CES vet Matsuda makes UFC debut Friday

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Sept. 4th, 2014) — CES MMA just paved the way for another UFC-bound fighter from the northeast.

Tateki Matsuda, the Japanese-born bantamweight who now lives and trains in Boston, will make his Ultimate Fighting Championships debut in place of the injured Dustin Kimura Friday, Sept. 5th at UFC Fight Night 50 live on Fox Sports 1 at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

The 28-year-old Matsuda (10-5, 4 KOs) will face 9-0 Chris Beal. Matsuda recently defeated Robbie Leroux by submission on CES MMA’s network television debut on AXS TV in August. Long considered one of the top bantamweights in the region, Matsuda had lost his previous two bouts and had fallen off the radar in the northeast until he beat Matt Doherty at CES MMA XXIII in April, joining John “Doomsday” Howard and Rob Font on the list of fighters who punched their ticket to the UFC through the promotional guidance of CES.

“I would sincerely like to thank CES MMA, New England’s premier MMA organization,” Matsuda said. “Since I started working with CES, they’ve kept me busy and took care of me very well.

“I’m not a ‘cost-effective’ fighter because I have no family and friends locally, so I don’t sell tickets as much as other fighters. However, CES brought me fights and promoted me the same as other local fighters. CES produces so many tough fighters. It’s a gateway to the next level. I’m glad to be one of them.”

Matsuda competed on Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter reality television series in 2011, but was eliminated in the preliminary round. He also fought for CES MMA in 2010, defeating Jason Bennett by unanimous decision. His opponent Sept. 5th, the undefeated Beal, is also a TUF alum (Season 18) who won his UFC debut in April.

“I couldn’t be happier for Tateki,” said Matsuda’s manager, Tyson Chartier, of Sityodtong in Boston. “He’s easily one of the hardest-working fighters that I manage. He’s a great teammate, fighter, and, more importantly, an amazing person.

“When I began managing Tateki I asked him what his goal was and he said, ‘To fight in the UFC.’ We sat down with [head trainer Mark DellaGrotte] and put together a plan of how to get him there. A big part of that plan was to leverage the marketing machine that is CES. We felt that was the best platform to help Tateki accomplish his goal. Fast forward a few months and he’s coming off two impressive wins with them, his last being live on AXS TV a few weeks back. He’s on a roll right now and in a good place mentally, so when the call came to step in on nine days’ notice to make his UFC debut, we didn’t hesitate to say yes.”

Visit www.cesmma.com for more information, follow CES MMA on Twitter at @CESMMA and Instagram at CESMMA, or “like” CES MMA on Facebook.

LIVE INVICTA FC CARD KICKS-OFF BIGGEST MONTH YET ON UFCFIGHTPASS.com

The stacked September of exclusively live fights on UFCFIGHTPASS.com begins this Saturday, with the inaugural Invicta FC event live and on-demand from Kansas City.

The Invicta FC 8 event is headlined by Invicta atomweight champion Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson defending her title against Japanese challenger Yasuko Tamada, while the fight for the vacant strawweight belt between Stephanie Eggink and Katja Kankaanpää co-mains the 10-fight card.

To celebrate the first non-UFC event being streamed live on UFC FIGHT PASS, the UFC has made two UFC FIGHT PASS original programs available on YouTube for embedding purposes.

First, Invicta 105lbs champ Waterson sits down with Megan Olivi and answers some “Rapid Fire” questions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b05ZpLb3S0

then “The Karate Hottie” gives a first-person narrative on why she’s even a MMA fighter at all in “Why I Fight”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dNdZ6mWp1U

And the inaugural live Invicta event this weekend is just the start of the biggest month yet for the UFC’s digital streaming service. On September 13, the UFC FIGHT PASS cameras are in Brasilia, Brazil, for the big rematch between former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski and former No.1 contender Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.

Then, one week later, on September 20, UFC FIGHT PASS will feature a third exclusively live event in as many weeks when the UFC Octagon lands in Japan, for a loaded card featuring Mark Hunt vs Roy Nelson, Myles Jury vs the legendary Takanori Gomi, former women’s champ Miesha Tate vs unbeaten newcomer Rin Nakai and Yoshihiro Akiyama vs Amir Sadollah.

Finally, UFC FIGHT PASS will be the only place to see the opening prelims of UFC 178 on September 27, where Manny Gamburyan collides with Cody Gibson and Jon Tuck takes on Kevin Lee.

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.

UFC Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Las Vegas, NV – The UFC® announced today the launch of a nationwide celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month featuring top Hispanic UFC stars. UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and The Ultimate Fighter® season one winner Diego Sanchez lead more than a dozen UFC fighters and personalities on a month-long celebration in honor of Hispanic heritage and to give fans the opportunity to meet their favorite Hispanic fighters. UFC partners and affiliates such as FOX Deportes, Metro PCS, Comcast, COX and Anheuser-Busch will also take part in the celebration. In addition, the UFC will team up with the MLS’ Houston Dynamo as well as the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball, for exciting fan events at upcoming sporting events. Along with the announcement of the UFC selling out UFC 180 in Mexico City on Nov. 15 and the breakthrough success of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America, Hispanic Heritage Month will be the perfect celebration of diversity in the UFC and will showcase amazing Hispanic athletes proudly representing their culture.

UFC fans in Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Miami, New York and Washington, D.C. will have the opportunity to be a part of the “Despierta tu Instinto Guerrero” festivities from Sept. 13 through Oct. 13, 2014. Festivities will feature a multi-city promotional tour that will include press days, community activities and engagements, festival activations with sponsors and affiliates, and additional social media activities for all fans to enjoy.

“Hispanic Heritage Month is a great opportunity for the UFC to reaffirm our commitment to the Hispanic community and to celebrate a new generation of Hispanic American athletes,” said UFC President Dana White. “Hispanics are some of the most passionate and loyal fans of combat sports. We are proud of our Hispanic athletes as they represent their heritage each time they step into the Octagon and we want to share their amazing talents and stories with UFC fans.”

The UFC kicked off the tour at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. on Sunday, Aug. 31 at the Chivas USA vs. L.A. Galaxy pre-game event, the Chiva Town fan zone. Fans had the opportunity to meet featherweight fighter Ricardo Lamas, who will compete in the sold out, first ever event in Mexico City, UFC 180, as well as Octagon Girl™ Arianny Celeste.

From Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, Americans celebrate and recognize the contributions made and the important presence of Hispanics to the United States. Celebrations of the group’s heritage and culture begin on Sept. 15, the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries — Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its independence on Sept. 16 and Chile on Sept. 18.

With more than 40.3 million UFC fans around the world, 18 percent of the UFC’s total fan base is Hispanic, outpacing major U.S. sports leagues including the NBA, MLB, and the NFL in concentration of Hispanic fans. The UFC has experienced considerable growth with 15.2 million unique Hispanic viewers consuming UFC related programming.

The UFC looks forward to inspiring its fans beyond ethnicity or gender to “awaken their warrior instinct” or “Despierta Tu Instinto Guerrero” by giving them the opportunity to unite with their favorite fighters and personalities in celebrating culture, tradition and the fighter within them.

Hispanic Heritage Month events:
Sept. 13, 14 and 15 – HOUSTON
Erik Perez and Kelvin Gastelum

Sept. 14 and 15 in LAS VEGAS
Frank Mir, Kenda Perez and Diego Sanchez

Sept. 19, 20 and 21 in WASHINGTON, DC
Erik Perez

Sept. 22 and 23 in PHOENIX
John Moraga and Efrain Escudero.

Sept. 24 and 25 CHICAGO
Ricardo Lamas, Julianna Pena and Yosdenis Cedeno

Oct. 5 and 6 in NEW YORK CITY
Dennis Bermudez

Oct. 12 and 13 in MIAMI
Cain Velasquez, Hector Lombard, Yoel Romero and Jorge Masvidal

*Fighters are subject to change

For additional information please visit UFC.com, and follow UFC on Twitter @ufc and @UFCenEspanol.

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.

HARLEY-DAVIDSON AND UFC UP THE ANTE AT UFC 177 AND GIVE ONE LUCKY FAN THE CHANCE TO THROW THE ULTIMATE PARTY OF A LIFETIME

Las Vegas, Nev. ? Harley-Davidson and the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC) will launch a new contest at UFC 177 this weekend sure to make one fan an instant hometown hero. The Harley-Davidson Hometown Throwdown III event puts one lucky fan and their city in the spotlight; the two iconic brands will roll into the winner’s home town with the ultimate prize package – a UFC fight and tailgate party topped off with custom Harleys, live music, Octagon Girls® and more.

The contest, running through Dec. 31, 2014, kicks off with a bang Aug. 30 at UFC 177 in Sacramento, where Harley-Davidson will award a custom Harley-Davidson cruiser from their 2015 motorcycle lineup launched earlier this week to each of the five winning fighters on the main card, giving the fighters a reason to fight even harder.

“We want fans and fighters to know that when Harley-Davidson and UFC come together something big is about to happen,” said Dino Bernacchi, U.S. Marketing Director at Harley-Davidson. “We are raising the stakes for UFC 177 by giving each bout winner a new motorcycle, and we’re also bringing back for the third year a fan favorite – the Hometown Throwdown event – which proves to be a once-in-a-lifetime way to experience the world’s best fighters and the only motorcycle brand worthy of being in the Octagon.”

Fans can clinch the chance to host what could be the most street-rumbling, all-out bash their town has ever seen by explaining why their city should be the next location for the 2015 Harley-Davidson Hometown Throwdown event and how they would be the ultimate host at www.h-d.com/UFC.

In addition to the opportunity to play host for the 2015 Harley-Davidson Hometown Throwdown, the winner also will:

· Learn to ride Vegas-style with a five-day/four-night trip for four to Las Vegas in March where they’ll train with professional UFC fighters at the Harley-Davidson Riding Academy and be cheered on by – and hang out with – the famous Octagon Girls.

· Receive the ride of a lifetime with their choice of one customized 2015 Harley-Davidson® Dark Custom™ motorcycle (www.h-d.com/darkcustom).

· Be the hometown hero by hosting a weekend experience in their hometown, including behind-the-scenes access at the Harley-Davidson Hometown Throwdown event and exclusive time with the fighters.

· Lead the pack with a UFC entourage during the parade-style group motorcycle ride through the streets of their hometown to the fight location.

· Plan the Party with Harley-Davidson and UFC, including the ride and the tailgate party entertainment.

Fans can learn more about the contest and submit their entries by visiting www.h-d.com/UFC through December 31, 2014.

About Harley-Davidson Motor Company

Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles and offers a complete line of Harley-Davidson® motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear and apparel, and general merchandise. For more information, visit Harley-Davidson’s website at www.h-d.com.

About 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.

FIRST EVENT IN MEXICO SELLS OUT IN 8 HOURS

Mexico City – It took just eight hours to sell-out the highly anticipated UFC® 180: VELASQUEZ vs. WERDUM event scheduled for November 15 at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico City Arena).

Fans made history at the box office, as well as online, to sell out Mexico’s first ever live UFC® event. UFC 180: VELASQUEZ vs. WERDUM is the fastest sell-out in the history of the Arena Ciudad de Mexico and it will also set a new attendance record with over 20,000 fans attending the monumental event.

On Tuesday, August 26 the UFC’s Chairman and CEO, Lorenzo Fertitta, and UFC President, Dana White, held a press conference in Mexico City to announce the launch of ticket sales, accompanied by some of the featured fighters on the UFC 180 card. It was also revealed that several fighters of Mexican or Latin American decent would showcase their skills at the November event. Fighters include: heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, heavyweight title contender, Fabricio Werdum, Kelvin Gastelum, Jake Ellenberger, Diego Sanchez, Augusto “Dodger” Montano, Erik Perez, Ricardo Lamas and Norman Parke. The full fight card will be available at ufc.com.

“That we’ve sold out in the blink of an eye is proof that Mexico is ready for its first UFC event and shows the true devotion of UFC’s fan base,” said Jaime Pollack, UFC Senior Vice President, International Development and General Manager, Latin America. “We couldn’t ask for a better partner in Zignia Live, who provided the staffing and technology to keep pace with the high demand and ensure a seamless experience from UFC fans in Mexico and around the region.”

UFC® 180: VELASQUEZ vs. WERDUM 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. Fathom Events and the UFC will also broadcast the event live to select movie theatres in the U.S. on Sat., Nov. 15 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. For a list of participating theatres, visit www.fathomevents.com.

For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts are live and subject to change. Follow us on Twitter: @UFC and Facebook/UFC

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About Arena Ciudad de Mexico
Zignia Live is part of Avalanz Group and is one of the main companies promoting shows in Mexico and Latin America, ranking in the “Top 20” as most active promoters in the world. Live Zignia is aprovider for venues in Mexico City, Puebla, Guadalajara, Torreon, Tampico, Monterrey and offers unique and memorable experiences through the presentation of live world-class performances.

EA SPORTS™ UFC® FREE CONTENT UPDATE #2 DELIVERS NEW FIGHTERS AND MORE GAMEPLAY ADDITIONS

Las Vegas – Today Electronic Arts released the second free* EA SPORTS™ UFC® Content Update featuring three new UFC fighters* including welterweights Matt Brown and Mike Pyle, as well as heavyweight fighter Stipe Miocic. In addition to the roster expansion, the Content Update also contains key gameplay additions and improvements including, but not limited to:

· Manual Taunts: Players will now be able to add insult to injury with a well-placed taunt. Pressing Left or Right on the directional pad will cause a fighter to taunt their opponent mid-bout.

· Kick Catching: Players will now have the ability to catch opponents’ kicks during parries if the attacking fighter has low stamina or high leg-damage when throwing the kick. If the parry button is held, a takedown will be initiated.

· Single Leg into Half Guard: Successful basic Single Leg Takedowns will now end up in Half Guard.

· Stamina: Stamina loss on Strikes Landed has been adjusted.

· TKO Stoppage: The referee will now stop the bout if the submissive fighter blocks too many strikes without trying to improve their position during ground and pound.

Watch the EA SPORTS UFC Content Update #2 trailer to see all these additions come to life in-game. For more information visit the EA SPORTS UFC blog.

Powered by EA SPORTS IGNITE technology, EA SPORTS UFC is built from the ground up exclusively for the new consoles and captures the human athleticism, physiology and emotion of the athlete like nothing before it. The game is available now for the PlayStation® 4 and Xbox One consoles.

Assets:

To download the updated EA SPORTS UFC fact sheet and assets, please visit the EA press site at http://info.ea.com.

EA SPORTS UFC is in development at EA Canada in Vancouver. The game is rated T by the ESRB and PEGI 16; visit www.esrb.org and www.pegi.info for more information. Become a fan of EA SPORTS UFC on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/easportsufc and follow us on Twitter via http://www.twitter.com/easportsufc.

About EA SPORTS™

EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, fan programs and cross-platform digital experiences. EA SPORTS creates connected experiences that ignite the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports videogames, including Madden NFL football, EA SPORTS FIFA, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, PGA TOUR® golf, SSX™ and SPORTS UFC®. For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums and game apps, please visit www.easports.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, the UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across 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 includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, 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. UFC also owns over 100 UFC GYM® locations, UFC.TV (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT™ (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC 360 (the internationally distributed magazine), a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, best-selling DVDs and Blu-rays, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, Octagon™ branded apparel and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit www.UFC.com and follow UFC at www.Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

# # #

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.

UFC® KICKS OFF TICKET SALES FOR UFC® 180 WITH BLOCKBUSTER PRESS CONFERENCE AT POLYFORUM SIQUEIROS IN MEXICO CITY

Mexico City – The UFC® was in Mexico today to kickoff ticket sales for UFC® 180: VELASQUEZ vs. WERDUM, and unveil several of the fighters and bouts slated for the Saturday, November 15 event at the Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City.

UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, UFC President Dana White, heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, heavyweight title contender, Fabricio Werdum, Kelvin Gastelum, Jake Ellenberger, Diego Sanchez, Augusto “Dodger” Montano, Erik Perez, Ricardo Lamas and Norman Parke were present at the press conference, which took place at the Polyforum Siqueiros – the capital’s iconic forum. Inaugurated in 1971, it is home to “La Marcha de La Humanidad,” the largest mural in Latin America and work of Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros.

Headlining the November card is the highly anticipated five-round main event featuring UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez (13-1, in his professional career, fighting out of San Jose, Calif.), and no.1 contender Fabricio Werdum (17-5-1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif. by way of Porto Alegre, Brazil). The heavyweight clash marks the culmination of 12 weeks of rivalry and competition as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter Latin America.

In addition, eighth-ranked Jake Ellenberger (29-8, fighting out of Lake Forrest, Calif. by way of Omaha, Nebraska) 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 winners, Diego Sanchez (27-7, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) and Norman Parke (21-2-1, fighting out of Bushmills, Ireland) 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
– Born and raised Mexican fighter, Erik Perez (14-6, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.by way of Monterrey, Mexico) squares off against Marcus Brimage (6-3, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.)
– Augusto “Dodger” Montano (13-1, fighting out of Mexico City, Mexico), the newest Mexican fighter signed to the organization and making his UFC debut

The card will also feature the final featherweight and bantamweight bouts of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America. The series, brought to you by Bud Light®, which started airing August 20, can be seen throughout Latin America on TV channels and free-to-air, including UFC Network. Networks, air dates and times can be seen here: http://www.ufcespanol.com/news/tuf-latam-donde-ver.

Tickets for UFC® 180: VELASQUEZ vs. WERDUM go on sale Wednesday, August 27 at 10 a.m. CT and are priced at $7,000 zone Cancha, $4,500 zone Retractil Platino, $2,950 zone Superpalco (Club), $2,950 zone Retractil Oro, $2,250 zone Platea Platino, $1,750 zone Platea Oro, $1,300 zone Barrera, $975 zone Butaca, $850 zone Butaca 2, $650 zone Balcon, $450 zone Balcon 2, $350 zone Balcon 3 (prices listed in Mexican pesos and include taxes). Tickets are available for purchase online at www.superboletos.com, by phone at +52 (55) 15154100. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.

For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts are live and subject to change.
Follow us on Twitter: @UFC and Facebook/UFC

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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 to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. In 2013, the UFC and Televisa Networks announced an exclusive deal for UFC content distribution in 20 Latin American countries with the launch of UFC NETWORK, a 24 hour channel, 7 days a week, dedicated to the UFC. The UFC NETWORK is available in Total Play, Megacable, Cablemas, Gigacable Cablevision and SKY (México); TuVes (Chile, Bolivia, and Peru); Tevecable (Ecuador); Gigared (Argentina); Tigo Star (Paraguay and Bolivia); Claro and Tricom (Dominican Republic); Inter (Venezuela) and TCC (Uruguay). Additionally, UFC programing is available in TDN in Mexico, including transmission of select live events and free-to-air television in: Televisa Channel 5 (México), Canal 10 (Uruguay), Telefuturo (Paraguay) ABC Surinam (Surinam), Viva TV Nicaragua (Nicaragua) Next (Panamá), Red Uno (Bolivia), America TV (Argentina), America TV (Peru), Citytv (Colombia) Via X (Chile), Teleprogreso (Honduras) and Teleamazonas (Ecuador).

The inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter® Latinoamérica, the UFC’s long-running reality show, is set to debut the week of August 20, 2014. The show will feature UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez, and No.1 contender, Fabricio Werdum, as coaches in the first Spanish-speaking season of the reality series.

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 UFCNetwork.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com, Twitter and Instagram: @UFCNetwork.

About Arena Ciudad de México
Zignia Live is part of Avalanz Group and is one of the main companies promoting shows in Mexico and Latin America, ranking in the “Top 20” as most active promoters in the world. Live Zignia is aprovider for venues in Mexico City, Puebla, Guadalajara, Torreon, Tampico, Monterrey and offers unique and memorable experiences through the presentation of live world-class performances.

UFC® FIGHT NIGHT MACAO: BISPING vs. LE MEDIA QUOTES

Las Vegas, Nevada – Two of the best strikers in the middleweight division collide at UFC® FIGHT NIGHT MACAO on Saturday, August 23, and fans around the world can catch the action live and on-demand on UFCFIGHTPASS.com, the UFC’s digital streaming service.

UFC veteran Michael “The Count” Bisping, 25-6, from Manchester, England, looks to regain his top five ranking when he throws down in the five-round main event with the uniquely talented former Strikeforce champion Cung Le, 9-2, fighting out of San Jose, California.

In the co-main event, the hard-hitting No. 4 ranked welterweight, Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley, 13-3 with wins over the likes of Carlos Condit, Josh Koscheck, Paul Daley and Tarec Saffiedine – faces off with No.9 ranked “Stun Gun”, Dong Hyun Kim, 19-2-1, who is riding four consecutive wins over the likes of John Hathaway and Erick Silva.

Before flying to Asia, Bisping and Le gave their thoughts on this crucial middleweight match-up.

BISPING SAYS HIS BACK IS AGAINST THE WALL
“This is a must-win fight for me. I have to prove to the UFC, I have to prove to the fans, and I have to prove to myself that I’m still an elite fighter who can go on, get some wins over contenders, and fight for the UFC title. My last fight against Tim Kennedy sucked – it was the worst performance of my life. Kennedy had a gameplan to hold me down and he executed that gameplan well. In hindsight, I should never have accepted a fight just seven weeks after getting cleared to return to the gym after my eye injury. Yes, I was anxious to get back in there and earn my first paycheck in over a year but, with hindsight, I needed several months in the gym getting rid of ringrust. Instead, I made a huge mistake in taking on a wrestler like Kennedy without putting the work in – and I paid for it.

“But I’ve never lost two in a row in my life, and I don’t plan to. I’ve been fighting high-level competition for the last six, seven years. But I don’t want to be one of the guys in the top 10, who wins a few and loses a few, I want to be No.1 and I want to fight for the UFC title.

“My back is against the wall in terms of making that happen. I need to win to prove that I’m not just some fighter with a name who is fighting here and there for paydays. My record over my last six fights is win one, lose one, win one, lose one, and that’s just not good enough for what I want to do in my career.”

BISPING ON LE AS A FIGHTER
“He’s got good power, he’s a great striker if he can keep it long (at a distance) but he’s got nothing against the cage. He’s got no stamina, either. But he’s very dangerous if you let him do what he does best.”

BISPING ON HIS AND LE’S MOTIVATION
“Listen, Cung Le is basically back in the UFC to boost his brand and remind everybody of his existence. He hasn’t fought in a couple of years, so I’m guessing his profile has dipped, he’s probably not getting too many embarrassing kung-fu movie offers right now and – probably worst of all for him – Channing Tatum has stopped retweeting him.

“I’m going to put a beating on him, and he can disappear again back to b-movies. I have to close the distance on him, because he needs space to generate power in those fancy kicks of his. He’s got nothing at close range; everything is at a distance for him. And, at 42, he’s got no gas in the tank. He’s got four minutes or so in him – then he’s absolutely knackered. This is a five round fight and he’s 42 years old and hasn’t fought in two years. He had no gas in his first UFC fight three years ago, so he’s not going to be in better shape now. I’m going to take this win, cement my place in the top 10, and then go about getting back to the top four before the end of the year.”

BISPING BELIEVES LE IS “A PHONY”
“Cung Le is a bit of a phony. I went to Macao for the launch press conference with Cung Le in June, and I was very polite, very professional. I exchanged all the pleasantries, gave him all the small talk as you are supposed to in these situations and I even went as far as pretending to be absolutely blown away that he’s apparently friends with Channing Tatum. Basically, I went out of my way to be nice to him and everything was very civil. We promoted the fight, shook hands, and went back home to train for the fight.

“Then I see him on UFC.com doing a Fight Club QandA and he’s talking a load of bollocks about me. Basically, he’s jumped on the same old, boring bandwagon everyone else who fights me does with is to say what a smack-talker I am while, as always, they are the ones who talk crap first. What a phony. If he had a problem with me then he could have spared me all the boring anecdotes about Channing Tatum.

“One fan at the QandA asked him what his gameplan was and he said “Flying tornado kicks and thunder and lightning!” What does he think we are going to be doing in the Venetian Macao? Playing Tekken 4? It was another cheesy, embarrassing line from a cheesy, embarrassing actor.”

LE ON BISPING’S JIBES
“I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, Mike, but I was replying to a fan question. That was the point of the Fight Club QandA, to give the fans the chance to ask questions of me. If Bisping is offended on that, well, that’s just him. He should get his facts straight, and focus on himself. I don’t promote myself by talking; I do my talking with my results in the Octagon. As for the movies, he’s done movies too, so I don’t understand what he’s trying to say with that.”

LE ON BISPING AS A FIGHTER
“I’d say his best attributes as a fighter are his cardio, he’s a good striker, he’s hard to submit… and he’s a great talker.”

LE ON MOTIVATION
“My film career isn’t what this is about, fighting in the UFC at the highest level is what I am interested in. I have competed in martial arts since I was 10 years old, 32 years of competition and most of it was competing just for the love of martial arts. I didn’t make money from competing all over the world in Shidokan or Wushu or any of the martial arts I practiced; I did it because I love martial arts.

“That’s the reason I am still doing this, because I love it. I’m not back to promote a movie, or to increase my brand or any of that stuff Bisping claims. I am back in the Octagon because that’s exactly what I want to do. I’ve been out for two years because of injury; I had three elbow surgeries that’s the only reason I have been out this last few years.

WHAT A WIN OVER BISPING DOES FOR LE
“Right now, I’m thinking of the Bisping fight as my championship fight in the UFC. It is a main event in an amazing venue, it is five rounds and will be seen around the world on UFCFIGHTPASS.com, and it’s against one of the most recognizable names in the UFC. I got to the UFC very late in my career, so this to me if my championship fight. This is on the same level as my fight for the Strikeforce belt against Frank Shamrock in 2008. That’s how I see it and that’s how I’ve prepared. I think beating Bisping in a main event matters, a lot of people will see the fight and the result will stand out on my career (record).”

LE ON WHAT HIS AGE MEANS, AND HIS FUTURE IN THE UFC
“I may be 42, but my mind and body tell me I can still do this.

“I’m 42, but after the elbow surgeries I’ve been able to train harder and better than I have in years. I used to have to train around my injury, which could be frustrating and would tire out other parts of my body faster. Now I can train the way I want to and I feel fitter than I have in years. And Bisping is 35, he’s not that much younger than me, and he’s taken more damage than I have.

“I’m going to continue to be a martial artist for the rest of my life. It isn’t what I do, it is who I am. I work-out all the time, whether I have a fight or not, in martial arts. It is getting harder to do the cardio and strength train, but I will compete in the UFC as long as I can, enjoy myself in MMA, and when that eventually ends I will still be a martial artist until the day I die.

LE ON FIGHTING IN ASIA
“I don’t care where I fight. I was prepared to go to his hometown in Manchester, England, to fight him when there was talk of that maybe happening last year. But, of course, fighting in Asia is an honor for me. If I can help the UFC gain new fans in a new market, then it is an honor.”

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

JON JONES INJURED; TITLE DEFENSE POSTPONED TO JAN. 3

Las Vegas – UFC® officials announced today that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones suffered a leg injury while training for his bout against No. 2 contender Daniel Cormier, forcing the postponement of the title fight. Jones will now battle bitter rival Cormier in their highly anticipated title showdown on Saturday, Jan. 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

With Jones injured, UFC 178 will now be headlined by the UFC flyweight title bout between champion Demetrious Johnson and surging contender Chris Cariaso. The Johnson-Cariaso bout moves from its originally scheduled date of Saturday, Aug. 30 in Sacramento to Saturday, Sept. 27 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

UFC 178 also features Conor McGregor taking on Dustin Poirier in a can’t-miss featherweight bout. Other key bouts include Cat Zingano vs. Amanda Nunes in a pivotal women’s bantamweight title contender bout, Tim Kennedy vs. Yoel Romero in a middleweight clash, and former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz returning from an extended absence to battle Japanese star Takeya Mizugaki. More information on UFC 178, including additional bouts, will be announced in the days to come.

Due to the UFC 178 main event change, refunds for the Sept. 27 card will be given upon request at point of sale only. Deadline for refunds will be August 22.

Tickets for UFC® 178: JOHNSON vs. CARIASO, presented by MetroPCS, are on sale now and priced at $800, $600, $400, $250, $125 and $75 (prices do not include applicable service charges). Tickets are available for purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000 and will be available at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.

UFC® 178: JOHNSON vs. CARIASO 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.

All bouts live, subject to change, and subject to approval by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

GUNNAR NELSON vs RICKY STORY HEADLINES UFC FIGHT PASS EVENT

Las Vegas, Nevada – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® has confirmed that top 15 welterweight contenders Gunnar Nelson and Rick Story will collide in the five round main event of UFC FIGHT NIGHT STOCKHOLM on October 4. The entire card will stream live and on-demand on UFCFIGHTPASS.com, the UFC’s digital streaming service, to subscribers in 167 countries and counting.

The main event pits Iceland’s No.12 ranked Gunnar Nelson, 14-0-1 in MMA and 4-0 in the UFC, against No.15 ranked American Rick “The Horror” Story, a five-year UFC veteran who’s 14-8 MMA record includes a 2010 victory of reigning UFC champion Johny Hendricks.

Nelson said: “To headline a card in Sweden is huge for me. They love my kind of style of fighting and I am of course Scandinavian so we have a good connection. I am honored to fight in Sweden and to headline this card.

“Rick Story has fought many of the best fighters. He beat the current champion in Johny Hendricks, he is very experienced and is a very good wrestler. He is a tough opponent and I am happy to be fighting him. Now I will head straight into training. I plan to go to Las Vegas to train with Conor McGregor and to help him prepare for his fight, and then I will most likely go to Sweden from there.”

Story said: “Oh man this is a really exciting match up! Stylistically it’s going to be great because Gunnar is a grappler and an attacker, when it comes to fighting you can’t ask for more than someone who comes at you. As soon as I found out I started to watch his fights on UFC FIGHT PASS.

“I have fought in Germany before but it will be my first time in Stockholm so I am looking forward to seeing the city. My schedule now will be to pack up, leave Vancouver, Washington where I am at the moment and head down to Arizona to the MMA Lab to start training. I’m really excited for this fight.”

CHAMPION JON JONES COLLIDES WITH DANIEL CORMIER AT UFC® 178 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 AT MGM GRAND IN LAS VEGAS

Las Vegas, Nevada – UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones looks to extend his historic reign over the talented 205-pound division Saturday, Sept. 27 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas when he takes on bitter rival and No. 2 contender Daniel Cormier. Jones will look to make his record eighth light heavyweight title defense against the two-time U.S. Olympian Cormier.

The bad blood between Jones (20-1, fighting out of Endicott, N.Y.) and Cormier (15-0, fighting out of San Jose, Calif.) has brewed for months with the two trading heated words in the press. The talk comes to an end in Las Vegas next month in one of the most anticipated title fights of the year!

In addition, Irish phenom Conor McGregor (15-2, fighting out of Dublin, Ireland) will meet sixth-ranked Dustin Poirier (16-3, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) in a featherweight showdown that could have major title implications. McGregor is coming off a first-round knockout of Diego Brandao and will be looking to stay unbeaten inside the Octagon® against Poirier, one of the most devastating finishers in the division who has won nine of his last eleven.

Also, undefeated No. 1-ranked women’s bantamweight contender Cat Zingano (8-0, fighting out of Broomfield, Colo.) will clash with Brazilian knockout artist and No. 8-ranked Amanda Nunes (9-3, fighting out of Miami, Fla.) in a bout that could determine the next challenger for Ronda Rousey’s crown.

Other bouts for UFC 178 include:

· No. 7-ranked Bobby Green (23-5, fighting out of Fontana, Calif.) vs. No. 14-ranked Jorge Masvidal (27-8, fighting out of Miami, Fla.) in a lightweight battle.

· Two top middleweights clash as No. 6-ranked Tim Kennedy (18-4, fighting out of Austin, Texas) faces No. 11-ranked Yoel Romero (8-1, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.).

· Former UFC bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz (19-1, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.) makes his long awaited return to the Octagon as he meets No. 5-ranked Takeya Mizugaki (20-7-2, fighting out of Kanagawa, Japan).

· Hard-hitting welterweight Patrick Cote (21-8, fighting out of Montreal, Quebec Canada) vs. electrifying kickboxer Stephen Thompson (9-1, fighting out of Simpsonville, S.C.).

· Welterweight striker John Howard (22-9, fighting out of Boston, Mass.) vs. gritty veteran Brian Ebersole (50-16-1, 1NC, fighting out of Phuket, Thailand).

· Lightweight rising star Jon Tuck (8-1, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.) vs. submission specialist Kevin Lee (8-1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.).

Tickets for UFC® 178: JONES vs. CORMIER, presented by MetroPCS, go on sale Friday,

August 8 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $800, $600, $400, $250, $125 and $75 (prices do not include applicable service charges). Tickets are available for purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000 and will be available at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.

Get your VIP package today! The UFC VIP Experience packages together your tickets with behind-the-scenes access to the official weigh-ins, backstage tours, meet and greet and autograph signings with top UFC stars, Q&A sessions, and photo opportunities, access to an in-arena VIP party room, a chance to hold the championship belt inside the Octagon® and more!

UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, August 6 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, August 7 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC®178: JONES vs. CORMIER 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.

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®

About the MGM Grand Garden Arena
The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar de la Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, U2, Lady Gaga, Sting, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena also is home to the annual Academy of Country Music Awards, annual Billboard Music Awards, annual iHeartRadio Music Festival and the Frozen Fury NHL pre-season game which features the Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche.

CARLOS JUAREZ JOINS ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP AS VICE PRESIDENT, SPANISH LANGUAGE PRODUCTION

Las Vegas, Nev. ? The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is pleased to announce that Carlos Juarez has joined the company as Vice President, Spanish Language Production. In his role, Juarez will oversee all Spanish-language productions and direct overall content execution from inception to delivery. He will also be responsible for all domestic and international studio television and digital production, as well as live and taped Pay-Per-View and television shows.

“The UFC has some of the most passionate fans in all of sports and I am excited to help the company continue to develop exclusive content and programming for our Spanish-speaking fans,” Juarez said. “As the UFC continues to expand throughout Latin America, producing programming and content for our Spanish-speaking viewers is essential to the UFC’s growth throughout the region.”

With over a decade of production experience, Juarez has also directed and produced programming for FOX Soccer Channel and FOX Sports Español that included UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Major League Soccer, Major League Baseball, and National Football League telecasts. Prior to joining the UFC, Juarez worked for FOX Networks and Engineering as Director of Production, in charge of a production facility and various crews coordinating with FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2, FOX Deportes, and MundoFOX.

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.

VIDEO: FRANKIE EDGAR

GUSTAFSSON INJURED; CORMIER TO FIGHT JONES IN MAIN EVENT OF UFC 178

Las Vegas – No. 1 light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson has suffered a knee injury that has forced him to withdraw from his UFC 178 bout with champion Jon Jones. As a result, No. 2 contender Daniel Cormier will challenge Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title on Saturday, Sept. 27 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Undefeated at 15-0 in his pro career, Cormier owns UFC victories over the likes of Frank Mir, Roy Nelson, Patrick Cummins and Dan Henderson. A two-time U.S. Olympian and former standout wrestler at Oklahoma State University, Cormier has long been considered a potential threat to Jones’ reign as 205-pound champion.

He and Jones have traded words in the press for months regarding a potential fight and their feud only intensified once Cormier moved to the light heavyweight division at the start of 2014. This heated rivalry will now finally be settled inside the Octagon® on Sept. 27 in what could be one of the biggest events of the year.

An updated UFC 178 press tour schedule, as well as ticket information, will be released in the days to come.

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.

CHRIS WEIDMAN TO DEFEND UFC MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE AGAINST VITOR BELFORT DEC. 6 IN LAS VEGAS

Las Vegas – The UFC® announced that former champion Vitor Belfort was granted a license to compete in the state of Nevada at a commission hearing held today. A winner of three straight, Belfort will now face UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman in the main event of UFC 181 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Saturday, Dec. 6.

Since returning to the UFC in 2009, Belfort has scored victories over some of the biggest names in the sport, including Rich Franklin, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Anthony Johnson, Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold, and Dan Henderson. Now he’ll challenge the champion Weidman, who is the only man to defeat UFC legend Anderson Silva twice. The 30-year-old New Yorker is fresh off a victory over Lyoto Machida early this month in a candidate for 2014 Fight of the Year.

UFC® 181: WEIDMAN vs. BELFORT will be available live on Pay-Per-View on Saturday, Dec. 6 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.

TOP CONTENDERS MEET AS ‘JACARE’ SOUZA TAKES ON GEGARD MOUSASI ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 AT FOXWOODS® RESORT CASINO

Las Vegas, Nevada – The UFC® returns to Connecticut for the first time in nearly a decade on Friday, September 5 at Foxwoods® Casino Resort in Mashantucket, Conn. with a five-round main event pitting two of the best middleweights against one another as fourth-ranked Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza takes on seventh-ranked Gegard Mousasi in a bout that could determine the division’s next title contender. The UFC’s last visit to the state saw Andrei Arlovski knock out Paul Buentello in just fifteen seconds of the very first round to defend the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 55 on October 7, 2005.

Currently riding a six-fight win streak, and undefeated inside the Octagon, (No. 4) “Jacare” (20-3, 1 NC, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) will look to continue his climb toward a UFC title shot with a victory in September. A former STRIKEFORCE® middleweight champ with victories over Robbie Lawler, Tim Kennedy and Francis Carmont, “Jacare” is also looking to avenge a previous loss to Mousasi and solidify his spot as a title contender. A long-time dominant light heavyweight and former STRIKEFORCE champ, Mousasi (35-4-2, fighting out of Leiden, Holland, The Netherlands) has won five of his last six bouts and boasts career wins over Mark Munoz, Mark Hunt, Ovince Saint Preux, as well as a KO victory in the 2008 meeting against Souza. The winner of the bout could potentially set themselves up as the frontrunner in the wide open 185-pound division against current champ Chris Weidman.

In addition, a heavyweight slugfest will feature (No. 7) Alistair Overeem (37-13, 1NC, fighting out of Amsterdam, The Netherlands) colliding with Ben Rothwell (33-9, fighting out of Kenosha, Wis.). With an astonishing 64 finishes between the two giants, fans won’t want to blink, as this bout has “Fight of the Night” written all over it.

Also in the heavyweight division, former pro football defensive tackle Matt Mitrione (7-3, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla.), who is coming off a “Performance of the Night” knockout victory over Shawn Jordan, will look to continue his winning ways when he meets surging contender Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis (11-2, 1NC fighting out of Houston, Texas.) who is also fresh off of a first-round knockout victory.

Other bouts for UFC Fight Night include:
· Local fan-favorite Joe Lauzon (23-10, fighting out of Bridgewater, Mass.) against The Ultimate Fighter: Live winner, Michael Chiesa (11-1, fighting out of Spokane Valley, Wash.) in the lightweight division.

Providence, R.I’s own Sean Soriano (8-1, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla.) vs. featherweight knockout artist Andre Fili (13-2, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.).
No. 9-ranked featherweight contender Nik Lentz (27-6-2, 1NC, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) vs. submission specialist and No. 14-ranked Charles Oliveira (18-4, 1NC, fighting out of Houston, Texas) in a highly-anticipated rematch.
Devastating finisher and New England-based Rob Font (11-1, fighting out of North Reading, Mass.) vs. undefeated bantamweight Chris Beal (9-0, fighting out of Ventura, Calif.).
Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Rafael Natal (17-6-1, fighting out of New York, N.Y.) vs. well-rounded middleweight Chris Camozzi (19-8, fighting out of Lakewood, Colo.).
New York-based lightweight Al Iaquinta (8-3-1, fighting out of Garden City, N.Y.) vs. seven-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Rodrigo Damm (12-7, fighting out of Vila Velha, Espirito Santo Brazil).

Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT™: JACARE vs. MOUSASI go on sale Friday, July 25 at 10 a.m. ET and are priced at $350, $250 and $100. Tickets may be purchased online at www.foxwoods.com, by calling the Foxwoods’ Box Office at 800-200-2882, Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are available for purchase at. 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, July 23 at 10 a.m. ET via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, July 24 starting at 10 am. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT™: JACARE vs. MOUSASI will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Friday, September 5, with the prelims kicking off the evening on FOX Sports 1 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, 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.

About Foxwoods® Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino is one of the premier entertainment destinations in the Northeast. As the largest resort casino in North America, Foxwoods offers a vast array of gaming in six casinos; AAA Four-Diamond hotels, restaurants from gourmet to express, world-renowned spas, awarding-winning golf, state-of-the-art theaters, and exclusive retailers. Perfect for both recreation and business, Foxwoods provides modern and versatile convention and meeting space to infuse new life into any meeting or event. Foxwoods Resort Casino is owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. For a comprehensive look at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation visit Foxwoods.com.

UFC® WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPION RONDA ROUSEY CHOOSES MONSTER AS HEADPHONE AND AUDIO PARTNER

Las Vegas, Nev. – Monster Products, the world leader in high-performance headphones, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization are pleased to announce that UFC® women’s bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey, has chosen Monster as her headphone and audio products partner.

Fresh from successfully defending her championship title against Alexis Davis at UFC 175 in Las Vegas on July 5, with an impressive 16 second knockout victory, and about to make her movie debut in The Expendables 3, Rousey is no stranger to success and working with the best, making the partnership with Monster a knockout choice.

“Music is a huge part of my life. It motivates me while training and before my fights while also helping me relax in my down time,” said Rousey. “Monster shares the same standards for perfection and performance in their products that I bring to the UFC. Regardless of the song, Monster headphones sound incredible and amp up my listening experience.”

Monster and the UFC: The Fusion of Music, Sports and Lifestyle
Monster Products Octagon headphones are the official headphone of the UFC, which includes individual endorsements of UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, and now, Rousey.

“UFC’s collaboration with Monster has been hugely successful in bringing great music to UFC fans. The Octagon headphones unique color and design are an expression of the UFC lifestyle,” stated Head Monster Noel Lee.

Noel continues: “Monster is incredibly proud that Ronda has chosen to partner with us. She is really a superstar inside the Octagon® as well as outside. Ronda represents the Monster brand in her approach to be the very best in what she does. From the first American woman to win a bronze medal in Judo in the Olympic Games, to her current undefeated record as the UFC women’s bantamweight champion, she truly embodies the essence of Monster.”

About Ronda Rousey
Ronda Jean Rousey is an American mixed martial artist and judoka. She has never lost a fight, and is the first and current UFC women’s bantamweight champion, as well as the former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion. Rousey became the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in Judo at the Summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008. Outside of the Octagon, she stars in two major blockbusters: Expendables 3, which will be released this summer, and Fast and the Furious 7, which will be released in Summer 2015. Ronda is also one of the female leads of the upcoming Entourage movie.

About Monster®
For the past 35 years, Monster has been a catalyst for innovation and big ideas. Discovering that cables in hi-fi systems influenced the sound, Head Monster Noel Lee developed Monster Cable – an immediate hit. Monster engineered the sound of Beats® headphones, and has since become the world’s leading manufacturer of high-performance headphones, all featuring Pure Monster Sound™ technology. Today, the company offers advanced connectivity solutions for professional musicians, home entertainment, computing, mobile and gaming, as well as high performance AC Power and conditioning products. Monster continues to lead in innovation with Monster having been granted over 500 Patents and 100 patents pending worldwide, offering more than 5,000 products in over 160 countries. Monster® also prides itself in helping those who are in less-than-fortunate circumstances through Monster Cares. Above all, Monster does what it does Because The Music Matters. Explore the world of Monster at www.monsterproducts.com. To become a fan of Monster products, please follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/monsterproducts) or Twitter (www.twitter.com/monsterproducts).

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.

UFC BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPION AND SACRAMENTO’S OWN TJ DILLASHAW BATTLES RENAN BARAO IN TITLE REMATCH ON AUG. 30

Las Vegas – In what will be remembered as one of the sport’s greatest upsets, UFC 173 saw 10-1 underdog TJ Dillashaw end the unprecedented nine-year, 35-fight unbeaten streak of Renan Barao to capture the UFC® bantamweight championship. Now, the two meet again in a highly anticipated rematch when the Ultimate Fighting Championship® returns to Sleep Train Arena in Dillashaw’s hometown of Sacramento on Saturday, Aug. 30.

“TJ Dillashaw shocked the world and ended Renan Barao’s nine-year unbeaten streak by knocking out one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport,” UFC president Dana White said. “He showed everyone why you can never trust the odds! Now, on Aug. 30 in TJ’s hometown of Sacramento, Barao will have his chance to get the belt back! I love this rematch!”

Prior to winning the title, Dillashaw (11-2, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) emerged as a standout from the 14th season of The Ultimate Fighter®, and quickly established himself as a top contender with victories over the likes of Hugo Viana, Mike Easton and Issei Tamura. In his career-defining performance, Dillashaw silenced the oddsmakers by dethroning the then third-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Barao, at UFC 173, to claim the bantamweight title. Now, the newly cemented champion will make his first title defense in Sacramento with plans of starting his own reign as the 135-pound king.

During his tenure as champion, Barao (34-2, 1 NC, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) reigned supreme over the bantamweight division, dominating some of the world’s best, such as perennial contender and former WEC champion Urijah Faber (twice), Michael McDonald, and inaugural WEC bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland. With a nine-year unbeaten streak and a resume unmatched by any in the sport, the Nova Uniao star remains at the top of the world rankings. In an attempt to prove their first meeting was a fluke, “The Baron” returns Aug. 30 to settle the score and reclaim the belt for Brazil.

Other bouts for UFC 177 include:
The Ultimate Fighter® season 13 winner Tony Ferguson (16-3, fighting out of Ventura, Calif.) takes on Sacramento’s own Danny Castillo (17-6) in a lightweight bout.
Middleweight striker Lorenz Larkin (14-3, 1 NC, fighting out of Riverside, Calif.) meets three-time NCAA Division II All-American wrestler Derek Brunson (11-3, fighting out of Wilmington, N.C.).
10th-ranked women’s bantamweight contender Bethe Correia (8-0, fighting out of Natal, Rio Grande Do Norte, Brazil) puts her unbeaten streak on the line as she draws women’s MMA veteran Shayna Baszler (15-8, fighting out of Venice, Calif.), who is making her promotional debut.
Heavyweights Ruan Potts (8-2, fighting out of Boksburg South Africa) and Anthony Hamilton (12-3, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) square off.
Hawaii’s Yancy Medeiros (9-2, 1 NC, fighting out of Honolulu, Hawaii) takes on Ohio native Justin Edwards (9-4, fighting out of Bellefontaine, Ohio) in a lightweight bout.

Tickets for UFC® 177: DILLASHAW vs. BARAO II, presented by HARLEY-DAVIDSON®, go on sale Friday, July 18 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $275, $175, $100, $75, and $50. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at Sleep Train Arena box office or www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.

UFC Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, July 16 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, July 17 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC® 177: DILLASHAW vs. BARAO 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.

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.

THE UFC® RETURNS TO TULSA ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 23 WHEN BENSON HENDERSON BATTLES RAFAEL DOS ANJOS IN FIVE-ROUND MAIN EVENT

Las Vegas, Nev. – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® makes its long-awaited return to Tulsa, Okla. on Saturday, Aug. 23 at BOK Center with an action-packed card headlined by a five-round lightweight main event between former UFC champion Benson Henderson and surging contender Rafael dos Anjos. The UFC’s previous trip to Tulsa took place on Dec. 16, 1994, as Royce Gracie defeated Dan Severn.

Henderson (21-3, fighting out of Glendale, Ariz.) returns to the Octagon® following an impressive fourth-round submission victory over Rustam Khabilov. Boasting victories over Evan Dunham, Donald Cerrone, and Jason High, dos Anjos (21-7, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) knows that a decisive win over a former champion in Henderson is his ticket to a shot at the title.

Other bouts include:
Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace (#8) Demian Maia (19-6, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil) vs. hard-hitting (#12) Mike Pyle (26-9-1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.)
Dangerous welterweight finisher Jordan Mein (28-9, fighting out of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada) vs. dynamic striker Brandon Thatch (11-1, fighting out of Denver, Col.)
Parisian middleweight Francis Carmont (22-9, fighting out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada) vs. former title challenger Thales Leites (23-4, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
All-American wrestler Chas Skelly (11-1, fighting out of Arlington, Tex.) vs. Finnish featherweight Tom Niinimaki (21-6-1, fighting out of Turku, Finald)
Powerful puncher Aaron Phillips (8-1, fighting out of Lafayette, La.) vs. durable bantamweight Matt Hobar (8-2, fighting out of Dallas, Tex.)
Gifted striker Max Holloway (9-3, fighting out of Waianae, Hawaii) vs. Bosnian boxer Mirsad Bektic (8-0, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.)
Aggressive flyweight Tim Elliott (10-5-1, fighting out of Lee’s Summit, Mo.) vs. Brazilian veteran Wilson Reis (17-5, fighting out of Philadelphia, Pa.)

Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT: HENDERSON vs. DOS ANJOS, go on sale Friday, July 11 at 10 a.m. CT and are priced at $150, $100, $75 and $50. Tickets are available for purchase at www.ticketmaster.com. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges. Tickets are also available at the BOK Center box office.

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

UFC FIGHT NIGHT: HENDERSON vs. DOS ANJOS will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Saturday, Aug. 23 with the prelims kicking off the evening on FOX Sports 2 at 8 p.m. ET/5 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 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.

INVICTA FC 8: WATERSON vs TAMADA TO STREAM EXCLUSIVELY LIVE ON UFC FIGHT PASS™ UFCFIGHTPASS.com BEGINS HISTORIC INVICTA DEAL WITH TWO TITLE FIGHTS ON SEPTEMBER 6 FULL INVICTA LIBRARY NOW AVAILABLE ON UFCFIGHTPASS.com

Las Vegas, Nevada – UFC FIGHT PASS™, the UFC’s digital streaming service, is proud to announce UFCFIGHTPASS.com will be the place to see the eighth stacked card from the world’s leading all-female MMA promotion, Invicta Fighting Championships.

Invicta FC 8: Waterson vs Tamada will stream live on UFCFIGHTPASS.com on Saturday, September 6, from the Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, MO, and will be headlined by Invicta 105-lbs champion Michelle Waterson taking on Japanese contender Yusuko Tamada. The co-main event will see the vacant Invicta 115lbs division title contested by Florida’s Stephanie Eggink and Finland’s Katja Kankaanpaa.

UFC chief content officer Marshall Zelaznik said: “When we launched UFC FIGHT PASS last December, we said that we would never rest in bringing the best value to our subscribers. The addition of live and archived Invicta programming is going to be of enormous interest to our existing subscribers and will bring in new subscribers, too.

“We’re very excited to have these two fights headline our first Invicta live event on FIGHT PASS. This is a little bit of history, as it is the first time the UFC has been involved with the broadcast of a promotion not owned and operated by the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa LLC.”

Invicta Fighting Championships president Shannon Knapp said: “This is a great day for my company. Since the start of Invicta, I’ve been committed to providing the biggest and best possible platform for women athletes and, with this distribution deal with UFC FIGHT PASS, Invicta will reach the most passionate MMA fans in the world.”

Knapp added: “This new beginning for Invicta starts with a stacked card on September 6. Michelle Waterson is an amazing champion, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, and she has a tough first title defense against a very experienced challenger in Yasuko Tamada. And both Stephanie Eggink and Katja Kankaanpaa are going to go all out to win the vacant 115lbs belt.

“Also on the stacked card we have Ediane Gomes dropping down to 135lbs to take on Tonya Evinger and we have our first 155lbs fight with Veronica Rothenhausler vs Charmain Tweet.”

Invicta FC 105-lbs champion Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson added: “I feel like I just got a huge promotion at my job, fighting on UFCFIGHTPASS.com. I’m the type of fighter who can rise to the occasion and I can’t wait to show off all the improvements I’ve made to my game since my last fight in April 2013.

“I know my opponent has fought almost everybody in the division in Japan, has a lot of experience and has this real scrappy, southpaw jiu-jitsu style. It’s going to be a real challenge but I will be ready on September 6.”

The full card – all of which will stream live on UFCFIGHTPASS.com – looks like this.

Michelle Waterson –vs- Yasuko Tamada (105lbs title)
Stephanie Eggink –vs- Katja Kankaanpää (115lbs title)
Ediane Gomes –vs- Tonya Evinger (135lbs)
Michelle Ould –vs- Deanna Bennett (125lbs)
Roxanne Modafferi–vs- Tara Larosa (125lbs)
Peggy Morgan –vs- Irene Aldana (135lbs)
Alexa Grasso –vs- Ashley Cummins (115lbs)
Veronica Rothenhausler –vs- Charmain Tweet (155lbs)
Jody Esquibel –vs- Jinh Yu Frey (105lbs)
JJ Aldrich –vs- Delaney Owen (115lbs)

Tickets will be available soon.

In addition, all seven previous Invicta events are now available on-demand on UFC FIGHT PASS here, allowing subscribers to check out fights featuring talents like Waterson, Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, former Strikeforce champ Marloes Coenen, early-career fights of UFC stars like Alexis Davis, Cat Zingano and Liz Carmouche and most of the cast of the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter®.

The Invicta FC library joins the libraries of PRIDE FC, Strikeforce, WEC, WFA, EliteXC, Affliction Entertainment and the UFC on UFC FIGHT PASS

All bouts live and subject to change. Visit UFC.com.

About the 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, Beijing, Singapore and Sao Paulo, the UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across 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 includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, 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. UFC also owns over 100 UFC GYM® locations,UFC.TV (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT™ (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC 360 (the internationally distributed magazine), a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, best-selling DVDs and Blu-rays, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, Octagon™ branded apparel and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit www.UFC.com and follow UFC at www.Facebook.com/UFC and Twitter: @UFC.

UFC’s grand stage doesn’t faze Font

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (July 7th, 2014) – The post-fight mayhem might’ve taken more out of Rob Font than the fight itself.

Within moments of his breakthrough win Saturday over George Roop at UFC 175 in Las Vegas, Font went from little-known regional standout to the talk of mixed martial arts, an overnight social media celebrity born from the impact of the fateful, overhand right that sent two careers spiraling in different directions.

“Everything changed,” said Font, the reigning CES MMA featherweight champ from Boston who dominated his UFC debut this past weekend with a first-round knockout win.

“My phone was blowing up. I probably had a thousand messages. Then I’m getting pulled back and forth backstage doing interviews and press conferences. It was crazy. It was mentally tiring, but it was definitely worth it. I got in, got out clean, and got paid. I can’t complain about anything.”

Font’s knockout of Roop at the 2-minute, 19-second mark also earned Font (11-1, 4 KOs) a $50,000 bonus check as one of two Performance of the Night award winners (the other went to female bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey for her 16-second knockout win over Alexis Davis in the co-feature).

“I’m going to buy my girl something nice,” Font said.

Riding a career-best 10-fight win streak (six with CES MMA), Font will take a few days to let it all sink in following his week-long stay in Vegas and then get right back into the gym to prepare for his next fight, which could come as early as September when the UFC returns to Connecticut for the first time since 2005 with UFC Fight Night 50 on Sept. 5. Font even has his sights set on a potential opponent, calling out three-time UFC vet Sergio Pettis moments after beating Roop this past weekend.

The 20-year-old Pettis is the younger brother of UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.

“I had his last fight recorded before we left for Vegas, and I remember watching it thinking, ‘Man, that would be a great fight for me,’” Font said. “He’s got a big name because of his brother, but he’s real talented, so it’d be a great fight for the fans and a great fight for me. I think I’d run through him, honestly.”

Until then, Font is still basking in Saturday’s win, a debut that all but guarantees he will get the opportunity to become a household name with the UFC, which has always been more important to him than just simply making it to the big stage.

“[UFC president] Dana White pulled me to the side afterward and said, ‘I loved the way you fought out there,’ and told [head trainer] Mark [DellaGrotte], ‘I want to keep this kid busy,’” Font said. “It was a great feeling.”

Knowing he had to drop from 145 pounds to 135 for Saturday’s fight, Font initially worried about adjusting to the speed of his opponent until he learned he was fighting the 6-foot-1 Roop, a taller fighter with a slower delivery.

The height differential didn’t bother the 5-foot-8 Font, who made his name on the northeast circuit dominating taller opponents such as Saul Almeida (6-foot-1) and Tristan Johnson (5-foot-11) while fighting for CES MMA.

“The taller guys are actually a little slower,” Font said. “With the shorter guys, that’s when speed becomes a factor.

“I just had to close the distance. If you watch it again, he kind of grazed me with a baby left hook, but it was real wide. He caught me that one time and I figured if he threw it again I was going to pounce on him. It was just something I picked up on during the fight. His biggest weapon was mainly his kicks because he’s so tall and long. Once I found my range, I just jumped on him.”

Font braced himself for the typical pre-fight jitters generally associated with fighting on the big stage for the first time, but they never came. In fact, Font was worried he might be too calm or too confident as he loosed up backstage.

“It felt like nothing, like another day in the gym,” Font said. “Nothing fazed me. Not the cameras, not [cage announcer] Bruce Buffer, [color commentator] Joe Rogan, the lights, nothing. Everything went smoothly.

“It’s complete chaos,” he added. “Everything is bigger. They have 5,000 people at their weigh-in, but it’s organized. It runs smoothly. We checked in, went to the cage, warmed up, and before I knew it I was out there ready to fight.”

Font, as always, looked cool, calm and collected. Just another day at the office for the UFC’s newest star.

For more information on Font and all of CES MMA’s upcoming events, visit www.cesmma.com, follow CES MMA on Twitter at @CESMMA and Instagram at CESMMA, or “like” CES MMA on Facebook by clicking the corresponding link.

Edgar stops Penn in 3!!!

Three was the lucky number for Frankie Edgar as he stopped BJ Penn in the 3rd round of their scheduled five round Featherweight bout at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

It was Edgar’s third victory over Penn in the battle of world champions.

Edgar dominated the bout from the beginning as he controlled the action from the stand up and ground position until he started busting up Penn in the 3rd frame. Edgar’s punching and elbows opened up a gash over the left eye of Penn and Edgar was relentless in his assault of Penn until referee Herb Dean mercifully stopped the bout at 4:16 of round three.

Edgar, 145.5 lbs of Toms River, NJ is now 16-4-1. Penn, 145 lbs may have fought his last fight and the native of Hilo, HI is now 16-10-2.

Corey Anderson won the Ultimate Fighter Light Heavyweight championship with a 1st round beat down over Matt Van Buren.

Anderson hit Van Buren with a right hand that sent him reeling into the cage. Anderson continued to pound away and got Van Buren on the ground and continued rocking Van Buren until the fight was stopped at 1:01.

Anderson, 204 lbs of Rockford, IL is now 5-0. Van Buren, 206 lbs of San Diego, CA is 7-3.

Eddie Gordon won the Ultimate Fighter Middleweight title by pounding out Dhiego Lima in the 1st round of their 3-round fight.

Gordon got Lima down and started drilling Lima with hard shots while Lima was prone and the fight was stopped just 71 seconds into the contest.

Gordon, 186 lbs of Uniondale, NY is now 8-1. Lima, 185 lbs of Atlanta, GA is now 10-2.

Derrick Lewis scored a 1st round stoppage over Guto Inocente in a Heavyweight bout.

Lewis had Inocente on the ground and landed 4 crushing blows to the face that bloodied the right eye of Inocente and the fight was stopped at 3:30.

Lewis, 264 lbs of Houston, TX is now 11-2-1. Inocente, 232 lbs of Boca Raton, FL is 6-1.

Dustin Ortiz scored a 3-round split decision over previously undefeated Justin Scroggins in a Flyweight bout.

Ortiz, 125 lbs of Franklin, TN is ranked number 13 and is now 14-3. Scroggins, 124 lbs of Coconut Creek, FL is now 9-1.

Kevin Lee scored a 3-round split decision over Jesse Ronson in a Lightweight bout.

Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 for Lee , 156 lbs and is now 8-1. Ronson, 155 lbs is 13-5.

Leandro Issa acored a 3rd round tap out via arm bar over Jumabieke Tuerxun in the final round of their Bantamweight bout.

The two landed some good shots. Issa was docked a point in round two for grabbing the cage. Issa was dominant in the 3rd round as he almost choked out Tuerxun, landed some hard punches and finally made him submit with the armbar at 3:49 of round three.

Issa, 135.5 lbs of Singapore is now 12-4. Tuerxun, 136 lbs of Xián, China is now 17-2.

Adriano Martins scored an explosive 1-punch knockout over Juan Manuel Puig in the 1st round of their Lightweight bout.

Martins landed a perfect left hand but seconds later he was hit low with a kick. That must have infuriated Martins as he landed a perfect inside right hook that knocked Puig out and the fight was immediately stopped at 2:21.

Martins, 155.5 lbs of Brazil is now 26-7. Puig, 155 lbs of Mexico City is now 11-3.

Patrick Walsh scored a 3-round unanimous decision over Daniel Spohn in a Light Heavyweight bout.

Walsh, 206 lbs of Stoughton, MA won by scores of 29-28 on all cards and is now 5-2. Spohn, 205 lbs of Columbus, OH is now 8-5.

UFC 175 WEIGHTS FROM LAS VEGAS

Chris Weidman 185 – Lyoto Machida 184.5
(UFC Middleweight Title)
Ronda Rousey 135 – Alexis Davis 135
(UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title)
Matt Mitrione 254 – Stefan Struve 251.5
Uriah Hall 185 – Thiago Santos 185
Marcus Brimage 135.5 – Russell Doane 136
Urijah Faber 136 – Alex Caceres 135
Ildemar Alcantara 170 – Kenny Robertson 171
Chris Camozzi 185 – Bruno Santos 185
Rob Font 135 – George Roop 135
Guilherme Vasconcelos 185 – Luke Zachrich 185
Kevin Casey 185 – Bubba Bush 185

CES MMA champ Font makes UFC debut Saturday

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (July 3rd, 2014) – When Rob Font received a phone call one morning from his head trainer, Mark DellaGrotte, asking if he happened to be sitting down at the moment, Font wasn’t sure what to expect.

“I figured it was either going to be really good or really bad,” Font recalled.

It was the best news of the his life, the call all aspiring mixed martial arts fighters wait for, an invitation to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC).

“Why be in this sport if you’re not trying to get to the UFC? It’s not something you play with,” said Font, the Tampa, Fla., native who now lives and trains out of Boston.

Now that Font (10-1, 3 KOs) has had to time to let it all sink in, make his rounds within the local media circuit and shed the extra 15 or so pounds to move from featherweight to bantamweight, the reigning CES MMA champ is finally in Las Vegas decompressing before he makes his UFC debut Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the undercard of UFC 175 against George Roop (15-10-1, 4 KOs).

Prior to getting the call from the UFC, Font dominated the northeast at 145 pounds, winning nine consecutive fights, six under the promotional guidance of CES MMA. Now he’ll fight at 130 against the 32-year-old Roop, an eight-time UFC vet with a 4-4 record on the big stage and victories in three of his last four fights.

Roop earned his stripes on the eighth season of the popular reality television series, The Ultimate Fighter, and parlayed his success into undercard bouts at UFC 137, UFC 158 and UFC 160. He also competed for the now-defunct World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), where he beat future UFC title contender Chan Sung Jung, and also defeated former WEC bantamweight champion Brian Bowles at UFC 160.

At this stage, every fight is difficult, so Font is making sure he’s equally prepared mentally, specifically trying to avoid the pre-fight jitters that tend to plague UFC rookies the first time they step inside the octagon. Regional standout Tom Egan, a native of Ireland, admitted the butterflies affected him when he made his UFC debut at UFC 93 in Ireland as the only Irish fighter on the card.

“Honestly, I’m trying not to expect anything,” Font said. “People always talk about the UFC jitters, but I hope it’s not true. I’m expecting it to be another day in the gym, but you never know. The lights are brighter, there are tons of cameras, you see [UFC color commentator] Joe Rogan. It can be overwhelming, but it’s just another fight.”

Having DellaGrotte in his corner is a huge advantage. A former professional Muay Thai kickboxer, DellaGrotte owns the Boston branch of Sityodtong, where Font honed his skills, and has trained several UFC standouts, including Frank Mir, Jorge Rivera, Kenny Florian, Stephan Bonnar and Marcus Davis.

“This is nothing new to him,” Font said. “He’s always kept me level-headed. He knew I put the work in and that it was just a matter of time. He would always pull me to the side and tell me I have what it takes and that I just had do it, so I’ve always trusted him.

“We did everything we had to do. Hard work pays off, and now we’re here.”

Roop’s experience won’t be the only intangible Font has to be wary of. Speed will be a factor, too. Fighting at a lighter weight than usual, Font fully expects Roop to be faster than some of the opponents he’s faced in recent years. The weight-cut itself was a breeze thanks in large part to DellaGrotte’s guidance.

“Right after my last fight, my managers told me to enjoy it, but not party too hard because you never know when you’ll get that call,” Font said. “We did it right. We got a nutritionist on board. I’m finally eating like an adult. Lots of spinach, kale. I’m as light as I’ve ever been. I can handle everything as far as the wrestling and scrambling is concerned, but the big thing is dealing with the speed.”

There’s also the pressure of making sure he not only wins, but also looks sharp in the process. UFC fighters tend to be expendable. Even those who win might end up one-and-done if they don’t do enough inside the cage to pique the viewers’ interest. Font’s made it clear his goal isn’t just to get to the big stage, but to be a fixture for years to come.

“Your job is pretty much on the line every time you fight,” Font said. “You not only have to win, but you have to perform. You’ve got to be exciting. You have to be someone everyone else is talking about the next day. If you’re not that guy, what do they need you for?

“It definitely plays into your nerves, but I’ve always done well with that. I just need to go in there and do what I need to do. It’s great getting a lot of attention now, but I know I have to stay in there and get the job done. It’s one thing to get there, but it’s a whole different animal to stay there and be a household name. That’s my next goal.”

Font is now the second fighter from the northeast to jump directly from CES MMA to the UFC. Boston’s John “Doomsday” Howard, who spent two years with the UFC before the company released him in 2011, bounced back with five consecutive wins under CES MMA’s guidance to earn a return trip to the octagon. CES MMA will continue to break new ground in August when it’s “CES MMA XXV” event airs live on AXS TV, the home of Inside MMA.

“Going back to 2010, before I was even fighting as an amateur, I went to a CES show with [teammate] Tyson [Chartier] and said to him, ‘Hey, man, I would love to fight for this promotion,’” Font recalled. “It was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to fight for CES, especially with how they helped ‘Doomsday.’

“When they finally got me on a card, I knew I didn’t want to fight for anyone else. They have all the top fighters, and it’s an all-pro card, 10 to 11 solid fights, not two pro fights and then a thousand amateur fights. Now with AXS TV, it’s a huge platform. If you’re an up-and-coming amateur, you should definitely consider fighting for CES.”

UFC 175 features the middleweight main event between reigning champion Chris Weidman and former light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida. The preliminary card, featuring Font’s bout against Roop, will air live on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Early prelims are available beginning at 7 through UFC Fight Pass on www.ufc.com while the main card begins live at 10 on Pay Per View.

THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER®: A CHAMPION WILL BE CROWNED CAST REVEALED

Las Vegas, Nev. – For the first time in history, the new season of The Ultimate Fighter® will feature an all-female cast and will have a UFC® championship title on the line. The storied reality series will feature a women’s 115-pound tournament to determine the first ever UFC® women’s strawweight champion. UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and No. 2-ranked lightweight contender, Gilbert Melendez, will serve as coaches and meet in a championship showdown of their own at the conclusion of the season.

The Ultimate Fighter®: A Champion Will Be Crowned kicks off with a two-hour premiere Wednesday, September 10, at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.

The top 115-pound females on the planet will compete over the course of the season for the honor of being the UFC’s second female champion, alongside bantamweight (135 pound) champion Ronda Rousey. Amongst the cast are two former Invicta FC champions, a former International Kickboxing Federation women’s bantamweight, a United States kickboxing champion, an astrophysicist and a former professional ice hockey player.

In line with previous seasons, the women will be divided into two teams, coached by Pettis and Melendez. The series will follow the teams as they live and train together in preparation for their fights. The culmination of the season will see the two semifinalists meet at The Ultimate Fighter Finale in late 2014, where the inaugural champion will be crowned.

The list of competitors includes fighters hailing from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, United States and Tasmania. The competitors are listed in alphabetical order (Name, Professional MMA record, Age, Hometown):

Joanne Calderwood (8-0), 27, Glasgow, Scotland
Alex Chambers (4-1), 35, Sydney, Australia
Heather Jo Clark (6-4), 34, Los Angeles, Calif.
Aisling Daly (14-3), 26, Dublin, Ireland
Lisa Ellis (15-8), 31, Olympia, Wash.
Carla Esparza (9-2), 26, Redondo Beach, Calif.
Felice Herrig (9-5), 29, Crystal Lake, Ill.
Angela Hill (1-0), 29, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Emily Peters Kagan (3-1), 32, Bangor, Maine
Justine Kish (4-0), 26, Cramerton, N.C.
Angela Magana (11-6), 30, Farmington, N.M.
Randa Markos (4-1), 28, Windsor, Canada
Rose Namajunas (2-1), 22, Milwaukee, Wis.
Jessica Penne (11-2), 31, Huntington Beach, Calif.
Bec Rawlings (5-3), 25, Launceston, Tasmania
Tecia Torres (4-0), 24, Fall River, Mass.

UFC Champions Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Matt Serra and TJ Dillashaw have all emerged from The Ultimate Fighter series, which has also produced many of today’s top athletes including, season winners Michael Bisping, Ryan Bader and John Dodson.

For more show information, bios, videos and photos, visit ultimatefighter.com and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @TUFonFS1 or on Facebook.com/TUF.

###

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, the UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across 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 includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, 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. UFC also owns over 100 UFC GYM® locations, UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT™ (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC 360 (the internationally distributed magazine), a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, best-selling DVDs and Blu-rays, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, Octagon™ branded apparel and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit www.UFC.com and follow UFC at www.Facebook.com/UFC and Twitter: @UFC.

About FOX Sports 1
FOX Sports 1 is America’s new national multi-sport channel that launched on August 17 in approximately 90 million homes and boasts nearly 5,000 hours of live event, news and original programming annually. The channel has several pillar sports: UFC, MLB, NASCAR, college basketball and football, NFL (ancillary programs), international soccer and Golden Boy boxing, and adds USGA events, including the U.S. Open, and FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015. FOX SPORTS LIVE is FOX Sports 1’s flagship 24/7 news, opinion and highlights program, providing around the clock coverage through regularly scheduled programs, hourly updates and an information rich ticker. Original programs include: UFC TONIGHT, AMERICA’S PREGAME; NASCAR RACE HUB; MLB WHIPAROUND and the groundbreaking BEING: documentary franchise. FOX Sports GO, a new authenticated mobile sports experience for iPhone, iPad, Android devices and the web, serves as the channel’s digital extension. The app offers more than 1,100 live games and events from cross FOX Sports, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Sports’ 22 regional sports networks, as well as scores, highlights, news, stats and analysis. For more information visit http://foxsports.com/watch/foxsports1.

UFC ULTIMATE MEDIA DAY TO BE BROADCAST LIVE ON UFC® FIGHT PASS™ TOMORROW

Las Vegas, Nevada – For the first time ever, the UFC’s digital streaming service UFC® FIGHT PASS™ will broadcast UFC’s Ultimate Media Day live from Las Vegas ahead of the star-studded weekend of fights at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Hosted by Karyn Bryant, with UFC analysts Daniel Cormier and Dominick Cruz, the exclusive coverage begins tomorrow at 9 a.m. PT. Click HERE for the link to the broadcast (subscription required).

In hour one, the entire cast of The Ultimate Fighter® season 20 will be made available to the media just days after arriving into Las Vegas to begin filming. This season’s coaches, UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and No. 2 contender Gilbert Melendez, will also participate.

In hour two, the stars of UFC 175 and THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER® FINALE: TEAM EDGAR vs. TEAM PENN will be on hand to take questions from media.

The exclusive broadcast of Ultimate Media Day on UFCFIGHTPASS.com will also feature live interviews with Pettis, Melendez, UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, and UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, as well as a variety of other UFC competitors.

The event will close with UFC President Dana White’s scrum with media in attendance.

For more information on UFC 175 and THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER® FINALE: TEAM EDGAR vs. TEAM PENN, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

Fight Network to Air Extensive UFC 175 Fight Week Coverage

Toronto – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, will broadcast extensive UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida and The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale fight week coverage, including live weigh-ins, press conferences and exclusive pre and post-fight interviews on the scene from Las Vegas.

Fight Network’s live coverage will be broadcast on Cablevision’s Optimum TV in the U.S., nationwide in Canada, as well as internationally as part of Fight Network’s expansion on ZON in Portugal, Telenet in Belgium, D-Smart in Turkey, ZAP in Angola and Mozambique, and OSN across the Middle East and North Africa.

Premiering on Wednesday, July 2, at 7 p.m. ET, Fight News Now: MMA Edition will break down the UFC’s doubleheader in Las Vegas, including previews, features, predictions and much more.

Additional fight week coverage will be featured throughout the week during Fight News Now Extra, highlighting the official media day, UFC Fan Expo festivities and pre-fight interviews.

On Friday, July 4, at 7 p.m. ET, Fight Network will air a live broadcast of the official weigh-ins for UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida, as all the fighters tip the scales ahead of their fights on Saturday night. Weigh-ins will include original commentary and analysis from Fight Network’s studios.

The live weigh-ins for The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale take place on Saturday, July 5 at 4 p.m. with headliners B.J. Penn and Frankie Edgar weighing in for Sunday’s trilogy bout.

Immediately following Saturday’s pay-per-view broadcast of UFC 175, Fight Network will broadcast a live post-show that includes the official post-fight press conference, interviews from the winners, fight highlights and analysis.

Finally, on Monday, July 7, at 7 p.m. ET, the premiere of 5 Rounds will showcase a full recap of both cards, including a look ahead to what the future has in store for the winners and losers.

For a full listing of Fight Network’s broadcast schedule, please visit tv.fightnetwork.com and follow on Twitter @fightnet, become a fan on Facebook and visit us on Instagram @fightnet.

UFC TEAMS UP WITH BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF SOUTHERN NEVADA AND ULTIMATE ALLIANCE

Las Vegas, Nev. ? The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) announced a new partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada and the Ultimate Alliance to develop a grassroots sports program providing local youth the access and opportunity to excel in wrestling. The program will provide children the resources to develop techniques, fundamentals, and the mindset to perform successfully in the sport of wrestling as well as teaching discipline, focus, and accountability for daily life.

“The UFC is thrilled to partner with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada and the Ultimate Alliance to help provide young athletes in the region the necessary resources to succeed in the sport of wrestling and to maximize their fullest potential,” said UFC Vice President of Community Relations Reed Harris. “Participants of this program will be given exclusive instruction from the best wrestling and mixed martial arts athletes in the world as well as equipment and funding for practice and competition.”

Bryan Lindsey, Volunteer Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Ultimate Alliance, added, “Teaming up with the UFC and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada to coach, develop and mentor the youth of Nevada and the United States has been a vision of mine for years. We are all very excited to work closely together to grow the sport of wrestling to a level we have yet to see in the history of the sport.”

UFC stars and wrestling legends Matt Hughes and Daniel Cormier will serve as UFC Ambassadors of the Boys & Girls Clubs Wrestling Program. With their extensive careers in amateur wrestling and mixed martial arts, Hughes and Cormier are the perfect representatives to teach and educate the youth about the transformative potential of wrestling. The UFC will also support the program by conducting clinics with various athletes and providing financial assistance and training equipment.

The partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada and the Ultimate Alliance represents a strong commitment from the UFC to help the local youth of Southern Nevada. Along with an extensive community outreach program, the UFC has continually built relationships with local organizations dedicated to making a positive impact in the local community. This new program will serve as a springboard for a national campaign that will ultimately provide the resources necessary to educate youth about the positive influence of wrestling.

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.

About the Ultimate Alliance
The Ultimate Alliance was formed to create massive change in the sport of wrestling at the grass roots in the United States. Three of the largest youth wrestling organizations in the United States have come together to create this movement of change. We are about being creative and entrepreneurial and providing a platform for the youth of the United States to participate in a progressive program that teaches the children of the U.S. dedication, focus, determination, respect, accountability and a passion for greatness.

About the National High School Coaches Association
The NHSCA is a 501c3 non-profit organization with a mission statement to provide leadership and support to the nation’s 1 million high school coaches and 10 million high school athletes. The NHSCA selects the national coach and athlete of the year in 22 boys and girls sports that will be featured in the NHSCA National High school Sports Hall of Fame Museum. The museum serves as a home for all of the 20,000 high schools in America to honor their outstanding coaches, athletes and administrators. The NHSCA Educational Resource Center provides educational programs for coaches as well as a coach certification program. The NHSCA also provides unlimited liability insurance for all of its members.

About National United Wrestling Association for Youth
NUWAY is a grassroots organization that looks at every decision as one of investment to make sure that every child has an opportunity to have a full wrestling experience from the moment they begin at their respective youth wrestling club, into elementary and high school, college, international competition and finally, to compete at the professional level. Investing back into our own state is the backbone of our organization! We believe that in order for each state to become a strong and independent state organization, we must invest in the wrestling programs in our community at the youth, high school, and college level. Our vision is become a stronger sport nationally by investing in local wrestling programs. For more info, go to www.nuwaywrestling.com.

About Rocky Mountain National Events (RMN Events)
Rocky Mountain National Events is a youth wrestling organization serving wrestlers across the nation. We are a wrestling organization that provides the opportunity for youth to participate in wrestling championships, which encourages their development not only as athletes but as students as well. Involvement with wrestling and sports in general has been shown to increase youths’ self-esteem, confidence, and social skills. Our championship wrestling meets are listed in our calendar and we welcome new athletes all the time as well as spectators. We invite you to get involved with the most unforgettable youth wrestling tournaments in the country. Help us Inspire, Encourage & Recognize the future leaders of our great nation. For more info, go to www.rmnevents.com.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada
The new Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada is a merger of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Henderson and Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas. The new nonprofit organization operates 14 facilities and three summer outreach programs in Southern Nevada, and serves more than 31,000 youth in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Southern Highlands and Summerlin. Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada provides every child with the essential tools needed for a successful and bright future through a variety of daily creative, fun, and educational programs. For information, visit www.bgchenderson.org, http://www.bgclv.org, and coming soon http://www.bgcsnv.org, or call 702.367.2582

UFC AND FOX SPORTS TERMINATE BROADCASTING SERVICES AGREEMENTS WITH CHAEL SONNEN

Las Vegas, Nev. – The UFC and FOX Sports organizations announced today the termination of their respective broadcasting services agreements with analyst Chael Sonnen. This decision comes in light of Sonnen failing a second test conducted by the Nevada Athletic Commission for banned substances in June. Sonnen was previously under temporary suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission for failing an initial test conducted in May.

‘ULTIMATE GRAPPLER’ SUPERFIGHT TOURNAMENTS HEADLINE GRAPPLERS QUEST® at UFC FAN EXPO® JULY 5-6 IN VEGAS

LAS VEGAS (June 30, 2014) — The Ultimate Fighting Championship® is proud to announce the Official Superfight Tournaments for Grapplers Quest®, the official grappling tournament at the UFC Fan Expo® on Saturday and Sunday, July 5-6 at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. Amateur Competitors can Pre-Register, Save $21+ and get a limited edition competitor shirt until Wednesday, July 2nd at 11:59 PM http://bit.ly/UFCFanExpo2014 or register at the door with cash only (MAC machines on site).

The two-day tournament will feature All Children and Teens No-Gi and BJJ Divisions and All adult No-Gi submission grappling divisions for Adults 18+ and the first rounds of the 16-Man and 16-Woman LIVE “Ultimate Grappler” Submission Only Tournaments hosted over two days, with qualifying rounds of the tournaments on Saturday, July 5. Then, on Sunday, July 6, the tournament will feature all-adult Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Divisions as well as the LIVE “Ultimate Grappler” Finales of the Men’s and Women’s Submission Only Professional Divisions.

Special Glass Plaques for All No-Gi Absolute Division Winners, All Men’s and Women’s No-Gi Advanced Divisions, All Men’s and Women’s BJJ Black Belt Absolute divisions and No-Gi Advanced Children’s and Teen’s Divisions will be competing for the prestigious Glass Octagon Awards sponsored by “Meditate With Me” Book & Video Series at: http://KidsCanMeditate.com and Grapplers Quest Founder, Brian Cimins’ Life Coaching Blog at: http://YourStrategyCoach.com

Huge custom Octagon medals and Full Color Certificates will be awarded for All divisions are sponsored by EZ Flex Sports Mats (http://EZFlexMats.com), The Official Mat Sponsor of Grapplers Quest plus OTM Fightshops and Built To Fight Industries at http://OnTheMat.com – the official pro tournament sponsor and official Grapplers Quest rashguard manufacturing company.

$40,000 in Competitor Registration Fees will also be up for Grabs for ALL UFC Fan Expo Champions

All division champions, amateur and professional, All Champions in All Skill Levels Grapplers Quest at UFC Fan Expo on July 5-6 in Las Vegas will win a FREE COMPETITOR Sponsorship ($150 value) for the Official 16th Annual U.S. Nationals of Grappling and Jiu Jitsu Presented on July 26, 2014 in Morristown, New Jersey. Pre-Register, Save $21, Plus Get a FREE T-Shirt, Register now at: http://bit.ly/UFCFanExpo2014

The Amateur UFC Fan Expo grappling tournament is limited to 1,500 competitor slots with nearly 1,100 slots already taken. Competitor pre-registrations end Wednesday, July 2nd at 11:59 PM PST – hurry and register today at: http://bit.ly/UFCFanExpo2014 and registrations will be available at the door.

OUR COMPETITORS RECEIVE:
* Full Access to the UFC Fan Expo both days ($50 value)
* Free Grapplers Quest at UFC Fan Expo Fighter T-Shirt ($40 value)
* Includes $21+ off at-the-door pricing
* Free Limited Edition Grapplers Quest Sticker
* Discount for Friends and Family to Join in YOUR GLORY!

Fighters can Pre-Register Online or At-The-Door, but Tournament Space is limited to 1,500 competitor slots so register today to guarantee your place in history at
http://bit.ly/UFCFanExpo2014

Grapplers Quest Superfight Tournaments start on Saturday, July 5th at 10:30 AM at UFC Fan Expo nicknamed “The Ultimate Grappler Tournaments” will feature Special Rules developed by Brian Cimins featuring two 10 Minute Submission Only Rounds followed by a Six-minute Overtime, if necessary, using Grapplers Quest points. The Finals will be Submission Only with No Time Limit and the UFC Fan Expo will host the LIVE Finals for The Ultimate Grappler Tournaments on Sunday, July 6 starting at 10:30 AM in the Center Rings.

Men’s “Ultimate Grappler” 175 lb. Tournament featuring:
1. Garry Tonon (America’s #1 Grappler)
2. Vitor Henrique Silva Oliveira (#1 IBJJF Black Belt No-Gi Middleweight Champion)
3. Bill Cooper (Defending UFC Fan Expo Superfight Champion)
4. Ronaldo Candido (ATOS, IBJJF World Champion)
5. Arnaldo de Oliveira (ChekMat – IBJJF Champion)
6. Sean Roberts (Black Belt under Ralph Gracie)
7. Kyle Griffin (Robert Drysdale Jiu Jitsu)
8. Enrico Cocco (#1 Southeast RATED Grapplers Quest Champion)
9. Jake Sweeney (Xtreme Couture)
10. Nathan Orchard (Eddie Bravo Black belt)
11. Nathan Mendelsohn (OnTheMat.com)
12. Ross Daniel Keeping (Gracie Humaita Vegas)
13. Lance Glynn (Paragon Black Belt)
14. Joey Hauss (Jean Jacques Machado)
15. Damien Nitken (NAGA advanced division Champion)
16. Benji Silva (Dream Submission only Champion)

Alternates:
Erik Cruz (10th Planet Brown Belt)

16-Woman “Ultimate Grappler” Submission Only Under 145 lbs. Tournament featuring:
1. Nyjah Easton (IBJJF World Champion, Abu Dhabi Pro Champion, European Champion – Team Lloyd Irvin)
2. Amanda Leve (2-Time Grapplers Quest Beast of the East Champion)
3. Rachael Cummins (Pro MMA Fighter and Submission Specialist – Jason Manly)
4. Pati Fontes (Checkmat brown belt)
5. Illa Erickson (Punch Kick Grapple)
6. Chelsea Donnar Branbridge (Atos new* black Belt) (won Worlds 2014 brown belt)
7. Vivian Velez (Pan Am No-Gi champ)
8. Jennifer Perez (Easton Bjj)
9. Colleen Schneider (Ultimate Fighter competitor)
10. Gillian Silver (PGL 135 women’s champion – Catch Wrestler)
11. Jessy Miele (International Martial Arts and Boxing Academy of Connecticut)
12.-16. PROS and ALTERNATES NEEDED: Send Resumes to: Director@Grapplers.com

“The new Grapplers Quest Submission Only Rules for the Superfights and the line-up will have every grappling fan on the edge of their seats. The two-day format will feature the largest crowd in grappling history!” an excited Brian Cimins, President of Grapplers Quest commented. The Superfight Tournaments are sponsored by Built To Fight Industries and http://OnTheMat.com

Tickets for the UFC Fan Expo® are on sale NOW at http://bit.ly/UFCFanExpoTix

The UFC Fan Expo® in July will feature more than 300,000 gross square feet of activities for UFC fans, including meet and greets and autograph sessions with top UFC and STRIKEFORCE® fighters, Q&A sessions with top UFC personalities, as well as grappling tournaments and other special events. More than 100 exhibitors will also be on hand, giving fans the opportunity to purchase and experience some of the best sports and lifestyle products on the market today. This marks the third UFC Fan Expo® held in Las Vegas since its inception in 2009, with additional UFC Fan Expos being held in Boston, London, Toronto and Houston.

For more information on grappling and jiu jitsu tournaments and events worldwide hosted by Grapplers Quest® and to register online, visit: http://GrapplersQuest.com

For more information on UFC Fan Expo® and to purchase tickets, visit www.ufcfanexpo.com. To subscribe to the official UFC Fan Expo® newsletter visit www.ufcfanexpo.com/newsletter. For companies interested in reserving space at this premier event, contact Brian Bernstein, Sales Executive at 203-840-5474 or email bbernstein@ufcfanexpo.com. Don’t wait, space is limited and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
ABOUT GRAPPLERS QUEST: Grapplers Quest is the World’s Largest Submission Grappling & Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Tournament Circuit. Grapplers Quest is a world class, family-oriented Martial Arts competition and entertainment experience, challenging our fighters to become the next generation of Mixed Martial Arts champions. The Company produces The World’s Grappling Competition Supershows for the Ground Fighting Sport of Mixed Martial Arts, DVD and VOD PPV Video Production and Distribution, Apparel Development, Design and Production, Tradeshow Sponsorships, Exhibitor Sales, and much more. Home of the World’s Best Submission Fighters Since 1998, original Grapplers Quest athletes have gone on to become 147 UFC or Ultimate Fighter Contestants, 30 ADCC World Champions and 200+ World and Pan American IBJJF Titles. Upcoming events include July 5-6 at UFC Fan Expo, July 26 in New Jersey, October 10-12 in Liverpool, New York and Las Vegas on November 15th. For upcoming events worldwide, visit: http://GrapplersQuest.com

CES vet Matsuda makes UFC debut Friday

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UFC’s grand stage doesn’t faze Font

Edgar stops Penn in 3!!!

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UFC TEAMS UP WITH BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF SOUTHERN NEVADA AND ULTIMATE ALLIANCE

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UFC® FIGHT NIGHT MACAO: BISPING vs. LE MEDIA QUOTES