Author: UFC News

Six fighters joined UFC President Dana White at the UFC on FX post-fight press conference:Martin Kampmann, Ian McCall, Joseph Benavidez, Demetrious Johnson, Anthony Perosh, and James Te Huna.

Johnson and McCall were awarded Fight of the Night for their back-and-forth brawl. Although Johnson was named the winner in the Octagon, it was revealed at the press conference that there was an error in the scoring, and the fight was actually ruled a draw. “Uncle Creepy” and “Mighty Mouse” will compete in a rematch at a later date.

Benavidez earned Knockout of the Night for his second-round starching of newcomer Yasuhiro Urushitani. After a fast-paced first round, Benavidez blasted Urushitani early in the second frame to force a stoppage.

Submission of the Night went to headliner Kampmann. Kampmann survived a series of flurries from opponent Thiago Alves to lock on a fight-ending guillotine choke late in the third round.

All bonused fighters received $50,000.

Watch the full-length archive of the post-fight press conference. 

FEATHERWEIGHT MAIN EVENT
DUSTIN POIRIER vs. ‘THE KOREAN ZOMBIE’ CHAN SUNG JUNG

Plus, ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone meets Jeremy Stephens and
D.C.’s Mike Easton battles Canadian standout Yves Jabouin

Tuesday, May 15
Patriot Center – Fairfax, Va.
TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY, MARCH 16

Las Vegas, Nevada – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® is bringing an exciting night of action to the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. on Tuesday, May 15. It will mark the UFC’s second trip to the Patriot Center, with the first being held in front of a sellout crowd on Jan. 11, 2010.

In the night’s main event, red-hot featherweight rising star Dustin Poirier battles international sensation “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung. The winner is expected to emerge as a challenger to the UFC 145-pound title currently held by Brazilian star Jose Aldo.

The following fights have also been confirmed for this card: Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone vs. Jeremy Stephens in lightweight action; Jason MacDonald vs. Tom Lawlor at middleweight; Igor Pokrajac vs. Thiago Silva in a light heavyweight bout; Washington, D.C.’s Mike Easton vs. Yves Jabouin in bantamweight action. Additional fights are expected to be announced at www.ufc.com in the weeks to come. The night of action will air live on FUEL TV at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT.

“We’re excited to head back to the Patriot Center again with another great night of fights, including a featherweight main event pitting Dustin Poirier against ‘The Korean Zombie,’” UFC President Dana White said. “Poirier and ‘The Korean Zombie’ are two of the most exciting fighters in the UFC. This is going to be a fun fight. From top to bottom, I will deliver for the fans in Virginia.”

“We are thrilled to have UFC return to the Patriot Center,” said Barry Geisler, General Manager of the Patriot Center. “The UFC provides a unique and live sporting event experience that MMA fans will not want to miss come May 15th.”
 
Tickets for UFC® on FUEL TV go on sale Friday, March 16 at 10 a.m. ET and are priced at $229, $154, $104, $69, and $44. Tickets are available at the Patriot Center box office, online at Ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, March 14 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, March 15, starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.  

NATE DIAZ vs. N.J.’s JIM MILLER
PAT BARRY vs. LAVAR JOHNSON
JOSH KOSCHECK vs. JOHNY HENDRICKS
ROUSIMAR PALHARES vs. ALAN BELCHER

PRESS CONFERENCE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL IN NEW YORK CITY ON TUESDAY, MARCH 6 AT 11 A.M. ET

TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY, MARCH 9 – 10 A.M. ET

Las Vegas, Nevada – UFC® on FOX is coming to the Garden State. The Ultimate Fighting Championship® announced today that its third event on the FOX network will take place on Saturday, May 5 from the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

An outstanding five-round lightweight bout between Whippany’s Jim Miller and rugged contender Nate Diaz will headline the card, with the winner moving one step closer to a title shot. The remaining main card bouts include: heavyweights Pat Barry vs. Lavar Johnson; welterweight contenders Josh Koscheck vs. Johny Hendricks; middleweights Rousimar Palhares vs. Alan Belcher. The action-packed main card will air live on FOX at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT.

The card will also feature an exciting preliminary card, which will be confirmed at UFC.com in the coming weeks.

A press conference is planned for Tuesday, March 6 at 11 a.m. ET from Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The event is FREE and open to the public. Doors for the public will open at 10:30 a.m. The main card fighters will join UFC President Dana White at the presser.

“For our third card on FOX, we have four great fights!” UFC President Dana White said. “Nate Diaz versus Jim Miller is the five-round main event and the winner will put himself in a position to fight for the title. Both of these guys fight at an incredible pace and are coming off great wins.

“We’ve got an amazing heavyweight fight between knockout artists Pat Barry and Lavar Johnson, as well as welterweight title contender fight between Josh Koscheck and Johny Hendricks. Johny just knocked out Koscheck’s training partner, Jon Fitch, and wants a title shot. To do it, he’s gotta get past Koscheck, who’s one of the best 170-pounders in the world. If that wasn’t enough, submission specialist Rousimar Palhares meets Alan Belcher in an exciting middleweight fight. I’m excited for fans in N.J. and N.Y. to experience the UFC live again.”
 
Tickets for UFC®on FOX go on sale Friday, March 9 at 10 a.m. ET and are priced at $250, $150, $100, $75 and $50. Tickets are available online at Ticketmaster.com, charge-by-phone at 800-745-3000, and the IZOD Center Box Office. Visit www.IZODcenter.com or call 201-935-3900 for more details. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, March 7 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, March 8, starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

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

First of Two 13-Week Seasons This Year on FX
Special Premiere Event to Showcase 16 LIVE Fights
Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber Named Coaches

LOS ANGELES (Feb. 27, 2012) – A talented international field of 32 confident, dedicated and determined fighters has been set for THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER® LIVE on FX that begins on Friday, March 9, with a special two-and-a-half-hour LIVE premiere airing at 9 PM ET/8 PM CT, and tape delayed on the Pacific and Mountain time zones at 9 PM PT/10 PM MT.

The list of finalists was trimmed from more than 500 prospective entrants from around the world.Those seeking to cash in on the opportunity of a lifetime include fighters in the lightweight (155
pounds) division from the United States, England, Northern Ireland and Brazil.

The inaugural season of THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER LIVE on FX will run for 13 consecutive weeks, featuring live fights every episode, and culminate with a championship fight on June 1, in a three-hour finale. Following the eagerly anticipated premiere on its new home, the series will remain on Fridays but move to 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) for 12 weeks. (Telecasts of TUF Live will air live nationally on DirecTV ch. 248 and DISH-Channel ch. 136.)

As part of The Ultimate Fighting Championship®’s landmark deal with FOX Sports Media Group, FX will also televise a second 13-week season of THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER LIVE this summer. There will be two 13-week seasons of THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER LIVE on FX annually for the next seven years. The eventual winner of each season receives a six-figure contract from the UFC. The 13 weeks of taping are more than twice as long as previous TUF seasons (six).

Unlike past editions when each season was taped months in advance of its broadcast, new episodes with live fights will now air each week.

There will be 16 live fights on March 9. The competitors are:

Akbarh Arreloa, Chula Vista, Calif.
Al Iaquinta, Wantagh, N.Y.
Ali Maclean, Belfast, North Ireland
Andy Ogle, Tynemouth, England
Austin Lyons, Cordova, Tenn.
Brendan Weafer, New York, N.Y.
Chris Tickle, Bloomington, Ill.
Cody Pfister, Amarillo, Texas
Cristiano Marcello, Curitiba, Brazil
Chase Hackett, Littleton, Colo.
Chris Saunders, Long Beach, Calif.
Dakota Cochrane, Omaha, Neb.
Daron Cruickshank, Wayne, Mich.
Drew Dober, Omaha, Neb.
Erin Beach, San Diego, Calif.
James Krause, Blue Springs, MO
James Vick, Fort Worth, Texas
Jared Carlsten, Los Angeles, Calif.
Jeff Smith, Mechanicsburg, Penn.
Jeremy Larsen, Phoenix, Ariz.
Joe Proctor, Pembroke, Mass.
John Cofer, Hull, Ga.
Johnavan Vistante, Pearl City, Hawaii
Jon Tuck, Hagtna, Guam
Jordan Rinaldi, Matthews, N.C.
Justin Lawrence, Villa Ridge, Mo.
Mark Glover, Liverpool, England
Michael Chiesa, Spokane Valley, Wash.
Myles Jury, San Diego, Calif.
Mike Rio, Miami, Fla.
Sam Sicilia, Spokane Valley, Wash.
Vinc Pichel, Sherman Oaks, Calif.

The previously announced coaches for the two teams will be current UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and former WEC featherweight champion and current top contender, Urijah Faber. Cruz and Faber are no strangers to each other. The popular UFC superstars and rivals have split two previous fights and will clash for a third time at UFC 148 on July 7 in Las Vegas.

Following the live fights during the series premiere episode, or “Fight In,” the field will be halved. The 16 survivors will then be broken up into two teams of eight. Each team will train with each other and reside in a house together in Las Vegas for the duration of the season. One fighter from each team will be selected by their coach to fight at the end of each weekly installment on FX for the right to advance in the competition and, ultimately, perhaps, be crowned THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER LIVE Champion and earn the life-changing contract with the UFC.

Said UFC President Dana White, “We’re producing ground-breaking television with THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER LIVE and we can’t wait to kick this season off with FX. It’s going to be can’t-miss TV. Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber are two amazing guys who also happen to be two of the best fighters in the world. They genuinely dislike each other and I expect this to make for the best season yet.”

“We believe that Dana, (UFC Chairman) Lorenzo Fertitta and (Executive Producer) Craig Piligian have come up with exciting new changes to the format of THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER LIVE that will expand and grow the series,” said Chuck Saftler, Executive Vice President, FX Networks. “The fact that the fight at the end of every episode will now be televised live is certain to create a sense of urgency for UFC fans and will make the series even more compelling.”

Many of today’s most recognizable names in Mixed Martial Arts have emerged from the series’
previous incarnation, The Ultimate Fighter, including, among many others, Rashad Evans, Kenny Florian, Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar.

So who will be the first champion on THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER LIVE on FX? Stay tuned.

For more show information, bios, videos and photos, visit ultimatefighter.com.

Check out the ground-breaking Evolution spot
Watch the Heartbeat promo with Dana White
Watch the Miles Jury promo
Check out the Sam Sicilia spot

The UFC® 144 post-fight press conference was attended by UFC® President Dana White, plus 15 fighters – Benson Henderson, Frankie Edgar, Mark Hunt, Ryan Bader, Rampage Jackson, Tim Boetsch, Takeya Mizugaki, Hatsu Hioki, Issei Tamura, Riki Fukuda, Takanori Gomi, Jake Shields, Anthony Pettis, Chris Cariaso, and Vaughan Lee.

Fight of the Night went to headliners Henderson and Edgar. The two lightweights engaged in an exciting back-and-forth brawl that saw Henderson leave as the new UFC® lightweight champion.

Pettis earned Knockout of the Night for his vicious first-round KO (via head kick) of Joe Lauzon. The win moved “Showtime” closer to a rematch with Henderson.

Lee won Submission of the Night by handing Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto the first submission loss of his storied career.

Each bonused fighter earned $65,000.

Click to see video highlights from the presser of:

Henderson, Edgar and Pettis

Rampage Jackson