zuffa LLC, the owner of UFC®, the world’s leading mixed martial arts sports organization, have announced a multi-year renewal of their agreement to deliver UFC Pay-Per-View (PPV) events to more than 50 million digital subscribers throughout the United States. The announcement was made today by Marshall Zelaznik, UFC Chief Content Officer, and Michael Berman, iN DEMAND’s EVP, Programming and General Counsel. This deal ensures that UFC’s biggest and most important events will continue to be available via PPV, and includes expanded rights such as the ability of iN DEMAND affiliates to offer EST (ownership via Electronic Sell-Through) and sales of the PPV events to commercial establishments. Plus, affiliates can offer the UFC’s digital streaming service UFC FIGHT PASS® to video subscribers on a fully authenticated basis.

This new agreement provides for the continuation of a long collaboration between the two companies, which has helped the UFC grow to be one of the most powerful entities in the PPV and sports marketplace.

iN DEMAND will deliver every UFC PPV event and purchasers will enjoy longer viewership windows via VOD and TV Everywhere convenience. All events are offered in both Standard and High Definition, as well as a separate Spanish language feed.*

According to iN DEMAND’s Berman, “We have been proud to be a part of UFC’s growth from their launch on PPV to their current status as the gold-standard for Mixed Martial Arts, worldwide. This new deal ensures that we will continue our long-term relationship by not only distributing their core PPV events, but we will also be an intrinsic part of their next generation of growth through subscription and digital ownership of the UFC’s compelling content.”

UFC’s Zelaznik said: “It is great to continue our rewarding and long-lasting relationship with iN DEMAND. The ability of UFC to deliver our best and most meaningful fights and events to so many fans in the years to come is great news for our sport, our brand and our partners. This partnership will allow us to continue to be the world’s leading PPV content provider.”

For upcoming schedules, go to: http://www.indemand.com/whats-on/events/

*HD not available in all systems.

About iN DEMAND

iN DEMAND L.L.C. is a world leader in providing exciting transactional entertainment delivered through television’s most innovative technologies. iN DEMAND creates, acquires and delivers programming through cable Pay-Per-View (PPV), Video On Demand (VOD) as well as on digital platforms. It also supplies marketing support, production services and content transport for the industry. PPV programming includes movies, boxing, wrestling and mixed martial arts events and the digital out-of-market subscription professional sports packages for MLB, the NBA and the NHL. The company’s VOD products include first-run and library movies, plus subscription movie and entertainment services. Content is delivered in SD, HD and 3D. iN DEMAND’s owners are Comcast iN DEMAND Holdings, Inc., Cox Communications Holdings, Inc., and Time Warner Entertainment – Advance/Newhouse Partnership. Further information about the company can be found at iNDEMAND.com. Follow us on Twitter.

About UFC®

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, UFC® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Jon Jones 205 – Daniel Cormier 205
(UFC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE)
Donald Cerrone 155.5 – Myles Jury 155.5
Nate Marquardt 185.5 – Brad Tavares 185
Kyoji Horiguchi 125 – Louis Gaudinot 125
Hector Lombard 170.5 – Josh Burkman 171
Danny Castillo 156 – Paul Felder 156
Cody Garbrandtb 135.5 – Marcus Brimage 136
Jared Connonier 235 – Shawn Jordan 261
Rodrigo Damm 156 – Evan Dunham 155.5
Omari Akhmedovs 170.5 – Mats Nilson 171
Alexis Dufrense 138 – Marion Reneau 135.5

Singapore – The UFC® today announced the appointment of Kenneth K. Berger as its Executive Vice President and General Manager of Asia.

Berger, 49, has a proven track record of business success throughout Asia, having worked across the region for the last 25 years. With an MBA from Thunderbird, American School of International Management, Berger went on to build his career at International Management Group (IMG), where he held the position of International Vice President Asia. His responsibilities at IMG included managing the licensing division in South East Asia, and then Japan, where he developed a variety of licensing programmes including Major League Baseball (MLB), Wimbledon, Arnold Palmer and the British Open.

Berger later made the move to ISL Marketing as their Managing Director, Japan and then to FIFA Marketing, where he headed the FIFA World Cup marketing and event services operations. After successfully delivering the marketing rights of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he launched his own successful sports agency, Sports Marketing Japan (SMJ). For seven years SMJ worked as a licensee for globally renowned sports properties in developing branded mobile and pc sites in Japan for Serie A, NBA, NFL, PGA Tour, LPGA, UFC and ESPN.

In 2009, SMJ was acquired by Yoshimoto Kogyo, Japan’s largest entertainment production entity and talent agency.

On the appointment, UFC Chief Global Brand Officer Garry Cook said: “The UFC welcomes a leader like Ken to drive increased brand growth in Asia and take the sport and the UFC to the next level. The next twelve months will see UFC enter new markets, develop a more robust local roster of fighters and host several world class events in Asia and we are confident in the developments and successes that Ken will bring.”

Ken Berger added: “I feel honored to be joining the UFC. Mixed martial arts is the world’s fastest growing sport and Asia is its birthplace, which puts me in a very special position. I am hugely excited to be part of such a dynamic industry, and I am looking forward to helping the sport grow in this part of the world. The international stage is an important piece of UFC’s success, together with our talented and committed staff and athletes, we will help to scale MMA across Asia.”

###

About the UFC®

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the UFC® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASSTM, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Toronto (December 22, 2014) – TSN, RDS, Fight Network and UFC® today announced a new multi-year agreement for Canadian media rights to UFC global events.

Bell Media’s TSN and RDS will deliver a slate of marquee UFC programming to fans across multiple platforms, including major live events, preliminary fights of UFC Pay-Per-View events, UFC Fight Night™ events, and The Ultimate Fighter® series.

Fight Network will broadcast all UFC Fight Night™ events from around the world as well as preliminary bouts for domestic non-Pay-Per-View cards.

TSN and RDS will partner with Fight Network to produce an original live pre-fight program before Pay-Per-View events that will air on Canada’s #1 sports networks. Additional shoulder programming will air across TSN’s suite of five national feeds, giving UFC fans more access to programming than ever before.

As part of the partnership, TSN, RDS and Fight Network will work together to provide effective sales and marketing of UFC broadcasts in Canada.

“We are excited to join forces with TSN and RDS to provide UFC’s one-of-a-kind content in English and French, through two of Canada’s most-watched specialty channels. On top of that, we have an agreement with Fight Network that will perfectly complement this coverage,” said Tom Wright, UFC Managing Director, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. “This is a huge win for Canadian UFC fans as they will have more content on broadcast television than ever before.”

“UFC is a marquee international property with a loyal and engaged Canadian fan base. UFC content and support programming will be a tremendous addition to our slate of championship events,” said Shawn Redmond, Vice-President of Programming and Marketing, TSN. “We are also looking forward to working with Fight Network to showcase original UFC content across our suite of five feeds.”

“We are thrilled to be entering into this prestigious multimedia partnership with UFC and Bell Media’s TSN and RDS, and we look forward to working with our colleagues to grow the UFC’s already significant fan base in Canada as well as helping to build the sport of mixed martial arts at the grassroots level,” said Leonard Asper, CEO, Fight Network.

TSN kicks off its UFC coverage on Saturday, Jan. 3 with COUNTDOWN TO UFC 182: JONES VS. CORMIER at 7 p.m. ET on TSN4 and TSN5. The countdown show leads into two hours of UFC 182 preliminary fight coverage at 8 p.m. ET, which features Danny Castillo vs. Paul Felder, Marcus Brimage vs. Cody Garbrandt, Shawn Jordan vs. Jarod Cannonier and Evan Dunham vs. Rodrigo Damm.

Additional UFC programming will launch on TSN and RDS in early 2015 and includes UFC NOW, UFC UNLEASHED, UFC ULTIMATE INSIDER, UFC COUNTDOWN, ROAD TO THE OCTAGON, event weigh-ins and press conferences.

This announcement follows TSN and RDS’s new broadcast rights agreement with UEFA, making the networks the new home of UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE and UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE.

In addition to its live coverage, Fight Network will be producing live pre-fight programming, live coverage of press conferences and weigh-ins, post-fight analysis, as well as library programming highlighting UFC’s finest fighters and moments leading up to today.

About UFC

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell-out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT™ (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit www.UFC.ca and follow UFC on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/UFC, on Twitter @UFC_CA and Instagram @UFC.

About TSN

TSN is Canada’s Sports Leader and #1 specialty network. With a broad portfolio of multimedia sports assets, TSN delivers world-class content across its industry-leading platforms including five national television feeds, TSN.ca, TSN GO, and TSN Radio stations across the country. With more championship events than any broadcaster in the country, TSN’s roster of live sports programming includes the Grey Cup, IIHF World Junior Championship, FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015, CFL, NFL, NBA, MLS, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets, Season of Champions Curling, UEFA Euro 2016, MLB, Barclays Premier League, Golf’s Majors, NASCAR, F1, Grand Slam Tennis, NCAA March Madness, and Skate Canada and Rugby Canada events. TSN is a division of Bell Media, which is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada’s largest communications company.

About RDS

RDS is Canada’s French-language sports broadcasting leader and Quebec’s #1 specialty network. In addition to its world-class content delivered across multiple platforms, including the RDS, RDS2 and RDS Info channels, RDS.ca website, RDS Mobile, RDS Télé mobile and the RDS GO app, RDS offers the broadest portfolio of French-language sports programming in the world. Official broadcaster of the Montreal Canadiens, CFL and Grey Cup, NFL and Super Bowl, MLS and MLS Cup, MLB and World Series, FIFA World Cup soccer from 2015 to 2022 and Euro 2016 and exclusive French-language broadcaster of the Montreal Alouettes, F1®, and the Tour de France, RDS’s various channels present almost 4,000 hours of live programming each year, including Montreal Impact soccer, the IIHF World Junior Championship, NASCAR, PGA Tour golf including all four majors, ATP tennis including all four Grand Slam tournaments, Barclays Premier League soccer, NCAA March Madness basketball, Seasons of Champions Curling and the Skate Canada International. RDS is a division of Bell Media, which is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada’s largest communications company.

About Fight Network

Fight Network (www.fightnetwork.com) is the world’s premier combat sports network dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, including fights, fighters, fight news and fight lifestyle. The channel is available in the U.S., all major carriers in Canada and over 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and includes additional programming on TSN Radio in Canada on Sirius XM Channel 167. Fight Network’s parent company Anthem Media Group Inc. (www.anthemmediagroupinc.com) also owns Fantasy Sports Network and a significant interest in the Pursuit Channel.

Marcos Rogerio de Lima scored a 1st round stoppage over Igor Pokrajac in a Light Heavyweight bout.

de Lima landed a huge right that dropped Pokrajac with a booming right and pounced on him and the fight was stopped at

de Lima, 205 lbs of Brazil is 13-3. Pokrajic, 206 lbs of Croatia is now 25-12-1.

Renalto Moicano scored a 2nd round chokeout of Tom Niinimaki in a Featherweight bout.

The bout came to an end at 3:30 from a rear naked choke.

Moicano, 146 lbs of Brazil is 9-0-1. Niinimaki is now 21-8-1.

Hacran Diaz scored 3-round unanimous decision over Darren Elkins in a Featherweight bout.

In round three, Elkins was bleeding from the mouth. Dias won by scores of 29-28 twice and 30-27.

Dias, 146 lbs of Brazil is now 22-3-1. Elkins, 145 lbs of Indiana is now 19-5.

Leandro Issa scored a 2nd round submission over Yuta Sasaki in Bantamweight bout.

The choke came at 4:13 of round two for Issa, 135 lbs of Brazil and is now 13-4. Sasaki, 135 lbs of Japan is now 18-2-2.

Las Vegas, Nevada – The UFC® will bring a stacked card to Broomfield on Saturday, February 14 as two top 10 welterweights jockey for position in the talent-rich division. Fifth-ranked Matt Brown clashes with No. 9 Tarec Saffiedine in a Valentine’s Day special that is sure to bring the action.

Brown (21-12, fighting out of Columbus, Ohio) has finished all but two of his 21 victories, securing 13 by way of knockout. The heavy-hitting 33-year-old has long been on the brink of title contention with wins over UFC standouts such as Mike Swick and Mike Pyle, and he hopes that an impressive performance over Saffiedine (15-4, fighting out of Temecula, Calif.) will get him one step closer to that elusive shot at UFC gold.

Former STRIKEFORCE® champion and Belgium native Saffiedine has won five of his last six bouts. A black belt in Shihaishinkai, a form of karate that includes knockdowns and throws, he’s been honing his grappling techniques under the tutelage of former PRIDE® and STRIKEFORCE champion and U.S. Olympic Team wrestler, Dan Henderson in Southern California and he will prove to be a threat regardless of where the fight goes.

In addition, two of the best strikers in the welterweight division will collide in an early Fight of the Night candidate as Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (10-1, fighting out of Simpsonville, S.C.) meets Denver’s own Brandon Thatch (11-1, fighting out of Denver, Colo.). Thompson made the transition to MMA after posting a perfect kickboxing record of 57-0 that included more than 40 knockouts, a trait that he’s carried with him, as half of his MMA fights have also ended with a KO. Thatch will make his return to the Octagon® just 20 minutes from his hometown and will look to keep his 10-fight win streak dating back to 2009 intact in front of his hometown fans.

Also scheduled for the card:
· Riding a four-fight win streak with all finishes, No. 14 Max Holloway (11-3, fighting out of Waianae, Hawaii) will meet submission specialist Cole Miller (21-8, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) in a featherweight showdown.

· In a battle of top-10 flyweights, ninth-ranked Timothy Elliott (10-5-1, fighting out of Lee’s Summit, Mo.) clashes with No. 10 Zach Makovsky (18-5, fighting out of Philadelphia, Pa.).

· Ninth-ranked Nik Lentz (27-6-2, 1NC, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) will look to use his superior wrestling when he takes on Brazilian grappler Thiago Tavares (23-5-1, fighting out of Florianopolis, Brazil) at featherweight.

· Flyweight submission ace Ray Borg (7-1, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) meets dynamic finisher Chris Kelades (8-1, fighting out of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia Canada).

For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: BROWN vs. SAFFIEDINE go on sale Friday, December 5 at 10 a.m. MT and are priced at $175, $125, $75 and $50. Tickets are available for purchase at www.altitudetickets.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call (866) 461-6556. Tickets are also available at the 1STBANK Center box office. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.

A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, December 4 starting at 10 a.m. MT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: BROWN vs. SAFFIEDINE will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Saturday, February 14, with the prelims kicking off the evening on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and on UFC FIGHT PASS™ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

December 2, 2014 – Canton, MA – Global fitness leader Reebok today announced a groundbreaking partnership with UFC®, the world’s leading mixed martial arts organization. Under the long-term deal, Reebok will become the exclusive authentic global outfitter of UFC, creating for the first time ever UFC ‘Fight Week gear’ and a ‘Fight Night kit’ for all UFC athletes. Reebok will also be the exclusive apparel provider for the millions of UFC fans around the world.

In addition to benefiting UFC athletes and fans, the Reebok and UFC alliance also has a significant charitable component. Starting in 2015, a percentage of sales from Reebok/UFC product will directly benefit Fight for Peace, an international NGO that uses boxing and martial arts, combined with education and personal development, to realize the potential of young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence.

“This partnership is much more than a licensing agreement,” said Matt O’Toole, President, Reebok. “It is a true collaboration between two great brands, which will not only give UFC a new and exciting look, but it will harness the global reach of both brands to also benefit young people around the world, particularly those at risk of being involved in crime and violence.”

“Together with Reebok we are changing the landscape of MMA,” said Lorenzo Fertitta, UFC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Working with another global brand with such a strong history in training and fitness will deliver long-term value for UFC athletes and their brands by elevating and further professionalizing the events and the sport. Every UFC athlete will benefit from high quality performance apparel specifically developed, tested and produced for MMA athletes. Never before has the sport had a global athletic footwear and apparel brand committed to investing so much in the research and development of products specifically for MMA.”

The Reebok/UFC apparel line, including the ‘Fight Week gear,’ ‘Fight Night kit,’ and UFC fan gear, will be developed in conjunction with UFC and its athletes, including current Reebok athletes UFC Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks and UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis. In addition, UFC athletes will be helping Reebok to develop a new fight training-specific apparel collection.

“Not only is Mixed Martial Arts one of the fastest growing sports in the world, it is also one of the most challenging in terms of the dedication to training, overall fitness level and mental and physical toughness required. And nowhere is this on display more than in the UFC Octagon,” said O’Toole. “This partnership not only further cements Reebok as the leading fitness brand in the industry, it will also help us reach a wider audience and become the brand of choice for the more than 35 million consumers worldwide who use disciplines like boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts to live a fit lifestyle.”

Partnership to Benefit Fight for Peace
Last week, at Fight for Peace’s Academy in London, Reebok announced its long-term commitment to Fight for Peace, which was founded in 2000 by Luke Dowdney MBE, a former amateur boxer and British light-middleweight Universities champion, as well as the acquisition of LUTA Sportswear, an authentic boxing and MMA brand, also founded by Dowdney to help support Fight for Peace’s mission.

“Our partnership with Reebok is incredibly exciting for Fight for Peace and its future and Reebok entering into this long-term deal with the UFC will magnify the positive impact and reach of this partnership,” said Dowdney. “Reebok and Fight for Peace have a shared belief in the power of fitness – and specifically fight training – and the impact it can have on young people’s lives, particularly those who are impacted by crime and violence. Today’s announcement between Reebok and the UFC will help us continue to build international awareness for the Fight for Peace mission, allowing us to reach even more at risk young people globally.”

For further information and assets please visit the Reebok News Stream at news.reebok.com
For further information on UFC please visit www.ufc.com
For further information on Fight For Peace please visit www.fightforpeace.net

END

About Reebok
Reebok International Ltd., headquartered in Canton, MA, USA, is a leading worldwide designer, marketer and distributor of fitness and lifestyle footwear, apparel and equipment. An American-inspired global brand, Reebok is a pioneer in the sporting goods industry with a rich and storied fitness heritage. Reebok develops products, technologies and programming which enable movement and is committed to accompanying people on their journey to fulfill their potential. Reebok connects with the fitness consumer wherever they are and however they choose to stay fit – whether it’s training, running, walking, dance, yoga or aerobics. Reebok Classics leverages the brand’s fitness heritage and represents the roots of the brand in the sports lifestyle market. A subsidiary of the adidas Group, Reebok operates under the multiple divisions of the Reebok brand, Reebok-CCM Hockey and the Sports Licensed Division. Reebok is the exclusive outfitter of CrossFit and the Reebok CrossFit Games, the official title sponsor of the Reebok Spartan Race and exclusive apparel provider for Les Mills.

For more information, visit Reebok at www.reebok.com or, for the latest news at http://news.reebok.com/.

Or, discover Reebok at the following locations: http://facebook.com/reebok; http://twitter.com/reebok; and http://youtube.com/reebok

About UFC®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the UFC® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

About Fight for Peace

Fight for Peace was founded in 2000 in Rio de Janeiro by Luke Dowdney MBE, a former amateur boxer, to offer alternatives to gun and gang violence to young people growing up in the city’s toughest favelas. Fight for Peace is now a comprehensive program combining boxing & martial arts with education, employability, personal development and youth leadership programs, as well as offering a range of youth support services. In November 2007 the Fight for Peace London Academy was established in the borough of Newham to help support disadvantaged young people through its holistic model. Fight for Peace directly benefits over 3,000 young people each year in its Rio and London Academies, and has now trained over 100 community based organizations in its methodology across 24 countries, supporting over 100,000 young people i

Las Vegas, Nevada – To celebrate the holiday season, UFC FIGHT PASS, the UFC’s digital subscription service, presents an Advent calendar style countdown of the best 25 fights so far in 2014.

Dubbed “A Dana White Christmas” every day starting today (December 1) through December 25, UFC President Dana White will count down the most exciting fights of the year.

White said: “There have been so many amazing fights in 2014 and we’re going to be revealing the top 25 on UFC FIGHT PASS every day, starting with No.25 today and counting down to No.1 on December 25. Think of it as the Twenty Five Days of Christmas, UFC style.”

No.25 – the thrilling three round war between top five ranked women’s bantamweights Cat Zingano and Amanda Nunes from UFC 178 in September – is live now on UFCFIGHTPASS.com here: http://www.ufc.tv/video/number-25-cat-zingano-vs-amanda-nunes.

Every bout from January 1 to November 7 was eligible for selection. With over 400 fights to choose from, White admitted it was difficult getting the list down to just 25 fights. He added the selection of the best fight of the year was a particularly difficult choice.

“Any one of the top four or five could have been selected as the best fight so far in 2014,” he said.

UFC FIGHT PASS is available now at UFCFIGHTPASS.com on personal computers, iPad, iPhone, Chromecast, Android, Samsung, LG Smart TV and Roku. Subscriptions are $9.99 month to month, $8.99 per month for six months or $7.99 per month for a one-year subscription.

Visit UFCFIGHTPASS.com for more information.

The latest in UFCFIGHTPASS.com’s well-received Fightography series is now live, and features the legendary UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock. In addition to listing every Shamrock fight currently in the UFC FIGHT PASS library – that’s 20 fights from the UFC, PRIDE and EliteXC spanning 15 years – the collection also features a brand-new, ahem, “no-holds barred” interview with the icon on his historic feud with Royce Gracie.

As everyone reading this email will know, Shamrock fought Gracie in the semi-final of UFC 1 in 1993 and relentless pursued the rematch until he finally got it at UFC 5 two years later.

In the Fightography interview, Shamrock says the deck was stacked against him in the first fight, and after tapping out to a choke he became “obsessed” with getting revenge over the BJJ master.

Shamrock said: “I knew Royce was the guy the promoters were highlighting; I knew he was their guy, but I didn’t think he knew much of anything all that well. I was really cocky at the time. I really thought I was the man. I was unprepared (for Royce). I thought ‘What is THIS?’”

“But, at the same time, Royce’s camp knew I was the only threat to them and they figured out ways to make it more difficult for me.”

Shamrock believes the last-minute decision to not allow him to wear his wrestling shoes in the brand-new Octagon played a significant role in his loss; he also pointed out Royce was allowed to fight wearing a gi which was used “as a weapon” in the fight.

An emotional Shamrock, now 50, blasts Royce for pulling out mid-way through the UFC 3 tournament, rather than face him, and said original UFC match-maker Art Davie forced Royce to take the “Superfight” rematch at UFC 5.

Of that infamous 30-plus minute bout, which ended in a draw because back then there were no judges or points-decisions, Shamrock said: “If we had the fight the way it was supposed to be, the way the contract was signed, no time limit, no rules, things would have been different.”

Shamrock added: “When I speak here, talking about these old fights, my old emotions come back but, really, those emotions aren’t there anymore. I respect Royce. I respect what he did, and the legacy that Royce and I left behind with that rivalry.”

An embeddable preview is available from YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWiFmNLYpXE&list

The interview can be seen here:
http://www.ufc.tv/video/fightography-ken-shamrock

And the full collection here:
http://www.ufc.tv/category/fightography-ken-shamrock

Las Vegas, Nev. – History will be made when Swedish superstar and No. 1 ranked light heavyweight contender Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson meets No. 3 ranked knockout artist Anthony “Rumble” Johnson on Saturday, Jan. 24 in Stockholm, Sweden to determine the next UFC® light heavyweight title challenger.

The bout will take place in front of more than 30,000 fans at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, marking just the second major stadium event in UFC history and the first in Europe. The previous stadium event was the record-breaking UFC® 129 held at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, as more than 55,000 fans watched Georges St-Pierre defeat Jake Shields.

Gustafsson narrowly lost his title bid to reigning champion Jon “Bones” Jones in the greatest light heavyweight title fight of all time in Sept. 2013. Now, the rejuvenated 27-year-old will look to draw off the support of a massive hometown crowd when he meets Johnson, a winner of eight straight, including a devastating knockout win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in his last bout.

“This is going to be an epic event,” Gustafsson, who defeated Jimi Manuwa in his last bout in March, said. “I want more than 30,000 fans to come and witness me win on January 24. Then I’m going to go and get the title! My journey back to the top starts now. ”

“This fight might be on his home turf, but I’m ready to go over to Sweden and prove that I’m the next in the line for the UFC light heavyweight title,” Johnson said. “I’m not intimidated by fighting in front of Alex’s hometown fans. I’m going to go in there and look for the knockout like I do in all of my fights. I can’t wait for this!”

Tickets for the historic UFC FIGHT NIGHT™: GUSTAFSSON vs. JOHNSON event will be available to the general public on Friday, Nov. 28 via AXS.com/UFC. Guarantee your seat by booking an Official UFC VIP Experience starting this Friday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. GMT via UFC VIP or Tailor Events.
VIP Experience packages includes the opportunity to step inside the Octagon™ and raise the UFC championship belt, coveted floor seats, hospitality and an official event poster signed by the fighters.

UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 10 a.m. GMT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, Nov. 27 starting at 10 a.m. GMT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

The event will be broadcast live on FOX at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, with Prelims starting at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT on FOX Sports 1.

All bouts are subject to final approval from the Swedish MMA Federation. All bouts live and subject to change.

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Beijing, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe.

UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2.The UFC has a variety of multi-year broadcast agreements with some of the biggest networks throughout Europe, including BT Sport, TV12, C More, Abu Dhabi Media, Setanta and Kombet Sport.

In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT™ (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Las Vegas, Nevada – The stars of the UFC® will converge in Las Vegas alongside UFC President Dana White to launch an incredible slate of upcoming events. THE TIME IS NOW launch will feature the largest compilation of champions, contenders and main event headliners on the same stage. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts at 2 p.m. PT on Monday, Nov. 17, and will be streamed live on www.ufc.com.

As the UFC spans the globe with incredible live events from December’s Fight Night in Brazil to UFC® 184 in Los Angeles in February, the time is now to gear up for an epic stretch of fights inside the iconic Octagon®. For the first time ever, the UFC will also unveil its entire 2015 calendar and make a very special announcement.

Tickets for UFC Fight Night™ in Boston will be available on Thursday, Nov. 20, while tickets to UFC® 182, UFC® 183 and UFC® 184 will go on sale Friday, Nov. 21. For more information, please visit www.ufc.com/event-ticket-info.

THE TIME IS NOW launch includes:

UFC FIGHT NIGHT™: MACHIDA vs. DOLLAWAY
Saturday, Dec. 20 at Ginásio José Corrêa in Barueri, São Paulo, Brazil
· Lyoto Machida – former UFC light heavyweight champion and No. 4 middleweight contender

· CB Dollaway – No. 10 middleweight contender

UFC® 182: JONES vs. CORMIER
Saturday, Jan. 3 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
· Jon “Bones” Jones – UFC light heavyweight champion

· Daniel Cormier – No. 2 light heavyweight contender and former STRIKEFORCE® Grand Prix champion

UFC FIGHT NIGHT™: McGREGOR vs. SIVER
Sunday, Jan. 18 at TD Garden in Boston, Mass.
· Conor McGregor – No. 5 featherweight contender

· Dennis Siver – No. 8 featherweight contender

UFC® 183: SILVA vs. DIAZ
Saturday, Jan. 31 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev.
· Anderson Silva – former UFC middleweight champion and No. 1 middleweight contender

· Nick Diaz – former STRIKEFORCE welterweight champion

UFC® 184: WEIDMAN vs. BELFORT
Saturday, Feb. 28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif.
· Chris Weidman – UFC middleweight champion

· Vitor Belfort – former UFC light heavyweight champion and No. 3 middleweight contender

· “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey – UFC women’s bantamweight champion

· Cat Zingano – No. 1 women’s bantamweight contender

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Las Vegas – UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: ROCKHOLD vs BISPING takes place this weekend in Sydney, Australia and is headlined by the culmination of a bitter, two-year feud between top 10 ranked middleweight contenders Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping. The entire card is available live and on-demand on UFCFIGHTPASS.com, the UFC’s digital streaming service.

Please note: the event takes place on Saturday, November 8, local time in Sydney but due to timezones will be LIVE primetime Friday evening, November 7, and exclusively live on UFCFIGHTPASS.com in North America.

Feel free to link to this special edition of UFC FULL BLAST where Rockhold offers a running commentary on Bisping’s most recent win, a fourth round stoppage of Cung Le in Macau on August 23.

And here in the transcription of the recent Rockhold vs Bisping media conference call.

Operator: Please stand-by. Good day and welcome to the UFCFIGHPASS.com Rockhold vs Bisping conference call. Today’s conference is being recorded. At this time I would like to turn the conference over to Tom Wright, Managing Director UFC Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Please go ahead, Sir.

Tom Wright: Thank you to everyone who’s joined us today ahead of our big UFC Fight Night, Fight Pass Event in Sydney, Australia next week, actually on November 8.

We’re really, really excited about this card at the Allphones Arena. We’ve got some great fights lined up between a great mix of local talent, UFC veterans and of course the hotly anticipated main event five rounds between the bitter rivals and middleweight contenders, Number 5, Luke Rockhold and Number 9, Michael Bisping.

Both Mike and Luke are on the line and will be taking your questions shortly but before we do that, let me just take care of a couple of housekeeping issues, please and thanks.

First of all, we have a limited amount of tickets still available for this event and those tickets are available at ticketek.com.au. This event is going to be streamlined exclusively live in most parts of the world on UFCFIGHTPASS.com, the UFC’s digital streaming service.

I’d also like to remind everyone on the call that while the event takes place on Saturday, November 8 in Sydney, time zones being what they are, the event will be live prime time in North America Friday night for UFC FIGHT PASS subscribers in North America.

The main card will actually start in Sydney at 2 pm on Saturday afternoon the 8th, but it will be live on 10 pm eastern on Friday night, 7 pm Pacific on Friday night November 7 on UFC FIGHT PASS.

I’d also like to remind everyone before we start the call, we’ve got a great night of exclusive live fights on UFCfightpass.com this Saturday, November 1 with the entire FC 9 card headlined by Barb Honchak and Takayo Hashi.

So with that said, I’m going to open up to the media for questions and I’ll turn it back to you (Vicky) to moderate please.

Operator: Thank you. If you would like to ask a question, please signal by pressing star 1 on your telephone keypad. If you’re using a speakerphone, please make sure your mute function is turned off to allow our signal to reach your equipment. Again, press star 1 to ask a question.

We will pause just a moment to allow everyone the opportunity to signal for questions. We’ll go first to Jeffrey Harris with 411 Mania MMA

Jeffrey Harris: Hello. Thank you all for joining us all today. This question is for Michael. Michael, throughout your career, you’ve had numerous opponents who’ve had performance enhancing drug test issues who have failed tests and this includes guys who have wins over you, guys you’ve beaten and now Cung Le who recently had his drug test suspended because of the manner, the way the drug tests were held.

Do you believe that exonerates him or do believe he’s still guilty?

Michael Bisping: I mean to be honest, I don’t get involved in the processes, my job it to fight. I believe there’s no smoke without fire, though, and because of certain technicalities or loopholes, he was exonerated, or the suspension was rescinded.

But as I said, I don’t get involved in these matters. My job, what I’m paid to do, is to step into the Octagon and fight. I’ll let the UFC take care of the bureaucracy.

Jeffrey Harris: Now for Luke, you’re currently ranked Number 5 in the Middleweight Division. A guy ranked ahead of you Jacare Souza is a guy you have a win over. Do you believe you’re taking a big risk here for fighting Bisping instead of going for like, for a rematch against Jacare?

Luke Rockhold: You know, I don’t believe I’m taking a risk. It’s not a good fight for me, not a, you know, chance to showcase my skillset and where I’ve improved and what I’ve done. I already have a win over Jacare. I beat him so I don’t understand exactly how the rankings work but, you know, I’m just going to look to, you know, showcase my skills in this fight.

You know, I’m very happy about fighting Michael. You know, I’m going to go in and perform.

Jeffrey Harris: You’ve been challenging Michael to a fight for quite some time. Is the reason you’re going after him, is it because of that remark he made about, “I beat you in training camp so I have an unofficial win over the Strikeforce middle weight champion making me the linear champion”?

Luke Rockhold: It definitely is a bonus to shut his mouth and set the record straight on that note. He’s just a guy I really haven’t respected along the way. He carries himself around the sport and, you know, I’ve been around for a while and I just, I hear a lot of things and I see a lot of things, And, you know, I really, I really don’t care for the guy and I’m looking forward to setting him up, myself among other people.

Operator: We’ll go next to Heidi Fang with MMA Fight Corner.

Heidi Fang: Hello. My first question is just a follow-up on that. What is it about Michael Bisping that you don’t respect?

Luke Rockhold: He just seems to not be a nice genuine guy to most people. I mean he only like carries himself to, you know, is nice to people, seems to further himself and people are going to help him. I,really heard a lot of things about him, not being nice to the average Joe, really.

I mean, you know, you’ve got to treat people the way you want to be treated and, you know, it seems like he’s a prick everywhere in life so I want to know what he’s not happy about. But, you know, I’m looking forward to making everybody else happy.

Heidi Fang: It seems that you’re going…

Michael Bisping: Well allow me to shed some light on that situation because, Luke, I’m not sure if he’s aware of this; this is a f**king conference call so you’re supposed to talk and be a little bit eloquent and get your side of the story over.

Luke, I don’t know you. I don’t care for you. We haven’t shared a single proper conversation so you’re basing your facts or what you presume is facts on absolutely nothing, on fresh air.

We have had one conversation, after the sparring matching question everybody talks about. You don’t know me. You don’t know me as a person. So kiss my f**king ass, you lanky piece of shit. I’ll see you in Australia, you asshole. We’ll put it all to bed then.

Luke Rockhold: Great professionalism…

Heidi Fang: To both of you to follow up on that, you seem to both be going in with high emotions into this fight. Do you feel that’s risky to go into a fight with these types of emotions, I suppose. Rockhold first.

Luke Rockhold: As you can see, the way I’ve carried myself in our conversation and, you know, face-to-face, I’m not really too emotional. If you want to see emotional go back and watch my Belfort lead-up. In the fight I was pissed. I was emotional. You could see it in my eyes and, you know, I’m very comfortable and relaxed.

And that’s never going to happen again. I’m never going to let emotions get the better of me. I’ve done my work. I’ve worked my ass off in training camp. Worked with some of the best guys in the world and I’ve prepared, I’m better than I’ve ever been. I’m going to go out there and do my job.

Heidi Fang: And for Michael, you seemed very upset there with Luke, had some choice words for him there.

Michael Bisping: No, no, I’m not upset for him. I’m not upset by any of his remarks. Anything that Luke Rockhold said doesn’t really register with me, to be honest. You know, the guy’s just trying to jump on a bandwagon. (does impression of Rockhold) “I’m doing this for the sake of everybody. He’s such an asshole. No one likes him.”

Nobody has any right to pass an opinion on anything because when I’m outside of the office and I’m home with my wife and kids I’m a different guy. So don’t know where he’s basing this whole bad guy image on.

Regarding emotions; not at all. I’m going down there to take care of business. Luke Rockhold is not somebody that I obsess about. He’s not somebody that I care about. He’s not somebody that I wake up in the morning and think about.

I’m here to do my job, to put on an outstanding fight for the fans and I’ve done that throughout my entire career and this will be another occasion where I will do that. I’m going down to Sydney to take care of business. Yes, of course I get to shut this guy up in the process, so that’s obviously is a bonus but, you know, as I say, I’m all business. I’m going to go down there, put on a great fight, give everybody what they want to see and, you know, I’ll get to show him up in the process so that’s a plus.

Operator: We’ll go next to Dave Melzer with Wrestling Observer.

Dave Melzer: Yes, this is, I guess, mainly for Luke because actually I’ve talked to Michael about this before. Which, what is your side or recollection about what happened in China, I think it was the night after the Cung fight with Michael and I guess you were, I don’t know if it was the coffee shop or it was at breakfast or something.

Luke Rockhold: Yes.

Dave Melzer: I mean how do you remember that incident?

Luke Rockhold: Well, the morning after the fight everyone’s packing up, getting ready to go. I had my bags and there’s a little coffee shop on the way out from the elevators. I walked down to get some coffee and it’s kind of an isolated little zone and I was trying to get a cup of coffee and I look over and of course Michael’s sitting right there with his dad and his little friend.

So I’m trying to get this coffee and the little guy (Mick) is just staring at me and just like blabbing, like just running his mouth, just, you know, just trying to egg me on. And I’m just sitting there. I’m like trying to ignore the little guy and it’s completely unavoidable.

I had to get my coffee, walk right by them as this little guy’s just staring at me and like trying to talk to me and like I had no choice but to butt in. So I basically, just like I said, I don’t lie. I don’t embellish how I do things. I turned. I put my hand in him, straight. I stood right in the middle of their conversation and said gentlemen, bet, you know, I was like I said if I don’t finish in the first round, you get half my purse.

And then he was like, and then he immediately went on the backtrack saying, well, well, well, well, look here. I make this much and I was trying to throw off and I was like I don’t care, you want $100,000 on top of your paycheck, all you have to do is get out of the first round?

From then on he blew it all out of proportion, jumped up in my face and say oh, I’m disrespectful. Tried to turn it into a very disrespectful thing and then I, of course, stood my ground and sat back at him but, you know, it was very, you know, I put my hand out, gentlemen’s bet, that’s how I offered it. I didn’t get crazy. The little guy was on my case and it was an unavoidable situation.

Michael Bisping: All right and allow me to clarify through all that the bullshit. So he does admit that he walked off and challenged me to a bet when I was with my father. The guy that he’s talking about in question – Mick – doesn’t say two words to anyone. He’s one of the quietest human beings you will ever see. So he was – that you were going to ever meet and he said that this guy was staring at him, talking shit.

Luke, you’re an absolute liar. You’re an absolute liar. Nobody was looking at you. You came over. You interrupted. You showed a lack of class and I’ll punish you for it next week.

Luke Rockhold: No, you won’t and the fact of the matter is I’m sitting there, if they can release my commentary on the fight, I’m sitting there commentating on his fight with Cung Le, on the fight past commentary that they haven’t released yet but the little guy, he’s constantly running over to me and slapping on my back saying “You’re next. You’re next.”

And his dad even gets on the cat walk around the Octagon and points to me and says you’re next. And they’re just like he’s going to beat your ass and like, I’m not joking when I say this. This was a couple of days prior to the event.

Dave Melzer:: So, no, did you have like incidents? Was it with them or with Michael before the event in China as well?

Luke Rockhold: No I didn’t see Michael before. It was just, I was in passing with those guys and, you know, I was – they were bringing me in the back (at a pre-fight PR event) and I had to wait, I think I had to wait for this guy to pass. That’s like how it kind of began and I was waiting for Michael and Cung to walk by the red carpet and I was like, they were like – they were trying to get me behind the fence and I was like wait, wait for this asshole to pass.

And then his dad and the little guy overheard me say it and then from then on they were like his little fucking spokespeople, saying “Mike is going to beat your ass.” And then they just kept egging it on and coming after me because they overheard me say that.

Dave Melzer: You mentioned earlier in the call something about like you kind of think that you made some mistakes as far as it’s mental before the Belfort fight. Is there anything that, exactly what that means? I mean as far as did you just get too hung up on certain things or what’s kind of like when you look back at that in hindsight?

Luke Rockland: It was fighting Belfort in Brazil, my debut and there were a lot of things, you know, I just took personally. I took a lot on my shoulders. You know, I wanted to beat him for myself and for a lot of reasons that are obvious.

You know, definitely it was an emotional time and then, you know, the Brazilian crowd is very passionate and everyone gets on their back in between and, you know, and the whole build-up. So it’s, you know, I – just the whole circumstance, fighting Belfort too. His history with everything and who he was, you know, he’s one of the best fighters so there was a lot on the line there. And, you know, it’s helped me release. You know, I wasn’t – the funny thing is I wasn’t really sure of how good I was as a striker. You know, I knew I was good but how was I going to combat with one of the best strikers of all time in there?

Michael Bisping: Well you didn’t combat very well because you got knocked out in the first round.

Luke Rockhold: Yes, you got knocked out, too, so…

Michael Bisping: It wasn’t the first round though, was it? You shot straightaway and then got knocked out, great fight, good job. And the whole year you’re blaming it on the pressure. All right.

Luke Rockhold: You got your ass kicked the whole time.

Michael Bisping: All right buddy.

Michael Bisping: (Pretends to cry) Boo hoo my little friend was picking on you. God bless.

Luke Rockhold: This is Michael Bisping at his finest. If you are going to build up a fight, build up a fight but your true colors show after the fight. And we all know you like to spit on people after a fight so I mean…

Michael Bisping: Oh great. Yes, all right, anything else you want to drag up from history?

Luke Rockhold: That is what you are, your true colors show after the fight and that’s you.

Michael Bisping: All right. Okay.

Operator: Well go next to Brett Okamoto with ESPN.

Brett Okamoto: Hey thanks guys. Dave kind of stole my thunder there. He basically asked Luke the same question I was going to ask him but I guess, Luke, you know, sort of talking about things you’ve talked about before. You said that this fight is very different than Vitor. Do you think that that’s just because you’ve learned how to deal with it better or is it just because there’s rivalry. It’s just so different than the one, than the one you had with Vitor, your first fight.

Luke Rockhold: It’s different, you know, in a lot of ways. I’ve gained a lot more confident for myself as a striker and just letting, letting things be, letting it go, just letting me fight my fight. Like taking a loss like that (vs Belfort) is a humbling experience and there’s really not much further down to go than that. So I learned to just go in there and let it all hang out. Whatever happens, happens.

I learned to relax and to realize “I am better than you guys.” Just fight, enjoy the process and fight.

You know, I just don’t think Vitor was that good. I got caught with a wild kick and now everyone is starting to see things and I know that I’m one of the best strikers in the world now and you’re going to see that in this fight. I’m going to completely outclass Michael in the feet and everywhere.

Brett Okamoto: When you talk about that pressure, how do you think it translated to the fight though? I mean did you just freeze up? Were you like just in a range that you never meant to be in? I mean how did it actually affect what you did in the cage?

Luke Rockhold: If you’ve seen me in the cage I was nervous, you know, about his speed and his striking and then just emotionally invested. I was staring at him across the cage, mean mugging him the whole time.

And just like, you know, it’s a crazy experience being out there in Brazil and, you know, fighting him and I was just psyching myself up in the wrong way rather than being, than just relaxing and seeing things. I was just, you know, my eyes were just pure red and, you know, I was just coming after him. I like went crazy man when I should have just relaxed and saw everything coming and you know.

It kind of just clouds your vision when you act like that and you know, the realization that I really gained, you know, in sparring too when I would get ticked and aggressive brought out the worst in me. You know, and then I started to relax. I had some crazy guys in sparring that now I learned how when I relax and I wait, I wait, you know, I’m a lot more dangerous and a lot more precise.

You know, I’m between that training after the fight and that fight is a lot of, you know, it’s a lot to look back on and think about, reflect.

Brett Okamoto: So during this whole build-up with Mike have you, have you felt yourself get angry at all or is that something that just doesn’t happen anymore? Is it still something that you have to work on when you’ve got a guy who’s talking to you during the build-up to the fight?

Luke Rockhold: No, I, you know, I’ve been through that before and I’ve balanced myself. It’s not going to get to me and, you know, I know how to carry myself. And, yes, it’s completely different. I don’t feel, you know, like I did with Vitor. I was actually a little emotionally pissed and now I’m just, you know, it’s confidence. It has a lot to do with relaxation and I’m very confident. I’m going to go up there and do my job.

Brett Okamoto: Okay, thanks. Good luck to both of you.

Operator: We’ll go next to Steven Morocco with USA Today.

Steven Morocco: Kind of a follow-up question for Luke. I mean has it been worth all the added questions and added attention and all this bickering back and forth? Has it been worth it to call out Mike and get this fight?

Luck Rockland: Has it been worth to call him out?

Steven Morocco: To call him out, all the added questions, the added attention, having to be in the same room with him, all these things that, you know, I understand when you have a different relationship to them now but, you know, I was wondering if it, if any of this has been burdensome at all? You know, all this added attention and has it been worth it?

Luke Rockland: Yes, it’s a fight. It’s a fight. People love, you know, all the talk. People love a feud, a genuine feud and just this is what they’re getting. You know, I don’t like the guy and, you know, I’m the worst in my opinion and I’m going to, I’m going to settle the fight.

And I’m a competitive person, whether we’re talking, whether we’re fighting and I’m not going to, I’m not going to lose it all to this guy, you now. I’m excited. I’m selling the fight. He’s selling the fight and it’s going to be even more – I mean the pre-fight hype is nothing compared to what you’re going to see from November 8, or November 7 here in the USA

Steven Morocco: And you think you’ve got the better of him?

Luke Rockhold: I don’t like to say that because it ((inaudible)) in the (seventh tier). It’s like going back to ((inaudible)) on that one and ((inaudible)).

Steven Morocco: Yes. Well the next question’s for both of you. Do you think you guys have done a good job selling the fight relative to some other first matches? We’ve seen you know, upcoming (Jones vs DC). Also Mendez, these guys just keep going.

Luke Rockhold: I mean no one can compare to a Jones and DC but I think we’re doing all right.

Steven Morocco: Mike?

Michael Bisping: You know, for me it’s not a case of trying to outdo the Jones vs DC thing, or this and that. Obviously this is an intriguing middleweight match-up. And it kind of sells itself. I mean, as Luke has told everybody, he doesn’t like me so of course he’s not at the top of my Christmas card list. So there’s certainly no love lost between us and we’re both too highly skilled individuals that bring it. Luke, for all the disdain that he feels towards me, is a good fighter and he does fight well. But so do I.

So where that has all the ingredients for, highly watchable fight. So that kind of sells itself and of course, there’s all the bad blood going into it as well. I’ve just been myself as usual. I wouldn’t compare anything this year to Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier, I mean that’s the best pre-fight hype ever. That said, me and Rockhold have a week left and you never know what will happen at the press conference.

Steven Morocco: And just one more. I’m wondering what you’re respective understandings are of the middleweight pecking order right now. Like where do you guys see yourself in the division? What’s this fight for? Go first, Mike.

Michael Bisping: Well obviously you’ve got Belfort vs Weidman settling things in February I believe. Luke, since coming to the UFC, or in his last two fights, has people talking about him possibly being the next contender.

For myself, it’s just one fight at a time. If I beat Luke, when I beat Luke, I think that puts me in a very, very good position. Of course there is some of the good talent out there that’s making a case for it.

Machida’s always a perennial contender but he just had his shot so you can kind of take him out of it for the immediate future, I think. There’s Jacare but I’m not sure if the UFC is too excited about that.

So who knows? Of course, I’ll give a good performance against Rockland. I believe it puts me right in the mix. Does it guarantee a title shot? No, not necessarily but as I said, I believe it puts me right in the mix.

Luke Rockhold: Yes, he said it pretty well. For me, on my end,, I got to go out there and win. I’ve got to win impressively to really step my game up and separate me as the number one contender and that’s what I plan on doing.

I can’t just squeeze a win out. I’ve got to go perform and that’s what I do. It’s about being the best fighter in the world to me and I train every day to be that guy. And that’s what I’m going to do, perform and show I am No.1.

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Operator: Once again, that is star 1 on your telephone keypad to ask a question or a follow-up question. We’ll go next to Damon Martin with Fox Sports.

Damon Martin: Yes, my first question is to Mike. Mike I talked to you a couple of days ago and I know you said openly about the whole comment you made back in the day that started this whole thing, that unofficial Strikeforce Champion .

You know, you were kind of making a joke and you apologized to Luke but looking back on the whole thing, do you regret, you know, actually saying that comment or seeing where you’re at now with this big fight main event, you know, one of the biggest fights of the middleweight division.

I mean do you really regret actually making that comment?

Michael Bisping: You can’t go around your life, living your life regretting everything, every comment that you make. I made a light-hearted remark and it was a joke and I’d say if you have a sense of humor you maybe would have gotten that joke because I thought it was a pretty good line “I’m the unofficial Strikeforce champion.”

Listen, a sparring match has no bearing on what’s going to happen in a fight. Of course we’ve all heard Luke’s multitude of reasons why he didn’t perform that day and he’s probably right. Listen, sparring has no reflection on a fight. It was just a light-hearted remark. Was it a little bit vicious? Well I suppose it was, you know, and that’s why I instantly apologized.

You know, I’ve been known throughout my tenure as a fighter to say things sometimes and, you know, it certainly wasn’t designed to be disrespectful or harmful.

But I guess, you know, it kind of came off that way. So as I said, that’s why I did apologize. Do I regret it? No, I don’t regret it. I certainly got a good laugh out of it at the time and here we are, you know, we’re both going to get paid well out of it next week.

And we probably would have been matched regardless of whether or not I said that but it certainly helped throw some fuel on the fire for this fight, definitely.

Steven Morocco: And Luke had said earlier today and I’ll follow-up with Luke in a second. But he has said earlier today in an interview that he doesn’t believe that you’re a real fighter, that you actually enjoy fighting. Now I don’t know if you heard that comment or I’ll just kind of tell you right there, you know, the he doesn’t believe that you enjoy fighting and you’re not a real fighter. Your response>

Luke Rockhold: Let’s retract that. I didn’t say he wasn’t a real, I didn’t say he wasn’t a real fighter. I said he doesn’t enjoy fighting.

Steve Morocco: Enjoy fighting, excuse me.

Luke Rockhold: I enjoy the process. I have a good time in there. He just seems like he’s building himself up. He’s very good at psyching himself up. He slaps himself and he doesn’t really seem like he relaxes and he keeps it, you know, a little tense in the fight and he never, really likes it.

Like I’m smiling and I really enjoy fighting when I’m actually in the cage. I don’t necessarily like the build-up but when I’m in the cage and they shut that door that’s fun tomes, I mean that’s good times.

So I just don’t, I don’ see it any way. I analyze fighters from every bit of them, from how they fight. I do my homework and I just haven’t seen any bitterness. It seems like he’ll fight to the bitter end but I just don’t think he really enjoys fighting.

Michael Bisping: Okay, well it’s clearly obvious that if you’ve been analyzing me, you clearly don’t have a psychology degree so quit that amateur philosophy there because listen, I love (talking) with you. I’m (talking) with you right now.

I love fighting. I truly love it. That’s why I do it. Nobody puts a gun to my head and makes me fight. I don’t do it out of necessity. I don’t do it because I have to do it for the money or anything like that. I truly love doing it.

I’ve done it since I was 8 years old. Eight years-old I first walked into a gym and at the end of it we put the gloves on and we started boxing and that’s what really set my imagination on fire and kept me walking into the gym every single time.

And that’s why I always turn up in great shape for my fights, because I love to spar. Sparring is my favorite part of it. You now, and I never shy away from any challenges. I love fighting. I feel alive when I do it. It puts a smile on my face and I was put on this planet to be a fighter.

So, you know, the guys grabbing at straws at best at that comment.

Steven Morocco: Thank you very much guys.

Operator: We’ll go next to Adam Ireland with MMA Canvass.

Adam Ireland: Hi guys. Adam Ireland. Mike a quick question for you top start. Will you be training with Jamie Ta Huna. I know you’ve trained with him in the past.

Michael Bisping: Yes, no that’s right. I have a trainer out there in Penrith those guys before but no on this occasion I won’t be. I’m coming in a little bit late than what happened in the past and the last two times I fought in Australia, I was living in the UK so as you guys know, there’s a massive time difference and a full 24 hours of travelling so where we typically came out a few weeks before.

This time I’m coming out eight days before, you know, so and the time difference, while there is a pretty different time difference it’s not as extreme as it is between the UK and Australia.

So yes, all the training will be done and when I get out there it will just be staying sharp, staying fresh, shadow-boxing, things like that. So I won’t be heading out to (Penrith) working out with those guys.

Adam Ireland: Right Mike, cool and a question for both of you. The main event is roughly, it’s the USA versus UK battle and in Australia, I’m interested to know from both of your perspectives who had the home field advantage do you think?

Michael Bisping: Okay, it is kind of a difficult one, you know, because you guys, you’re a member of the Commonwealth but you don’t like to like it. (The English and Australians) we’re such great sporting rivals.

The first time I fought down there I was expecting a cheer but I got booed quite heavily. On my return in the next one you guys kind of came on board a little bit and I kind of got cheered.

On this one I kind of get the feeling I’m going to get cheered. Hopefully I’m going to have the home field advantage but ultimately when you’re fighting, when you’re in the octagon, you know, it’s just you and your opponent and once that door is shut and the referee says fight, it doesn’t really matter.

Of course, it’s nice to always get the adulation of the crowd but it’s not essential in winning or losing a fight. Regarding the co-main event, again that’s a fantastic match-up, two great strikers of course. I’m a big fan of Ross Pierson. I love the way he fights. He always brings it every time so whilst me and look are going to deliver it in the main event, the co-main event is not to be slapped on either.

That’s a fantastic match-up for Ross Pearson to bring out the best in both fighters. You’re going to see a lot of boxing, a lot of body shots from both of those guys so yes, and he’s a great fighter from top to bottom as well.

But home field advantage, I’m going to go out on limb here and say I’ll probably got that. Is it important, no it’s not.

Adam Ireland: And Luke, what are your thoughts?

Luke Rockhold: I’m going to bring everyone to my side after the fight and that’s all that really matters. You know, I’m sure I’ll have some good support out there and probably have some haters as far as that goes but, you know, I’m going to make a lot of fans out there after this fight and that’s all that matters.

Adam Ireland: Okay and my final question is I’m just not sure if you guys are aware that recently there’s been a lot of media attention and strategy on martial arts specifically. Now we’ve got an election coming out and it’s actually dominated a lot of headlines. You know, we’re about 10 years behind say, in terms of the perception of the sport. So this fight comes at a really important time.

Luke you first. I’m just interested to know if you know what’s happening in regards to the sport in Australia?

Luke Rockhold: Yes, it’s a very unfortunate situation. I mean it’s going to be a lot more dangerous fighting inside a ring. You know a lot of bad things can happen. And the perception of the cage being what they believe it is, is definitely far from true.

It’s very false and, you know, it’s a hard job to go out there and carry yourself, carry ourselves like professionals inside the cage and, you know, show them that, you know, that this is a sport and you need to be treated, you know, and carry ourselves like professionals. You know, it’s going to be a very professional, clean fight and, you know, hopefully we can help build MA and get it legalized and have an event there.

Adam Ireland: Then what do you think Michael?

Michael Bisping: Yes, yes, it’s all about education. It’s all about educating those people that have a negative view about it. Of course, you know, from the outside, if you don’t know the fights and you’re a little bit ignorant about the sport, then certainly there’s always going to be negative connotations that you could attach to it.

You could say, you know, this is, you know, a fight with small gloves and you’re laughing and you hit them when they’re on the floor, the fight’s in a cage. And when you look at these things, you know, it’s easy to build a negative, a negative image surround the sport.

But it’s, you expose these people to it. They learn a little bit about it. They learn the safety records. They understand why we implement an octagon as opposed to a boxing ring. Then , you know, you look at it much more favorable.

And I think that it’s these people that are game for it. They come out to the fight next week and, you know, they’ll see highly trained individuals. They will see a highly well run, the best sporting organization in the world running the best sporting event and the level of professionalism is absolutely through the roof. And as we said, it has a fantastic safety record.

So it’s all about education and exposing these people to it. I mean, invite them to come out and watch the fight, see what they do and I’m sure they’ll have a great evening and they will forget all the, you know, the judgments that they had before.

Tom Wright: Just to echo what Michael and Luke have said, I think they both expressed themselves extremely well. The truth of the matter is that we do have an opportunity, literally three weeks before the election in Victoria, you know, to demonstrate in the state right next door to Victoria, obviously in New South Wales where Sydney is too, to be able to demonstrate the professionalism, the focus on fighter safety and the fact that there isn’t a better organization in the world to put on our event than the UFC.

And that we take our sport very, very seriously. We also want to make sure it’s a fair fight which, of course, the octagon is a level playing field as you well know as opposed to a boxing ring which is not neutral. And I think this is a great opportunity for us to demonstrate that and to have an opportunity to speak to the educational points that Michael mentioned and to demonstrate the professionalism that Luke speaks to.

So we’re very much looking forward to, there’s a whole fight week of events that are scheduled for Sydney when we are there next week and that provides us with many opportunities to demonstrate just how short-sighted and the positions that have been taken by those uneducated individuals in Victoria.

Adam Ireland: Thanks Tom. Thanks all. I’ll catch up with you next week.

Operator: We’ll go next to Alex Schlinsky with MMA Mania.

Alex Schlinsky: Hey guys, how are you doing? Thank you very much. I just wanted to know, Michael Bisping, you’ve been so close to the top multiple time and yet you’ve never reached that apex, you’ve never gotten to that title fight. Do you think that maybe the psychology going in and maybe getting him, you know riled up beforehand is going to help you to get to a title fight by making this a bigger fight than it is?

Michael Bisping: That’s a good question., I mean only Luke can really answer that. You know, I’m focusing on what I do and perhaps in the past that’s been my downfall, focusing on my opponent too much, thinking too much about them, obsessing over them, thinking about how they’re going to approach the fight.

I’m too long in the tooth to do that these days. I’m too experienced. I just focus on what I need to do. Certainly one area that I’ve made leaps and bounds in is the mental preparation. You know, obviously this is a very physical sport but it’s hugely, there’s a huge psychological and mental aspect to it and I’ve really made gains with that over the last couple of years.

Certainly the last 12 months, I’m understanding a lot of things, but I am a lot better at them now. So, yes, you know, I’ve got to the top of the sport and then I fell short but I think the fact that I’ve been there so many times is a testament to my fighting ability and my character, my will to win which says a lot for a guy that apparently doesn’t like to fight.

I’ve been there several times. Most people only get there once. I’ve dusted myself off. I’ve come back a better fighter. I’ve truly learned from all my losses and I’m still as hungry as the first day that I ever put a pair of gloves on. I still want to be World Champion. I know I can do it. I’m physically in my prime and I’m mentally better than ever.

It’s all to play for and I still dream of being world champion and that will start next weekend, you know. I’m one of the top guys. I’ve been here for a long time but I’m not going anywhere yet.

Alex Schlinsky: Awesome. I wanted to know both your reactions to when you heard (Chris Wright) was injured and the middleweight title fight was once again postponed because we know ((inaudible)) said he wanted an interim title fight. You know that we got Jacare and (Merrill) potentially fighting. You too are fighting net week.

You know, there’s kind of a log at the middleweight division. When you see that, you know, the champion’s injured, is that frustrating to you guys?

Luke Rockhold: I mean it is what it is. Weidman’s spot, you know, he’s had a couple of fights in pretty close proximity, not too bad but it’s a small delay in the big scheme of things and, you know, a lot of champions have been out a lot longer

So, you know, just, you know, someone needs to separate themselves, the lead contender, you know, number one contender and that’s all that’s all he’s doing, giving more time to one of us to separate themselves and that’s what I want to do, that’s what I’m here to do.

Michael Bisping: You know ultimately that’s the way the sport goes. You know, it’s an unforgiving sport inside the octagon on our side of the octagon and injuries are common. You know, at Luke said it was a minor setback. It’s going to delay it by a few months, yes, but in the overall scheme of things, it isn’t really going to matter.

Vitor is the number one contender. You know, what were my feelings when he got put back? My feelings were this. My feelings were that that is a huge, it’s a huge benefit for (Chris Weidman) simply because Vitor was on extra testosterone therapy for a long time and that take an impact on your body and the amount of muscle mass that you carry.

And the longer you are off the extra testosterone that you were prescribed to take by a doctor, we shall say, of course the longer you’re off it , the more physical changes your body will make.

So I’m sure there’s going to be, I’m not sure when Vitor’s last fight was but we could be talking over a year where he hasn’t been on, you know, the prescriptions that he was on before. So I think the longer it goes until that fire happens, the more benefit (Chris Weidman) has because he’s going to be weaker, stronger, not as strong, things like that.

So that was my initial thought.

Alex Schlinsly: Luke, we spoke earlier that you said that you’ve beaten Jacare before and yet he’s still ranked higher than you because you haven’t had the shot from UFC yet. Do you think with the dominant win over Jacare this week you are able to, you know, leap frog him through all the ranks. If you do get a finish you can get past him?

Luke Rockhold: I don’t know man. I have no idea how they make ranking guidelines are, if there are other guidelines. Jacare jumped me beating, I believe Chris Comozi and I lost to Vito Belfort so I mean that should give you some perspective on how they work things, you know. That’s when he jumped me in the rankings, I believe.

So I’m just going to fight my fight and I’m going to show, you know, what I do and, you know, hopefully it gets respected and acknowledged.

Alex Schlinsky: Thank you guys for your time.

Operator: Well go next to (Casper Rosolowsky) with Submission Radio.

Casper Rosolowsky: Hi guys. My question’s for Michael. Michael in respect to Sydney last, you told us you believe that Luke will probably take the fight to the ground. I’m just wondering, coming into the fight being about a week away, is that something you still believe?

Michael Bisping: Yes, 100%.. I think that once he steps in there with me he’ll realize that it’s now as easy as what he’s forecasting it to be. You know, and this is mixed martial arts. It’s not a kick boxing or a boxing match so there’s other facets to the game of course and I think you will, I think he’ll shoot, I think he’s looking at the fight with Tim Kennedy I lost and how he was able to tear me town, hold me down.

I think he’s underestimating my wrestling and my takedown defense and he thinks he can expose in the coming week. Of course, I will prove otherwise on the night. You know, as I said, when the fight starts he’ll realize that he’s in, that, you know, that this isn’t the walk in the park that he thinks it’s going to be and then when it doesn’t go his way in defeat, I think he’ll shoot for a takedown

Casper Rosolowsky: Fantastic and I have a follow-up for Luke Rockhold. Look, you know, you discussed some areas of the fight there you’re very confident in. I’m just wondering what do you think your greatest strength or advantage over Michael will be, you know, come November 8 here in Sydney when you guys match up together?

Luke Rockhold: The difference between me and Michael, our fighting skills, is the same difference between our beards… I’m just more of a man than him.

Casper Rosolowsky: Great. Well thanks for that Luke.

(Crosstalk)

Michael Bisping: Today you go, what a great insight there. He can grow slightly better facial hair so therefore he’s a better man and he’s going to win the fight. Good on you Luke. Well done. You’ve got more pubes on your face.

Luke Rockhold: I’m going to out strike him.

Michael Bisping: Oh here we go. An actual intelligent answer. Go ahead. The floor is yours.

Luke Rockhold: The thing is, when we were sparring, Michael was the one shooting. He wanted to wrestle. He couldn’t even spar me when I switched from southpaw…

Michael Bisping: Here comes the excuses again…

Luke Rockhold: I switched my stance but I am not taking anything away from him, he’s very good. He’s a good striker, he knows what he’s doing, he throws a lot of people off. He circles away well, he throws everyone off with movement. But he will know next week I am in a different level. I will lay some heavy kicks on him and, when he wakes up, he will have a rude awakening and realize there’s a big difference between him and me.

Operator: Your conference is ending now. As requested by the host, please hang up.

UFC FIGHT PASS is available now at UFCFIGHTPASS.com on personal computers, iPad, iPhone, Chromecast, Android, Samsung, LG Smart TV and Roku. Subscriptions are $9.99 month to month, $8.99 per month for six months or $7.99 per month for a one-year subscription.

For more information or current fight news, visit ufc.com. All bouts are live and subject to change.

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Sao Paulo – Two of the greatest Brazilian fighters of all time will lead the search for the next generation of Brazilian mixed martial artists, as the UFC® and Globo announce that Anderson Silva and “Shogun” Rua will coach the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter® Brazil.

The legendary icon Silva (33-6 in professional MMA, fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil), the longest-reigning and most successful UFC champion of all time, will coach the UFC’s flagship reality competition series for the first time. He will coach against a team lead by “Shogun” Rua (22-9, also fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil), the highly decorated striker and UFC light heavyweight champion. In this season’s format, the two coaches will not fight each other at the conclusion of the series.

Nearly 600 lightweight and bantamweight hopefuls attended TUF® Brazil 4 try-outs, which took place on October 27 in Rio de Janeiro.

UFC President Dana White said: “A lot of people were worried we’d never see Anderson Silva back in the UFC. But, not only is he back in the Octagon on January 31 at UFC 183, he’s coaching TUF for the very first time. Anderson Silva is as committed to the UFC and the sport of mixed martial arts than he’s ever been, and I cannot wait to see one of the greatest of all time pass his knowledge on to a new generation of Brazilian fighters.

“And if there’s any Brazilian fighter who can go up against Anderson as a coach, it’s Shogun. Shogun Rua has done everything in the sport and if he trains his team to fight in the same attacking style he’s always used, Anderson’s team is in for one hell of a season.”

After three hugely successful seasons filmed in Brazil, the action will now shift to Las Vegas, as the 16 finalists will be flown to live, train and compete in the fight capital of the world early in the New Year. The reality show will continue under the creative direction of legendary Brazilian TV producer Boninho, who promises the change of location will be one of many exciting innovations for the fourth season.

“Once again, The Ultimate Fighter Brazil was designed and developed by the great partnership between Globo and the UFC,” Boninho said. “We’ve come up with some great concepts for this new season and supervised the creative execution of what I know will be another hit season.”
Silva added: “I think I can offer this next generation of Brazilian talent real insight into what it takes to succeed in the UFC. I will bring everything I know about the martial arts, and my own values of what it means to be a martial artist, to my team.”

Rua said: “To coach on The Ultimate Fighter Brazil is a dream come true, and an opportunity I wanted for a long time. To have my team compete against a team coached by a legend and former training partner like Anderson Silva makes it even better! Me and Anderson go a long way, training together back when we were both aiming to be stars, and to do this with him now on the biggest platform and having a chance to show people what MMA is really about is just amazing! I look forward to finding great talent and helping them become winners!”

The fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil will be available outside of Brazil on UFCFIGHTPASS.COM, the UFC’s digital streaming service, beginning in April 2015.

For more show information, bios, videos and photos, visit www.ufc.com/tuf/ and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @UltimateFighter or on Facebook.com/TUF.

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About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Las Vegas, NV – With the historic season of The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned in full swing, the 16 fighters vying for the opportunity to be the first UFC female 115-pound champion have shown the world they are both strong and beautiful, inside and out. Each has pushed herself to peak athleticism – prepared for any battle.

One opponent however, doesn’t care about strength, fitness or mental determination. Breast cancer will affect one in eight women in their lifetime and, despite the cast of The Ultimate Fighter being at the top of their physical prowess, they are still susceptible to the disease. Like preparing for a fight, knowledge and awareness of what you are up against can provide a critical advantage.

In conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness month, the all-women cast of The Ultimate Fighter took time away from their training to better understand the disease and how methods for early detection can make all the difference in the fight.

The fighters spent an afternoon with Dr. Margaret Terhar MD, FACS, a breast surgeon at Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada (http://www.cccnevada.com/). She discussed symptoms and signs, early detection methods, and preventative measures that all women should know and practice.

Learn along with the cast members as they hear from Dr. Terhar: http://youtu.be/4mwjB7Qt8R4

“It was an honor and I found it inspirational to interact with the highly motivated and well-informed young athletes participating in The Ultimate Fighter,” said Dr. Terhar. “As women achieve greater visibility in the world of sports and particularly the UFC, it is the perfect opportunity for them to help spread the word about good health habits.

“It is important for women at any age to conduct a regular breast self-exam and to be aware of any irregular lumps, textures or color that may be symptoms of breast cancer. Not only do these women literally fight to be at the top of their game, but they have an incredible platform to promote breast cancer awareness and help save lives.”

For The Ultimate Fighter coach and current UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, the conversation on breast cancer is personal.

“Breast cancer is definitely something to be aware of,” said Pettis. “A student of mine found out she had breast cancer. I saw the process and how much it affects individuals and their families. It’s important that these ladies be aware and alert that it could possibly happen to them.”

Cast member Emily Kagan valued the reminder that the disease can affect anyone: “The fact that I am susceptible and so are the other women in my life was eye-opening and educational. More so, in the sense of being reminded that this is a reality.”

The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned returns tonight at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. In episode five, an injury forces one of the fighters out of the competition, and opens the door for another to get a second chance in the tournament. The Team Melendez fighters question the severity of Heather Clark’s nagging knee injury. Additionally, the storied rivalry between No.6 seed Felice Herrig of Team Pettis and No.11 seed Heather Clark finally comes to a head, as they face off in the fifth preliminary fight.

For more show information, bios, videos and photos, visit ultimatefighter.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @UltimateFighter or on Facebook.com/TUF.

For further details on the fight against breast cancer, visit www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/breast.

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About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Mexico City, Mexico – The UFC® announced today that UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez suffered a right knee injury during training and was forced to withdraw from his championship fight against No.1 contender Fabricio Werdum in Mexico City on November 15.

As a result, No.4 heavyweight Mark Hunt (10-8-1 in professional MMA, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand), who is coming off a walk-off knockout against the iron-chinned Roy Nelson in Tokyo in September (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGunUlEd50A), will face Werdum (18-5-1, fighting out of Los Angeles via Porto Alegre, Brazil) in the five-round main event for the interim UFC heavyweight title.

“I’m so unbelievably disappointed that this happened,” Velasquez said. “To say I was looking forward to fighting in Mexico for the first time is an understatement. I wanted to fight on that card so bad. Looks like it wasn’t meant to be and it’s not going to happen. I’m going to get my [right] knee fixed and get back to training as soon as I can. I’m sorry to the fans in Mexico who were expecting this fight, and I hope to be able to come down and still be a part of this historic event.”

For Werdum, it was never about Cain, it was always about the title.

“I’m ready for whatever comes. I have been training in Mexico for nearly two months and accept the challenge that is presented to me. I’ll continue to prepare and will arrive ready to fight on behalf of all my Latin American fans,” said Werdum.

Mark Hunt, never one to shy away from a big opportunity, wasted no time accepting a dream opportunity to fight for UFC gold.

“I feel blessed to have this opportunity to fight for another world title. This is something that doesn’t happen often to people. First K1 and now UFC – how can I say no, even though it’s on short notice? I’m dropping everything and flying to Mexico tomorrow so I can best prepare myself for this fight. I have to get into shape and acclimatize to that environment, which is really important.

“There’s nothing to lose when you’re competing against the best at the top level,” Hunt added.

UFC 180: WERDUM vs. HUNT scheduled for November 15 at the Arena Mexico City, sold-out in only eight hours, and will welcome more than 20,000 fans. Along with the explosive main event, fans will also be treated to six other bouts featuring Latin American contenders.

For more information visit www.ufcnetwork.com. All bouts are live and subject to change.

UFC ticket refund policy
Due to causes beyond our company’s control, there has been a change in the main event of UFC 180 and Cain Velasquez will no longer be participating. For customers who wish to request a refund the times to do so will be from October 28 to November 7, 2014, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CT.

For purchases made with a credit card and/or debit card, please go to the Arena Ciudad de Mexico box office with the following documents:
* Card with which the purchase was made. Original and copy
* Official identification. Original and Copy
* Tickets.

For purchases made in CASH, OXXO, ELEKTRA, PALACIO DE HIERRO’s CARD through Superboletos, reimbursements will be made at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico box office only from October 28 to November 7, 2014, please submit:
* Tickets.
* Official identification. Original and Copy

Foreign clients
For customers who are requesting a foreign refund, you must send your scanned tickets to the following e-mail address: reembolsos@superboletos.com with the title “UFC refund”, submitting the following:
* Tickets
* Official identification. Copy
* Card with the purchase I make (if applicable, Copy)

Once the documents are sent, the actual tickets must be mailed to our offices in Monterrey and we will provide a reply to the e-mail in which we receive the documents. The dates for this are from October 28 to November 7, 2014.

If you purchased with cash you must also attach the card to which you want us to make the deposit, if the purchase was made through credit/debit card the refund should appear on your balance within 25 to 30 working days from when the paperwork is received. Service charge is not refundable.

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About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Las Vegas – The UFC® announced that the groundbreaking season of The Ultimate Fighter®: A Champion Will Be Crowned will come to an explosive finish in the season finale on Friday, Dec. 12 at Palms Casino Resort. The two finalists will battle it out to become the inaugural UFC 115-pound champion in the five-round main event.

As the latest installment of the UFC’s signature reality series, The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned launched the UFC women’s strawweight division, and showcased 16 of the world’s best 115-pound female mixed martial artists as they fought to capture the first-ever strawweight crown. The winner of this season, to be decided on the finale show, will emerge as a trailblazer in women’s MMA and follow in the footsteps of current UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

In addition to a world title fight, powerful striker (No.10) Jeremy Stephens (23-9, fighting out of San Diego, Calif. by way of Des Moines, Iowa) will take on 14th-ranked featherweight Charles Oliveira (18-4, 1NC, fighting out of Houston, Texas by way of Sao Paulo, Brazil) in the co-main event.

Coming off a 30-second win over Sam Stout at The Ultimate Fighter® finale in April, former STRIKEFORCE® veteran K.J. Noons (12-6, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.) returns to face The Ultimate Fighter season 15 alumnus Daron Cruickshank (16-5, fighting out of Detroit, Mich.). Plus, fellow season 15 standout Joe Proctor (10-2, fighting out of Bridgewater, Mass.) looks for a third straight win when he meets the always dangerous Yancy Medeiros (10-2, 1 NC, fighting out of Honolulu, Hawaii) in a 155-pound scrap. Additional bouts to be announced, and will include a collection of women’s strawweight fights.

The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. This week, in episode five, an injury forces one of the fighters out of the competition, and opens the door for another to get a second chance in the tournament. The Team Melendez fighters question the severity of Heather Clark’s nagging knee injury. And the storied rivalry between No.6 seed Felice Herrig of Team Pettis and No.11 seed Heather Clark finally comes to a head, as they face off in the fifth preliminary fight.

The Ultimate Fighter® Finale will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Friday, December 12, with the prelims kicking off the evening on FOX Sports 1 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Tickets for The Ultimate Fighter® Finale go on sale Friday, Oct. 24 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $300, $175 and $85. Tickets will be available at the Pearl Concert Theater Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800)745-3000 or on the web at www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.

UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 10 a.m. PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, Oct. 23 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

DENVER, CO – UFC® returns to movie theaters nationwide on Sat., Nov. 15 at 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT, as Fathom Events and UFC bring UFC® 180: VELASQUEZ vs. WERDUM, the UFC’s first-ever event in Mexico, to the big screen. Fans will have a front-row Octagon® view of all the action when heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez collides with no.1 contender Fabricio Werdum in the five-round main event on Nov. 15. Broadcast live from the sold-out Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, audiences will witness the culmination of 12 weeks of rivalry and competition built up between these two heavyweight coaches on The Ultimate Fighter® Latin America, the UFC’s famed reality television series.

Tickets to watch UFC® 180: VELASQUEZ vs. WERDUM on the big screen are available at participating theater box offices and at www.FathomEvents.com. The event will be presented in more than 400 select movie theaters around the country through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

“UFC 180 is a historic event and fans in theaters nationwide will be treated to the ultimate, front-row Octagon experience as Velasquez and Werdum battle for the title on the big screen,” said Dan Diamond, senior vice president of Fathom Events.

UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez (13-1 in his professional career, fighting out of San Jose, Calif.), an agile and explosive heavyweight with a strong wrestling base, is currently the only heavyweight titleholder of Mexican descent in combat sports around the world. Often referred to as “the baddest man on the planet,” he is widely considered the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time thanks to career wins over former champions Minotauro Nogueira, Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos as well as Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.

No.1 contender Fabricio Werdum (17-5-1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif. by way of of Porto Alegre, Brazil) is currently on a four-fight win streak that includes victories over fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Minotauro Nogueira, Fedor Emelianenko, Roy Nelson, and most recently, Travis Browne. A two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, he is also known as a technical fighter with heavy hands. Outside of the Octagon, Werdum is seen across Latin America every week hosting the UFC Network™’s weekly magazine show, UFC® Ahora.

Additionally, seventh-ranked Jake Ellenberger (29-8, fighting out of Lake Forrest, Calif. by way of Omaha, Neb.) goes up against no.11 Kelvin Gastelum (10-0, fighting out of Yuma, Ariz.) in a welterweight showdown. Ellenberger, a former Marine and NCAA wrestler, will bring his grit and knockout power to the Octagon against the undefeated winner of the 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Other bouts for UFC® 180 include:

· The Ultimate Fighter winner Diego Sanchez (27-7, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) and Joe Lauzon (24-10, fighting out of Bridgewater, Mass.) will collide in a lightweight battle.

· No. 4 ranked, Ricardo Lamas (14-3, fighting out of Chicago, Ill.) will meet Dennis Bermudez (15-3, fighting out of Lindenhurst, N.Y.) in a featherweight showdown that could have title implications.

· Augusto “Dodger” Montano (13-1, fighting out of Mexico City, Mexico), the newest Mexican fighter signed to the organization will make his UFC debut against Chris Heatherly (8-2, 1 NC, fighting out of Cahokia, Ill.), who is unbeaten in four of his last five fights.

For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts are live and subject to change.

About Fathom Events

Fathom Events is owned by a newly formed entity called AC JV, LLC. Fathom is the recognized leader in the alternative entertainment industry, offering a variety of one-of-a-kind entertainment events in movie theaters nationwide that include live, high-definition performances of the Metropolitan Opera, the performing arts, major sporting events, music concerts, comedy series, Broadway shows, original programming featuring entertainment’s biggest stars, socially relevant documentaries with audience Q&A and much more. Additionally, Fathom events take audiences behind-the-scenes and offer unique extras – creating the ultimate entertainment experience for fans of all ages. Co-owned by the three largest movie theater circuits in the United States, AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), Fathom’s live digital broadcast network (“DBN”) is the largest cinema broadcast network in North America, bringing live events to more than 750 locations in 171 Designated Market Areas® (including all of the top 50). For more information, visit www.fathomevents.com.

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT™ (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, Octagon™ branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Las Vegas, Nev. – The UFC® is calling all fans, artists and designers to show off their creativity and submit a design that will be worn by UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey as her Walkout T-shirt at her next fight. The UFC and Rousey are looking for a creative, unique design that showcases her personality. There is no cost to enter and entries must be received by Friday, Oct. 31.

In addition to Rousey wearing the T-shirt, the winning designer will also receive The Ultimate UFC Pack, which includes a limited edition, custom-made EA SPORTS™ UFC® Octagon Kit autographed by Rousey, Monster UFC Octagon™ Headphones and Earbuds, and T-shirts printed with the winning design. The EA SPORTS UFC Octagon Kit includes a custom skinned Sony PlayStation® 4 console and two controllers, a copy of EA SPORTS UFC and a pair of Century UFC fight gloves.

“I’m excited to see all of the designs from our fans,” said Rousey. “Walkout T-shirts are an expression of the fighter and this contest gives one lucky designer the opportunity to be represented as part of the fight night.”

Rousey (10-0, fighting out of Venice, Calif.) has dominated the female sports world over the past few years. She broke through MMA’s glass ceiling and became the youngest Judoka contestant (at 17 years old) to enter the Olympic Games in Athens winning a bronze medal. Her move to mainstream spotlight followed after she became the first female fighter to sign a contract with the UFC. Since then she has appeared on covers of magazines including ESPN’s “The Body Issue” and Maxim. She coached the 18th season of the UFC’s reality television show The Ultimate Fighter® and crossed over into the world of Hollywood with roles in “The Expendables 3,” “Fast & Furious 7,” and the upcoming “Entourage” movie. Rousey has finished all her opponents inside the Octagon and the 16-second knockout victory at UFC 175 in July marked the third time she finished an opponent in under 30 seconds. Seven out of her 10 career victories have occurred in under a minute.

Anyone interested in participating in the contest should submit designs online at www.UFC.com/RondaTee during the contest period. The designs must be original and include the UFC logo and name “Ronda ‘Rowdy’ Rousey” or “’Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey.” Entries should be designed at 300 dpi or be in vector format and saved for web as a 1200 x 1200 JPEG file. For complete details and official rules, visit www.UFC.com/RondaTee. Contest ends Oct. 31, 2014. No purchase necessary.

The winning design will be announced in Nov. 2014 and will be worn by Rousey at her next fight.

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT™ (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

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*EA SPORTS and SSX are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. and its subsidiaries. Madden, NFL, FIFA, NHL, NBA, UFC, and PGA TOUR are the property of their respective owners and used with permission. “PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Las Vegas – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® announced that its first live event in Phoenix, on Saturday, Dec. 13 at US Airways Center, will be headlined by a pivotal heavyweight clash between former UFC® heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos and fourth-ranked Stipe Miocic. The event will also feature at least five competitors with Arizona ties.

One of the best heavyweights in UFC history, No. 2 contender Dos Santos (16-3, fighting out of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil) returns to the Octagon® for the first time since the final fight in his trilogy of bouts with current champion Cain Velasquez. Miocic (12-1, fighting out of Cleveland, Ohio), with consecutive wins over top contenders Roy Nelson, Gabriel Gonzaga and, most recently, Fabio Maldonado, is one of the hottest names in the division, and he hopes to keep his momentum going by taking the next step toward a shot at the heavyweight title.

In the co-main event, fiery lightweight Nate Diaz (18-9, fighting out of Stockton, Calif.) makes his highly anticipated return against third-ranked Rafael Dos Anjos (22-7, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). After a near 13-month hiatus, Diaz looks to reestablish himself as a top contender in the 155-pound division. Beating Dos Anjos will be no easy feat, as the Brazilian standout boasts a two-fight win streak that includes a stunning first-round knockout of former lightweight champion Benson Henderson.

Plus, former STRIKEFORCE® heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem (37-14, 1NC, fighting out of Amsterdam, The Netherlands) faces 6’11” contender Stefan Struve (29-6, fighting out of Beverwijk, The Netherlands) in a hard-hitting heavyweight bout. Struve has won four out of his last five, with victories over Miocic, Lavar Johnson, Dave Herman and Pat Barry.

The Phoenix card will also feature former title challenger and longtime UFC veteran (No. 12) Gabriel Gonzaga (16-8, fighting out of Ludlow, Mass.) taking on surging former NFL player Matt Mitrione (8-3, fighting out of Indianapolis, Ind.). In addition, former Arizona State University NCAA Division I wrestler John Moraga (15-3, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.) meets fourth-ranked contender Jussier Formiga (17-3, fighting out of Natal, Brazil.) in the flyweight division.

Additional bouts include:
Phoenix native Joe Riggs (28-9, fighting out of Glendale, Ariz.) returns to the UFC after eight years against veteran Ben Saunders (17-6-2, fighting out of Orlando, Fla.) in a welterweight bout.
Former WEC® lightweight champion Jamie Varner (21-10-1, 2NC, fighting out of Scottsdale, Ariz.) meets The Ultimate Fighter season 15 contestant Drew Dober (14-6, fighting out of Omaha, Neb.).
The Ultimate Fighter season 3 finalist Ed Herman (22-9, 1 NC, fighting out of Fort Collins, Colo.) faces rising middleweight star Derek Brunson (11-3, fighting out of Wilmington, N.C.).
In the lightweight division, Joe Ellenberger (15-1, fighting out of Omaha, Neb.) takes on UFC newcomer Bryan Barberena (9-2, fighting out of Glendale, Ariz.).
Plus, Anthony Birchak (11-1, fighting out of Tucson, Ariz.) and Ian Entwistle (8-2, fighting out of Phuket, Thailand.) will square off in a bantamweight bout.

Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT™: DOS SANTOS vs. MIOCIC go on sale Friday, Oct. 10 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $200, $150, $100, $75, $50 and $40. Tickets will be available at the US Airways Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or on the web at www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.

UFC Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, Oct. 9 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT: DOS SANTOS vs. MIOCIC will be available live on FOX at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Saturday, Dec. 13, with prelims kicking off on FOX Sports 1 at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Beijing, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT™ (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, Octagon™ branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Demetrious Johnson 124 1/2 – Chris Cariaso 124 1/2
(UFC FLYWEIGHT TITLE)
Eddie Alvarez 155 – Donald Cerrone 155
Connor McGregor 146 – Dustin Poirier 145 1/2
Tim Kennedy 185 – Yoel Romero 185
Cat Zingano 135 – Amanda Nunes 135
Dominick Cruz 134 – Takeya Mizugaki 136
James Krause 155 – Jorge Masvidal 155
Patrick Cote 170 1/2 – Stephen Thompson 170
Brian Ebersole 170 1/2 – John Howard 170
Jon Tuck 155 – Kevin Lee 155 1/2
Manvel Gamburyan 135 1/2 – Cody Gibson 135 1/2

Las Vegas – UFCFIGHTPASS.com’s biggest month so far, dubbed the stacked September streamathon, concludes this Saturday with two evenly-matched Fight Pass Prelims, which kick-start the huge UFC 178 event.

There have been exclusively live fights every single Saturday this month on UFC FIGHT PASS, the UFC’s digital streaming service. The action began with the inaugural live stream of Invicta FC on September 6, where “The Karate Hottie” Michelle Waterson blitzed challenger Yasuko Tamada in an Invicta atomweight title fight.

Then, in an exclusive UFC FIGHT NIGHT from Brazil, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski completed his fairytale comeback by knocking out two-time title challenger Bigfoot Silva in the very first round on September 13. And, last week, in what many believe to be the best action card of the year so far, UFC FIGHT NIGHT JAPAN saw Mark Hunt stun Roy Nelson in an another exclusive UFCFIGHTPASS.com card.

All these cards are available on-demand right now on UFC FIGHT PASS, but the action continues this Saturday from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, as the opening fights of the night will be available exclusively live on UFC FIGHT PASS.

First, two lightweights with big ambitions collide when BJJ wizard Jon Tuck takes on the rising force of 22-year-old Kevin Lee. Both men have identically impressive 8-1 MMA career records and are coming off victories inside the Octagon.

Lee said: “We’re both 8-1, we are both coming up. One of us is going to keep coming up, and one of us is going back down. This is a huge fight for me. Not only am I here to prove I’m a contender, I’m here to prove I am a future champion. I want to really impress the fans, start to get the fans excited to see me fight, start the process of breaking out of the pack, and go from there.”

And in the opening fight of the night veteran Manny Gamburyan, 13-8-0 1NC, takes on Cody Gibson, 12-4, in a bantamweight fight neither man can afford to lose.

Gibson, 27, was a high school wrestling standout who, by his own admission, squandered the chance to become a Division I wrestler when he got to Menlo College back in the day.

He said: “I have to be honest; I beat up T.J. Dillashaw in my freshman year of college wrestling. Beat him up. I was right there; I could have really done something in wrestling. I could have competed at the Division I level, no question, but I was a dumb kid and I was having too much fun playing beer pong and partying. I regret a lot about my college days and am trying to make up for that now.”

Having quit his job as a school teacher to focus on MMA full time, Gibson has promised to make up for lost time, starting with the UFC FIGHT PASS fight vs veteran Gamburyan.

He said: “I’m fighting an Ultimate Fighter veteran and just feel fortunate to have another opportunity to prove to people what I can do against a name like him. He’s definitely the biggest name I’ve ever fought, but that doesn’t scare me or intimidate me. If I can put his name on the list of people I’ve beaten, it’s going to be a feather in my cap and catapult me to new heights in this division.”

But Gamburyan said: “He’s a good fighter but he’s not got anything I’ve not seen before at this stage of my career. I’m very experienced now, and I’ve trained very hard for this fight. I know that you can’t take any fight for granted, that doesn’t exist at this level, and Gibson is a very well rounded fighter. I’m here for a tough night.”

UFC FIGHT PASS is available now at UFCFIGHTPASS.com on personal computers, iPad, iPhone, Chromecast, Android, Samsung, LG Smart TV and Roku. Subscriptions are $9.99 month to month, $8.99 per month for six months or $7.99 per month for a one-year subscription.

All bouts live and subject to change.

Las Vegas, Nev. – The UFC® announced its popular International Fight Week will return to Las Vegas July 7-12, 2015. Since its inception, UFC International Fight Week™ has increased in size and activities, quickly establishing itself as the world’s largest mixed martial arts celebration. The weeklong festival provides high-energy, all-star entertainment that the UFC is known to deliver and includes diverse events around town providing something for everyone.

Signature events such as UFC Fan Expo, an Official Pool Party with Octagon Girls®, a free concert and Open Workouts will headline the weeklong schedule, with newer events such as Charity Bowling, and the Ulti-man® 5K Run making their return. Many of the hottest locations around town including Brooklyn Bowl, The Venetian® and The Palazzo® Las Vegas, Fremont Street Experience, LIQUID Pool at Aria and El Cortez Hotel and Casino will host special UFC-themed events. In addition, several new amateur and youth combat sport tournaments will make their debut in Las Vegas during 2015 UFC International Fight Week. The celebration will culminate with a weekend of action-packed fights, including UFC 189 on July 11.

The 2014 UFC International Fight Week drew nearly 70,000 fans of all ages and featured interactive experiences with more than 100 UFC athletes, Octagon Girls, talent and industry icons. Amateur athletes from 20 different countries also competed in tournaments, including the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation’s first World Championships for Amateur MMA.

Innovative auctions and unique fan experiences raised thousands of dollars over the week for the UFC Community Works program which benefited Three Square Food Bank, One Drop, Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada and The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada. Fans bid on the opportunity to bowl or sightsee with fighters, ran side-by-side with the stars at the fund-raising 5k, and took home original creations at “The Art of Fighting” art exhibit and auction. In addition, UFC fighters and Octagon Girls taught a free self-defense class at The Center and visited both the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada and Sunrise Children’s Hospital during this special week.

More details and the official 2015 schedule will be released in the coming months, and updates can be found at www.ufcfightweek.com as well as by following UFC International Fight Week on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@UFCFightWeek).

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT™ (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, Octagon™ branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Las Vegas – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® announced today that middleweight champion Chris Weidman has suffered a hand injury in training and has been forced out of his fight with Vitor Belfort on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas. The fight will be rescheduled to a later date.

As a result, UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks will take on No. 1 contender Robbie Lawler in the main event of UFC 181 on Dec. 6 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The fight will serve as a rematch to their hotly-contested title fight in March, a bout narrowly won by Hendricks.

UFC 181 will be co-headlined by the lightweight title bout between champion Anthony Pettis and top contender Gilbert Melendez.

Hendricks, Lawler, Pettis and Melendez will take part in a press conference this Friday at 2 p.m. at the MGM Grand’s Premier Ballroom. The press conference is free and open to the public.

Tickets for UFC® 181: HENDRICKS vs. LAWLER II, presented by MetroPCS®, go on sale Friday, September 26 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $1,000, $750, $550, $400, $250 and $125 (prices do not include applicable service charges). Tickets are available for purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000, and the Mandalay Bay Events Center box office. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.

UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, September 24 at 10 a.m. PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, September 25 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC®181: HENDRICKS vs. LAWLER II will be available live on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, and in Canada on BellTV, Shaw Communications, Sasktel and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.99 US/$49.99 CAN for Standard Definition and $54.99 US/$59.99 CAN for High -Definition.

For more information, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Beijing, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in over 145 countries to 800+ million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT™ (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, Octagon™ branded apparel, best-selling DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit www.UFC.com and follow UFC at www.Facebook.com/UFC and on Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Las Vegas, Nevada – Two of the biggest, baddest men on the planet will finally throwdown this Saturday, as Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson collide atop of perhaps the most stacked UFC FIGHT PASS card thus far.

Hunt vs Nelson leads the UFC FIGHT NIGHT: JAPAN card which also features the undefeated lightweight Myles Jury taking on the legendary “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi, former women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate taking on unbeaten newcomer Rin Nakai plus the return of both Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama and Ultimate Fighter winner Amir Sadollah in welterweight clash.

Fans around the world can catch the action live – and then on-demand – on UFCFIGHTPASS.com, the UFC’s digital streaming service.

MARK HUNT ON FIGHTING ROY NELSON: “I’m looking forward to fighting Roy. He’s one of the best fighters in the top 10, and this win will take me closer to a title shot. I’ve not really got a gameplan for him, other than to put a hurting on him. I’m going to put hurt on him until he can’t take no more, stops being competitive, and either blacks out or the referee tells him he can’t take no more. I can knock anyone out, that’s just the way it is. So that makes for a simple gameplan, mate. I’m going in big and I’m going to knock his head off.”

MARK HUNT ON FIGHTING IN JAPAN: “I was working in a factory in Australia when I first got the chance to fight in kickboxing in Japan. I was paid $40,000, which was more than I’d make in over six months in the factory. I was like “Wow! This Japan is a pretty nice place!” And I had some success in kickboxing and then MMA, and the paydays just kept going up. Fighting in Japan changed my whole life. I’ll never forget the opportunities I had here and what the fans gave me. There’s still things I want to achieve in MMA, winning the UFC title, and I will put on a great show for these fans on Saturday.”

ROY NELSON ON FIGHTING MARK HUNT: “I respect Mark a lot, he’s got huge power and a great chin, and next to a title fight, this is the most exciting fight there is for me. I know the fans have been calling for this one for a long time. I’m actually surprised we haven’t fought already, but it is happening now and I’m almost as excited as the fans are for this.”

NELSON ON HUNT’S ‘HOMETOWN ADVANTAGE’: “Yeah, Hunt has a lot of fans here in Japan and probably knows a few people and places where he can get good food, things like that, but I just fought Big Nog (Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira) in Abu Dhabi (April 11) and he literally had his own gym out there, he had a place to stay, and once the fight started none of that mattered. I still knocked him out.”

NELSON ON WHETHER HE NEEDS TO TAKE THIS TO THE GROUND: “Yeah, I can wrestle, I can use submissions, but if I am honest I’m only interested in having a war with Mark and knocking him out. I haven’t done that (go in with a submission-based game plan) in eight, nine years. I prefer to knock people out. Mark has power and a good chin, too, so why would I want to make this a technical fight? The two big guys are going to throw punches – and let’s see what happens. What’s more exciting than that?”

TAKANORI GOMI ON BECOMING A VETERAN: “I want to get into the top 10 again and show the fans I am still a top fighter. I never think about the age difference, I only think about how I match up with other fighters. I was a kid fighting people my age once, and now I am the older one and it is me who is fighting the younger athletes. It doesn’t matter, age, the only thing that matters is who is the better fighter on the night.”

GOMI ON WHAT KEEPS HIM FIGHTING: “I am not thinking about retirement, I am thinking about winning the UFC title. I coach the next generation of fighters in Japan, but right now I am a fighter not a coach. I still have the UFC title (in my sights) and this fight will get me into the top 10 and I will go forward from there.”

MYLES JURY ON FACING A LEGEND: “I was a huge Gomi fan when I was a kid in high school. He’s a legend and this is a great opportunity for me to defeat an icon of the sport. Some fighters have shown too much respect in this situation, they show too much respect when they are in the Octagon with a legend, but I’m going to treat him just like any other opponent. All the pressure is on him, he’s got a lot of weight on his shoulders fighting in front of fans who’ve supported him all these years. I can just go in there and do my thing.”

MIESHA TATE ON WHAT IS AT STAKE FOR HER: “This is the fight where I prove where I really belong in the division. I’m coming back with a vengeance. I’m coming back not just to win a fight, but to make a statement as to where I stand in the division. I want to leave a performance where fans are saying “Wow, she’s better than ever.” I’ve worked my ass off on improving my game and I can’t wait to show off what I’ve been working on. I’m going in there to finish Nakai, I won’t accept anything other than a crushing victory Saturday night.”

TATE ON NAKAI: “I’m fighting a Japanese star, she’s actually the queen of Japanese MMA, in Japan. So I know this is hostile territory. She’s not made too many mistakes in her career so far. She’s 15-0-1, and that’s hard to do no matter who you are fighting, but I think I have her on experience. I’ve fought in the other girl’s hometown before, I’ve faced better opposition, and I’ve won the world title fighting a pound-for-pounder while I had a busted knee. I’ve done all these things while (Nakai) was here in Japan having things her own way. I’m expecting a tough fight, she looks very strong and has a compact build, but I’ve been in deeper waters than she has.”

NAKAI ON HOMETOWN ADVANTAGE: “I take very seriously the (title) of being a pioneer for Japanese female MMA. I don’t want to lose in front of all the Japanese fans. I am the Queen of Pancrase and I want to defend that (title) in the UFC.”

NAKAI ON TATE’S ASSERTION SHE HASN’T FACED TOP OPPOSITION: “I don’t care about the critics, I care about winning fights. That is what I have been able to do this far. I think I can fight as well as Miesha Tate does, I think I am as good as her. And that is all that matters – the fight on Saturday. The critics aren’t part of the fight. I trained so hard to make this UFC fight happen, and I am excited for everyone who has heard only about my name or seen my videos now gets to see me fight. Of course, I want to be the Queen of the UFC (UFC champion) but I always focus on the fight in front of me, and that is Tate.”

UFC FIGHT PASS is available now at UFCFIGHTPASS.com on personal computers, iPad, iPhone, Chromecast, Android, Samsung, LG Smart TV and Roku. Subscriptions are $9.99 month to month, $8.99 per month for six months or $7.99 per month for a one-year subscription.

All bouts live and subject to change. Visit UFC.com for more information.

Las Vegas, Nev. ? Zuffa, LLC, d/b/a Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) today announced the resolution and settlement of its lawsuit against Steven Messina filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York by Zuffa, LLC’s anti-piracy counsel, Lonstein Law Office, P.C. Steven Messina, through his attorney, Michael Heitmann, confessed to his illegal behavior and apologized for his actions that resulted in the illegal sharing of UFC content. As part of the settlement, Messina was penalized by the UFC for an undisclosed amount and forced to surrender his computer hardware and software to UFC representatives. Additionally, Messina will turn over all records and information pertaining to piracy of UFC content and information related to other potential infringers. He must also cooperate with the UFC organization and law enforcement authorities in an effort to prevent others from stealing intellectual property.

When asked about the settlement, Messina said, “I apologize to the UFC for any damages incurred as a result of my actions in illegally distributing copyrighted UFC broadcasts. As a result of my confession for piracy of UFC’s protected content, I fully accept the terms of the settlement with the UFC.”

Messina also states, “I now realize the harm caused by my actions. It is my hope that I can use this difficult period as a learning experience as I move on with my life. I would also like to tell anyone pirating UFC broadcasts, either through illegal downloading or non-authorized streaming, that it is illegal and not worth the risk.”

As part of the settlement, Messina will provide details of his procedures that led to the unauthorized distribution of an estimated 200 hours of UFC content and will offer his records to the UFC to further prevent illegal usage or sharing of the company’s broadcasts.

Kirk Hendrick, UFC’s Chief Legal Officer, said, “The UFC organization is pleased with the outcome of this case and Messina’s willingness to assist the UFC’s efforts in protecting our intellectual property and broadcasts. With Messina’s apology and understanding, the UFC organization will learn more to help us continue uncovering illegal distribution of our content.”

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT™ (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, Octagon™ branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Las Vegas, Nevada – Two of the biggest punchers in the heavyweight division collide at UFC® FIGHT NIGHT BRASILIA this Saturday, and fans around the world can catch the action live and on-demand on UFCFIGHTPASS.com, the UFC’s digital streaming service.

UFC No.4 ranked heavyweight and former title challenger Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva returns to action after his fight of the year performance vs Mark Hunt last December, getting the chance to fight in his native Brazil for the very first time as a professional. Standing in the way of a storybook return for the giant is former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, who remains one of the most accomplished strikers in the division.

UFC color commentator Joe Rogan believes this rematch of a May 2010 Strikeforce fight (which you can watch now on UFC FIGHT PASS here) will be explosive.

Rogan said: “I can’t imagine this being anything other than the most insane, aggressive fight until it ends. Bigfoot Silva is one of the best heavyweights in the division. If you look at his stoppage victory over Alistair Overeem, it was one of the most devastating finishes we’ve seen in the history of the UFC. That’s what this man can do.

“In Andrei Arlovski, he’s facing a man who, at one time, was the most feared striker in the division. He was just storming through heavyweights, and if Andrei can get back to that form, if he can regain that level of performance, he can make a serious run in the UFC heavyweight division.”

For an embeddable video of Rogan’s breakdown of the main event, click here.

Fight week flash quotes from Brazil.

BIGFOOT ON – FINALLY – FIGHTING IN BRAZIL
“I’m so excited, you must understand this is actually my first professional fight in Brazil. I fought once before in Brazil on a small show but that wasn’t as a professional, no-one know who I was, and this time I have the great support of the fans, my friends and family will be there – and it is actually my birthday this week (Sunday, September 14). So I am very excited for this fight, this is almost as big a fight for me as when I fight for the UFC heavyweight belt. Winning this fight means everything to me.”

BIGFOOT ON GOING ONE BETTER THIS TIME
“Last time we fought he underestimated me and I won on points, but this time he knows I am (world class) and can beat him. He will have prepared for what I do, but I am a much better fighter than I was four years ago. I fought for the title, I have beaten fighters like Overeem, Fedor and the others. I’m a different guy now.

“He’s an awesome striker, he hits very hard, and I know he’s going to try to knock me out. But he tried that last time, and other people have tried that, too, and he won’t be able to get that done. It won’t work. He needs a plan “B” because he won’t knock me out.

“I don’t want to win on a decision this time, not fighting in Brazil in the main event. The people who come to see me will have something to celebrate with me. I will knock him out or submit him. One round or last round, I will finish him. I’m going to knock him out. I will be looking to knock him out with every strike, that I promise.”

ARLOVSKI ON NEEDING TO IMPRESS
“I didn’t fight my best and I am not happy with my performance or the fight (vs Brendan Schaub at UFC 174). I was nervous, too anxious to impress after not fighting in the UFC for so long. Now, I want to remind everyone what I am about (vs Bigfoot) and I will have the chance to do that against (Bigfoot) because he comes to fight.

“I will perform much better this Saturday. It will be an attack, attack, attack fight from both of us. I have trained very hard, worked on many aspects of my game, and I promise my fans and everyone who watches this will be a great fight. The UFC has trusted me by putting me in the main event, and I will (reward that trust). The fans won’t be disappointed, I promise.”

ARLOVSKI ON FIGHTING IN BRAZIL
“Oh, the Brazil fans are going to boo and boo me! I know they will boo and chant things at me, I expect that. They can have a good time during the walk-outs and the introductions, booing me then, but I will shut them up in the first round. If there’s one guy cheering for me in the entire building, you will hear him loud, because Bigfoot’s fans will be quiet once the fight starts. They will have nothing to cheer about after the first round.”

ARLOVSKI ON GETTING REVENGE OVER BIGFOOT
“We fought four years ago and I lost by decision. I am excited to get the chance at the rematch. I will knock him out, and then I won’t hear about the first fight again. He says he will knock me out. He said that and good luck, because that won’t happen.”

ARLOVSKI ON WHAT HE CAN DO IN THE UFC
“I still feel young, I have energy and power. Now I am with Greg Jackson I still feel like I am improving as a fighter and that I can be a (factor) in the UFC heavyweight division. Bigfoot is ranked in the top five, and this is a huge chance for me to prove everything I am talking about. I need to get that knockout, I need that finish and I will go after it in the Octagon.”

UFC FIGHT PASS is available now at UFCFIGHTPASS.com on personal computers, iPad, iPhone, Chromecast, Android, Samsung, LG Smart TV and Roku. Subscriptions are $9.99 month to month, $8.99 per month for six months or $7.99 per month for a one-year subscription.

All bouts live and subject to change. Visit UFC.com for more information.

Jacare Souza made Gegard Mousasi tap out in round three of their scheduled 5-round Middleweight bout which headlines UFC Fight Night 50 at the Foxwoods Casino in Mashentucket, Connecticut.

Souza was dominant in taking down and staying on top of Mousasi until he got him in a choke and Mousasi tapped at 4:30 of round three.

Souza, 185 lbs is now 21-3-1. Mousasi, 186 lbs is 35-5-2.

Ben Rothwell scored a 1st round stoppage over big favorite Alistair Overeem in a Heavyweight bout.

Rothwell landed a big right to the head that put Overeem on the canvas. Rothwell landed several shots while Overeem was prone on the mat and the fight was stopped at 2:19 of round one.

Rothwell, 264 lbs of Kenosha, WI is now 34-9. Overeem, 248 lbs of Amsterdam, Netherlands is 37-14-1.

Matt Mitrione scored a 1st round stoppage over Derrick Lewis in a Heavyweight fight.

Lewis and Mitrione collided but Mitrione’s right hand won that battle and it sent Lewis to the deck and Mitrione pounded on Lewis and landed some hard shots before the fight was stopped at 41 seconds of the 1st round.

Mitrione, 255 lbs of Indianapolis, IN is now 8-3. Lewis, 264 lbs of Houston, TX is 11-3-1.

Joe Louzan scored a 2nd round stoppage over Michael Chiesa in a Lightweight bout.

It was a bout full of action until Chiesa was cut iver the right eye and the fight was stopped at 2:14 of round two

John Moraga scored a 2nd round tap out over Justin Scoggins in a Flyweight bout.

The time of the stoppage was 47 seconds of round two due to a guillotine choke.

Moraga, 126 lbs is now 15-3. Scoggins, 126 lbs of Spartenberg, SC is now 9-2.

Al Iaquinta scored a 3rd round stoppage over Rodrigo Dann in a Ligtweight bout.

Iaquinta landed a booming right hand that dropped Dann. Dann got up but ate some hard shots that drove him into the cage and was dropped again and the fight was stopped at 2:41 of round three.

Iaquinta, 155 lbs of Wantagh, New York is now 9-3-1. Dann, 156 lbs of Brazil is 12-8.

Rafael Natal scored a 3-round split decision over Chris Camozzi in a Middleweight bout.

Natal, 185 lbs of New York, NY won two cards 29-28 twice while Carmozzi, 186 lbs of Lakewood, CO won a card 29-8.

Natal is now 18-6-1. Camozzi is 19-9.

Chris Beal remained perfect with a 3-round unanimous decision over Tateki Matsuda in a Bantamweight bout.

Beal cut Matsuda over the left eye with an elbow in the 1st round.

Beal, 135 lbs of Ventura, CA won by scores of 30-27 and 29-28 twice and is now 10-0. Matsuda, 135 lbs of Somerville, MA is now 10-6.

Chas Skelly scored a 3-round unanimous decision over Sean Soriano in a Featherweight bout.

Skelly, 145 lbs of Arlington, TX won by scores of 30-27 on all cards is now 13-1. Soriano, 145 lbs of Boca Raton. FL is now 8-2.