Author: UFC News

Verbal agreements are now in for all of the bouts slated for the Harley-Davidson Hometown Throwdown, taking place Friday, June 8 in Ft. Lauderdale Florida.

The main card will feature two welterweight bouts between known powerhouses. Brazilian striking sensation Erick Silva will meet ruthless wrestler Charlie Brenneman, while dynamic fan favorites Mike Pyle and Josh Neer will go to war.

Two more welterweight bouts may also find themselves on the main card. Mike Pierce, who’s long been lobbying for a fight against a Brazilian on Twitter, will get his wish as he faces Carlos Eduardo Rocha. Plus, TUF vet Seth Baczynski will face Lance Benoist, who last earned Fight of the Night honors for his three-round war with Matt Riddle. Fans can vote at ufc.com/hometownthrowdown for Pierce vs. Rocha, Baczynski vs. Benoist or the bantamweight matchup of Wineland vs. Jorgensen to air on the main card on FX.

Middleweight Buddy Roberts — whose scheduled fight in February was
scrapped at the last minute when his opponent was injured warming up
before the fight — will make his overdue Octagon debut against Caio
Magalhaes. Magalhaes has had a similarly strange road to the UFC: He took a short-notice fight at January’s UFC Rio when a fighter dropped out, only to then have his opponent also withdraw due to injury days before the bout.

In lightweight action, Tim Means will take on Justin Salas while Henry Martinez will face Bernardo Magalhaes. At welterweight, Canadian veteran Sean Pierson will meet Jake Hecht.

Tickets for UFC’s Harley-Davidson Hometown Throwdown go on sale Friday, April 13 at 10 a.m. ET at ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices are $175, $125, $85, $60, $40.

Featherweight Fracas Slated for FX updated March 9
Leonard Garcia and Matt Grice have agreed to a featherweight bout at UFC on FX in June. Garcia is known for his wild and wide-open style in the Octagon, Grice is equally aggressive, which should translate into an intriguing match-up.

Wineland and Young Guns Get Long-Overdue Date updated March 23
They’ve fought in the same division for years and now two perennial bantamweight contenders will finally cross paths, as Eddie Wineland and Scott “Young Guns” Jorgensen have verbally agreed to fight at the June 8 UFC on FX </a>event.

Flyweight Rematch Set for June updated March 20
Two bouts have been confirmed for the third-ever UFC on FX </a>fight night, both featuring standouts from the lighter weight divisions.

“On June 8, Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall will rematch and settle one of the year’s most controversial fights,” said UFC president Dana White today. Johnson and McCall put on a Fight of the Night-winning performance at UFC on FX earlier this month in Sydney in the UFC’s first-ever flyweight bout.

The bout was one of two scheduled as a mini-tournament to determine the contenders for the UFC’s first-ever flyweight championship. Although Johnson was announced as the winner, it was revealed that the judges’ scores were mistabulated and the bout was in fact a draw.

The winner of the second Johnson vs. McCall bout will move on to eventually face Joseph Benavidez – who defeated Yasuhiro Urushitani on that same night in Sydney – and fight for the 125-pound title.

At that same event, bantamweights Dustin Pague and Jared Papazian will square off. Both fighters are known for their hard-hitting, toe-to-toe style which should make for an exciting matchup.

Verbal agreements are in for both bouts. 

A trio of thrilling fights in the lighter weight classes have been verbally agreed upon for the June 1 TUF Live Finale in Las Vegas.

TUF 12 champ Jonathan Brookins will take on submission specialist Charles Oliveira. Brookins looked as good as ever in his last outing, as he knocked out his opponent in the first round. And in Olivera’s recent featherweight debut, he took only a few seconds longer to dispatch his opponent to earn a stunning submission win via the rarely-seen calf-crusher.

Also at featherweight, tough Hawaiian Max Holloway will meet 5-1 finisher Pat Schilling. At bantamweight, TUF 14’s John Albert will follow up his wild firefight against Ivan Menjivar with a bout against the well-rounded Byron Bloodworth.

Season Finale Gets Main Event updated March 26
Two top welterweights will wage war over five rounds in the TUF Live Finale main event, UFC president Dana White announced today.

Verbal agreements are in for a June 1 matchup between Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann will take on Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger.

The fighters are coming off of sound wins in main events this winter – Kampmann submitted Thiago Alves in the final minute of their UFC on FX bout earlier this month, while Jake Ellenberger bested Diego Sanchez at UFC on FUEL TV in February.

In past years, both men have battled a who’s-who of the welterweight division, including shared opponents Carlos Condit, Jake Shields, Diego Sanchez and Rick Story. A convincing win this summer could solidify their spot on the shortlist of contenders at 170.
 

Las Vegas, NV (USA) and Mumbai, India – Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) and Multi Screen Media (MSM) – a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television, announced their partnership to broadcast UFC programming in India and the rest of the sub-continent. MSM’s new sports channel, SIX, will deliver the world’s largest brand of mixed martial arts to Indian fans across the country by airing live UFC events, taped specials, and exciting bouts from the vast UFC library.

“When we went to India over a year ago I felt the market held enormous potential for the UFC,” said Lorenzo Fertitta, Chairman of UFC. “India has a long history of martial arts and traditional wrestling like Kushti. Indian athletes have also demonstrated world-class levels in combat sports as evidenced by the country’s 2008 Olympic medalists in wrestling and boxing.”   

“I’ve been saying for a few years that India would be next and it was just a matter of finding the right partner in the market. MSM has been a pioneer in India, broadcasting new sports franchises like the IPL. We’ve got big plans for India and MSM couldn’t be a better partner,” said Dana White, President of the UFC.

“We are delighted to be bringing the best of the sport of mixed martial arts to India,” said Man Jit Singh, CEO of Multi Screen Media Private Ltd. “Mixed martial arts requires tremendous physical conditioning, skill and strategy and we hope it will be an inspiration to young India. We hope the programming that will be premiered on our sports channel, SIX, will motivate a new generation to compete on the world stage in one of the fastest growing sports.”

Indian fans have access to exclusive content at UFC.com, http://facebook.com/UFCIndia and http://twitter.com/UFCIndia.

Undefeated Swede Jorgen Kruth, who was slated to fight Cyrille Diabate next weekend at UFC on FUEL TV </a>in Stockholm, has been forced to withdraw due to injury. Stepping in for Kruth will be another undefeated light heavyweight, 7-0 Tom DeBlass.

DeBlass is an accomplished BJJ black belt who trains and teaches alongside UFC vets Ricardo Almeida and Renzo Gracie in New Jersey. The bout will mark DeBlass’ UFC debut.

Lil’ Nog Injured, Thiago Silva in Against Gustafsson updated April 4
Following a knee injury suffered in training for his April 14th bout against Alexander Gustafsson, Rogerio Nogueira has been forced to withdraw from the UFC on FUEL TV main event in Stockholm, Sweden. Stepping in for Lil’ Nog will be another hard-hitting Brazilian, Thiago Silva, who is returning to the Octagon for the first time since January of 2011.

Two Bouts Complete Sweden’s Fight Card updated February 18
The sold-out UFC on FUEL TV </a>fight night in Stockholm, Sweden, has added two fights to its roster. With Akira Corassani sidelined due to injury, midwestern scrapper Eric Wisely will step in for the injured TUF alum to take on Jason Young in what will be a featherweight battle of striking specialists.

Also that night, undefeated lightweight Yoislandy ‘Cuba’ Izquierdo has verbally agreed to make his first UFC fight one against Stockholm’s own Reza ‘Mad Dog’ Madadi. Both fighters had been scheduled to enter the Octagon earlier in the year – though not against each other – but injury and red tape delayed their debuts.

Verbal agreements are in for both bouts.

Nunes vs. Siver, Corassani vs. Shotgun Set for Sweden updated January 25
Verbal agreements are in for two featherweight fights that complete the UFC on FUEL 2 fight card, UFC officials confirmed today. 

World-ranked Brazilian Diego Nunes will welcome Germany’s Dennis Siver to the featherweight division in a showdown between great strikers.

Plus, Sweden’s Akira Corassani will make his UFC debut following his stint on last season’s Ultimate Fighter against England’s Jason “Shotgun” Young.

UFC Sweden Gets Its Main Event updated January 9
The main event of April’s UFC event in Sweden pits Stockholm’s rising star Alexander Gustafsson vs. former PRIDE® star Rogerio “Lil’ Nog” Nogueira in an exciting light heavyweight contest.

Born in Arboga, Sweden, “The Mauler” Gustafsson is on a four-fight win streak and is coming off a blistering first-round TKO over Belarusian veteran Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 141. The Brazilian Nogueira picked up a similar victor over Tito Ortiz at UFC 140 in Toronto.

Also on the card, two explosive bantamweights will meet as England’s Brad Pickett and Damacio Page have verbally agreed to go at it in the Octagon.

More of Sweden’s Fight Card Unveiled updated January 9
“Exciting striker Siyar Bahadurzada has verbally agreed to make his UFC debut against the always-dangerous Brazilian Special Forces Police Battalion member Paulo Thiago at UFC Sweden in April,” UFC president Dana White confirmed. Both welterweights were originally slated to fight – though not against each other – on the UFC Rio in January but forced to withdraw due to injuries.

In other welterweight action, TUF: US vs UK standout DaMarques Johnson will go toe-to-toe against yet another Brit, as he has agreed to fight Cambridge submission specialist John Maguire. Plus, Oslo’s 16-2 fight finisher Simeon Thoresen will make his UFC debut against undefeated Swede Besam Yousef.

Two more Swedish signees will face French opponents at the European event. At light heavyweight, Cyrille Diabate welcomes undefeated kickboxer Jörgen Kruth to the UFC; while middleweight Francis Carmont will face 10-3 knockout artist Magnus “Jycken” Cedenblad in his sophomore Octagon outing. Verbal agreements are in for all of these bouts.

UFC Sets its Sights on Sweden updated January 5
The UFC will make its Scandinavian debut this spring as the second UFC on FUEL TV </a>fight night has been slated for Saturday, April 14 in Stockholm, Sweden. The date and venue were confirmed on this week’s UFC 142 conference call.

Verbal agreements are also in for two intriguing bouts at the April event. Fists will fly in a middleweight match between Italian striker Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara and “All American” brawler Brian Stann.

Also on that card, Papy Abedi will meet Oklahoman James Head. The French-born Abedi, known as “Makambo,” grew up there and in the Congo, but has lived and trained in Sweden for several years. The bout will be the sophomore UFC effort for both welterweights.

FUEL TV, FOX Sports Media Group’s dynamic sports network for males, is television’s fastest-growing cable network this year, according to figures released by Nielsen Media Research. In both the Total Day and Prime Time, the network recorded the largest percentage increases of total viewers among all rated, ad-supported cable networks in the first quarter of 2012.
 
FUEL TV continued its unprecedented ratings increases in March, following the growth trend that began in January when Ultimate Fighting Championship® programming began to dominate key day-parts. February was the network’s most-watched month ever, featuring its first live UFC fight, which delivered the channel its most-watched program, most-watched Prime Time and most-watched week.
 
FUEL TV aired 233 hours of UFC programming in February and added another 213 hours in March. FUEL TV telecast 646 hours of UFC programming in the first three months of 2012.
 
FUEL TV March 2012 Audience Highlights:
•    March 2012 was up +100% in Total Viewers and +167% in M18-49 vs. March 2011;
•    Prime Time viewership grew +209% on Total Viewers and +325% among M18-49 vs. March 2011;
•    Late Night is up +170% on Total Viewers and +600% among M18-49 vs. March 2011.
 
FUEL TV First Quarter 2012 Audience Highlights:
•    Q1 2012 was FUEL TV’s most-watched in network history, finishing up +100% in Total Viewers and up +125% in M18-49 vs. Q1 2011;
•    Q1 Prime Time viewership increased +200% in Total Viewers and +260% among M18-49 vs. the same quarter last year;
•    Q1 Late Night increased +222% on Total Viewers and +275% among M18-49 compared to Q1 in 2011.
 
“It is unbelievable how much impact the UFC has had on this network and its ratings,” says George Greenberg, Executive Vice President and General Manager, FUEL TV. “We’re thrilled to have the UFC as a partner driving this growth. With more upcoming live fights in April, May and through the year, we expect this trend to continue.”
 
FUEL TV’s next Fight Week begins April 8 and culminates with network’s next live fight on Saturday, April 14 with UFC on FUEL TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva.
 
In 2012, FUEL TV telecasts more than 2,000 hours of UFC programming, with more than 100 hours of live fights, weigh-ins, preliminary bouts, and pre- and postfight shows. In this year, FUEL TV offers more UFC programming than any network has ever offered.
 
For a complete listing of FUEL TV shows, go to: http://www.fuel.tv/schedule/. For more information, go to www.fuel.tv, www.fuel.tv/ufc, on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/fueltv, and on Twitter at: @fueltv, #UFConFUELTV
 
To find FUEL TV on your television, go to www.fuel.tv/getfueltv, or call 877-4 FUEL-TV.
 
 

The Ultimate Fighting Championship® and Harley-Davidson® ride in to the BankAtlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Friday, June 8 with an outstanding UFC® event headlined by flyweight rivals Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Ian McCall. The winner of the fight will go on to fight Joseph Benavidez for the first-ever UFC 125-pound title later in the year.

UFC’s Harley-Davidson Hometown Throwdown event will air live on FX at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Southern Florida was selected for this event as a part of the UFC, Harley-Davidson “Hometown Throwdown” program. The program allowed fans to visit the UFC, Harley-Davidson Hometown Throwdown website and submit a city for consideration for a future event.

In addition to helping choose the city, fans will also play a key role in determining a main card bout on the card. UFC fans can go to ufc.com/hometownthrowdown to vote for which bout will make it onto the main card and be the first fight shown on the FX telecast.

Fans can choose between the following three bouts: Scott Jorgensen vs. Eddie Wineland in bantamweight action; Carlos Eduardo Rocha vs. Mike Pierce in a welterweight bout; Lance Benoist vs. Seth Baczynski at 170 pounds.

Fans can also enter to win the UFC experience of a lifetime at the Harley-Davidson Hometown Throwdown event and their own custom Harley® motorcycle through a sweepstakes that runs through April 28, 2012. See full sweepstakes information and rules at ufc.com/hometownthrowdown.

The main event of Johnson versus McCall comes in high-demand. The two first squared off in an action-packed bout last month in Australia, with Johnson initially being declared the winner. However, it was revealed shortly thereafter that the judges’ scorecards were calculated incorrectly by the local athletic commission and the actual decision was a draw. Thus, Johnson and McCall will extend their rivalry on June 8 in a three-round rematch. If the fight is a draw after three rounds, the competitors will go to a sudden victory round to determine which man will earn the right to compete for the UFC world title.

“I’m excited to bring the UFC back to Florida!” UFC President Dana White said. “The first fight between Johnson and McCall was incredible, and on June 8, they will finally finish the fight to determine who is going to fight for the first-ever flyweight title.”

“We are thrilled and honored to welcome the UFC to the BankAtlantic Center for the first time in our history,” said SSE President & COO Michael R. Yormark. “The UFC represents the pinnacle of mixed martial arts and one of the greatest live sports spectacles in the world, so it is fitting that South Florida’s premier entertainment destination – the BankAtlantic Center – will now be hosting a UFC event for the first time.”
 
Tickets for UFC’s Harley-Davidson Hometown Throwdown go on sale Friday, April 13 at 10 a.m. ET. Ticket prices are $175, $125, $85, $60, $40. Tickets are available online at Ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000, as well as the BankAtlantic Center Box Office.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, April 11 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, April 12, starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register via the “Join Newsletter” tab at the top of ufc.com.