Press Release – Toronto, Canada – UFC® welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has posted an impressive 10-fight win streak during his reign atop the 170-pound division. On Saturday, March 16, he will look to extend that streak by one more as he steps back into the Octagon® in his hometown to face former STRIKEFORCE® champion Nick Diaz at Montreal’s Bell Centre. On the heels of unifying the welterweight title in November 2012 after an 18-month absence due to injury, St-Pierre (23-2) requested the fight against his fiery rival Diaz (27-8-1, fighting out of Stockton, California), telling UFC President Dana White it was “unfinished business.” Diaz agreed.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship® will host a press conference on January 23 in Montreal with the main event stars, as tickets for UFC 158: ST-PIERRE vs. DIAZ go on sale to the general public on Saturday, January 26 at 12 p.m. ET at evenko.ca and the Bell Centre box office.
In a compelling welterweight co-main event, Rory MacDonald (14-1, fighting out of Montreal, Canada) will get his shot at redemption as he aims to avenge his only career loss against former interim UFC welterweight champion Carlos Condit (28-6, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.). The duo met at UFC 115 in a Fight of the Night bout that saw Condit come from behind and register a TKO win with seconds remaining in the third round. MacDonald comes into the fight after a dominant decision win over UFC legend BJ Penn at UFC on FOX 5 in December. Meanwhile, Condit looks to re-establish his prominence at 170 pounds after an incredible battle with St-Pierre in November.
Completing the welterweight triple-header on the main card, power-punching wrestler Johny Hendricks (14-1, fighting out of Dallas, Texas) meets former US Marine Jake Ellenberger (28-6, fighting out of Lake Forest, Calif. by way of Omaha, Neb.) in a boutwith title implications. The hard-hitting Hendricks is confident of his standing in the 170-pound division and looks to add a sixth consecutive win on March 16 to solidify his place as number one contender.
In addition to Montreal’s St-Pierre and MacDonald, six other Canadians will step into the Octagon® at UFC 158 including Calgary’s Nick Ring (13-1) who faces middleweight Chris Camozzi (18-5, fighting out of Lakewood, Colo.) on the main card. Ring was originally scheduled to face Costa Philippou at UFC 154 but had to withdraw at the last minute due to an illness. Camozzi has won three straight, earning his last win via unanimous decision over Luiz Cane.
Making his debut at welterweight, hometown favorite Patrick Côté (19-8) will square off against former STRIKEFORCE fighter Bobby Voelker (24-8, fighting out of Kansas City, Kan.) who will be making his UFC debut. Côté is coming off a disqualification win against middleweight Alessio Sakara at UFC 154, while Voelker comes in on a three-fight win streak.
Other Canadians in action are Jordan Mein (26-8, fighting out of Lethbridge, Alberta) who will make his UFC debut against veteran Dan Miller (16-6, 1 NC, fighting out of Whippany, N.J.), while Toronto’s Sean Pierson (13-6) battles welterweight Rick Story (14-6, fighting out of Vancouver, Wash.), Montreal’s John Makdessi (9-2) returns against Daron Cruickshank (12-2, fighting out of Detroit, Mich.) and Montreal’s Yves Jabouin (18-8) challenges bantamweight Johnny Eduardo (26-9, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
Additional bouts for UFC 158 will be announced in the days to come at www.ufc.com.
Tickets for UFC® 158: ST-PIERRE vs. DIAZ go on sale Saturday, January 26 at 12 p.m. ET and are priced at $600, $350, $250, $200, $165, $115 and $85. Tickets will be available at the Bell Centre box office, by phone at (514) 790-2525 / 1-877-668-8269 or at www.evenko.ca.
UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event on Thursday, January 24 at 10a.m. ET via the website ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers on Friday, January 25, starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
UFC® 158: ST-PIERRE vs. DIAZ will be available live on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, and in Canada on BellTV, Shaw Communications, Sasktel, and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.99 US/$49.99 CAN for Standard Definition and $54.99 US/$59.99 CAN for High Definition.
For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Universally recognized for its action-packed, can’t-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. In 2012, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX.
In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 145 countries and territories, to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide, in 30 differentlanguages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and Australia via Main Event and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website, UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with over two million followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best-selling DVDs, an internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TV offering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, the best-selling UFC Undisputed® video game franchise distributed by THQ, and a new franchise in development with EA, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel and trading cards.