UFC 162 – Lightweights Edson Barboza vs. John Makdessi Announced

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced another match for this July’s upcoming UFC 162 event between lightweights Edson ‘Junior’ Barboza (11-1) and John ‘The Bull’ Makdessi (11-2). Canadian officials with the promotion Tweeted (@UFC_CA) the news on Friday afternoon. – The Bull @JohnMakdessiMMA is back! He will face @EdsonBarbozaJR in a lightweight battle on July 6 […]

Edson Barboza (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Edson Barboza (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced another match for this July’s upcoming UFC 162 event between lightweights Edson ‘Junior’ Barboza (11-1) and John ‘The Bull’ Makdessi (11-2).

Canadian officials with the promotion Tweeted (@UFC_CA) the news on Friday afternoon.

The Bull @JohnMakdessiMMA is back! He will face @EdsonBarbozaJR in a lightweight battle on July 6 at #UFC162 in Las Vegas

UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman is expected to take place on July 6, 2013 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will feature a middleweight title bout between division kingpin Anderson Silva nd challenger Chris Weidman.

Barboza is 1-1 in his last two and 5-1 overall in the Octagon. ‘Junior’ had his last fight in January in Brazil, picking up a submission (punches) stoppage over countryman Lucas Martins at the UFC on FX 7 event. Prior to that Barboza suffered his first pro-loss, losing to former WEC champ Jamie Varner by TKO at UFC 146.

‘The Bull’ has bounced back from back-to-back losses by winning two in a row fighting in his home of Montreal. Makdessi won decisions over Daron Cruickshank at UFC 158 and over Sam Stout at UFC 154. His losses came at the hands of Anthony Njokuani, by decision at UFC 145, and to Dennis Hallman, by decision at UFC 140.

Rory MacDonald Returns At UFC on FOX 8 To Face Jake Ellenberger

A key welterweight matchup will pit Canadian Rory ‘The Waterboy’ MacDonald (14-1) versus Jake ‘The Juggernaut’ Ellenberger (29-6) this July when the two meet at UFC on FOX 8. News of the match was first announced by TheProvince.com and was later confirmed by UFC officials on Twitter (@UFC). – Oh hey welterweights RT @UFC_CA @Rory_MacDonald […]

Rory MacDonald celebrates after second round TKO win versus Che Mills - photo via UFC.com

Rory MacDonald celebrates after second round TKO win versus Che Mills – photo via UFC.com

A key welterweight matchup will pit Canadian Rory ‘The Waterboy’ MacDonald (14-1) versus Jake ‘The Juggernaut’ Ellenberger (29-6) this July when the two meet at UFC on FOX 8.

News of the match was first announced by TheProvince.com and was later confirmed by UFC officials on Twitter (@UFC).

Oh hey welterweights RT @UFC_CA @Rory_MacDonald to face Jake @EllenbergerMMA in Seattle @UFConFOX 8

UFC on FOX 8 is expected to be held on July 27, 2013 at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. The main event has yet to be named for the event.

MacDonald vs. Ellenberger is sure to appear on the nights main card, possibly the co-main event.

‘The Waterboy’ was to have fought last month at UFC 158 in Montreal versus Carlos Condit but was forced out following an injury. MacDonald has won four in a row with his last victory taking place in December of last year at UFC on FOX 5 picking up a decision over BJ Penn. Other victories include wins over Che Mills at UFC 145, Mike Pyle at UFC 133, and Nate Diaz at UFC 129.

Ellenberger has won back-to-back victories following a knockout loss last June to Martin Kampmann at the TUF 15 Finale. That defeat ended a six fight win streak for ‘The Juggernaut.’ His two recent victories include a knockout stoppage of the last Strikeforce champ Nate Marquardt at UFC 158 and a decision over Jay Hieron at UFC on FX 5 last October.

Georges St-Pierre On His Book ‘Way Of The Fight,’ Upcoming Role In Captain America 2, & More (2 Videos)

Showdown Joe sits down with Georges St-Pierre to discuss his movie role, his book, his thoughts on Nick Diaz and much more.

Watch a second interview with the UFC champ who appeared on ‘Breakfast Television’ who also talks about his previous knee injury after the jump.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Showdown Joe sits down with Georges St-Pierre to discuss his movie role, his book, his thoughts on Nick Diaz and much more.

Watch a second interview with the UFC champ who appeared on ‘Breakfast Television’ who also talks about his previous knee injury after the jump.

Chris Weidman On Fighting For The UFC Title, Anthony Pettis Demonstrates The ‘Showtime’ Kick

Fight Network’s John Ramdeen and Robin Black break down the biggest topics in mixed martial arts including analysis on UFC on Fuel 9, Chris Weidman on his upcoming title bout vs. Anderson Silva and a special feature with Anthony Pettis and Robin Black, on this edition of 5 Rounds!

The interview with Chris Weidman starts at 10:40 and the feature with Anthony Pettis starts at 17:35.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Fight Network’s John Ramdeen and Robin Black break down the biggest topics in mixed martial arts including analysis on UFC on Fuel 9, Chris Weidman on his upcoming title bout vs. Anderson Silva and a special feature with Anthony Pettis and Robin Black, on this edition of 5 Rounds!

The interview with Chris Weidman starts at 10:40 and the feature with Anthony Pettis starts at 17:35.

Women’s Bantamweights Alexis Davis & Rosi Sexton Added To UFC 161

A women’s bantamweight bout has been added to the Ultimate Fighting Championships next Canadian event as Alexis Davis (13-5) welcomes Brit Rosi ‘The Surgeon’ Sexton (13-2) to Winnipeg at UFC 161. Officials with the Canadian office of the UFC confirmed the news by re-Tweeting (@UFC_CA) a message on Thursday. – Congratulations to former CWFC champion […]

Alexis DavisA women’s bantamweight bout has been added to the Ultimate Fighting Championships next Canadian event as Alexis Davis (13-5) welcomes Brit Rosi ‘The Surgeon’ Sexton (13-2) to Winnipeg at UFC 161.

Officials with the Canadian office of the UFC confirmed the news by re-Tweeting (@UFC_CA) a message on Thursday.

Congratulations to former CWFC champion @RosiSexton who’ll be making her UFC debut against Alexis Davis in Canada on June 15 at UFC 161.

UFC 161: Barao vs. Wineland is expected to take place on June 15, 2013 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The event will see interim bantamweight champ Renan Barao defend his title versus former WEC title holder Eddie Wineland.

Davis will fight in Winnipeg for a second time hoping to keep her winning ways having earned a first round submission back in 2008. The Canadian is currently riding a two-fight win streak with both victories taking place inside the Invicta FC cage. Her last win was a third round submission win over after choking out Shayna Baszler at Invicta FC 4 this past January.

Sexton has picked up three straight victories and is 8-1 in her last nine. ‘The Surgeon’ picked up her last victory last June earning a unanimous decision over Aisling Daly at a Cage Warriors 47 show. The two previous victories also took place under the Cage Warriors banner with wins over Roxanne Modafferi and Sally Krumdiack.

UFC 161: Barao vs. Wineland Official For Winnipeg, Press Event Sent For April 10

Press Release – Toronto, Canada – UFC® interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao will look for his second straight title defense against No.4 ranked contender Eddie Wineland on Saturday, June 15 when the Ultimate Fighting Championship® brings its first-ever event to Winnipeg, Manitoba with UFC 161: BARAO vs. WINELAND at the MTS Centre. Riding one of […]

ufclogo8xPress Release – Toronto, Canada – UFC® interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao will look for his second straight title defense against No.4 ranked contender Eddie Wineland on Saturday, June 15 when the Ultimate Fighting Championship® brings its first-ever event to Winnipeg, Manitoba with UFC 161: BARAO vs. WINELAND at the MTS Centre.

Riding one of the longest unbeaten streaks in mixed martial arts history, Barao (32-1, 1NC, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) defeated Urijah Faber in Calgary in July 2012 to win the interim title. He defended the belt in February against Michael McDonald with an impressive arm triangle choke that earned him his first Submission of the Night honours. Barao has gone 31 straight fights without a loss (30victories, 1 no-contest). He is on an exciting 20-fight win streak and is 5-0 since making his UFC debut in May 2011.

Wineland (20-8-1, fighting out of Chesterton, Indiana) is a former WEC bantamweight champion who comes into this title shot with two straight wins. Wineland defeated Scott Jorgensen in June 2012 in a Fight of the Night performance that marked the first time Jorgensen had ever been stopped via knockout. Wineland followed that up with a win over Brad Pickett in December.

In the night’s co-main event, light heavyweights Rogerio “Lil Nog” Nogueira and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, will have a rematch of their legendary 2005 Pride fight. The fifth-ranked Nogueira (21-5, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) has won his last two fights, both of which have been against former UFC® light heavyweight champions. He defeated Rashad Evans in February 2013 at UFC 156 and Tito Ortiz in December 2011 at UFC 140. Meanwhile, Rua (21-7, fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil) who is ranked sixth, is 1-1 in his last two fights, coming off a loss to Alexander Gustafsson in December 2012 and a win over Brandon Vera via TKO last August.

In another compelling light heavyweight bout, former Pride welterweight and middleweight champion Dan Henderson (29-9, fighting out of Temecula, California) will take on former UFC® light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans (22-3-1, fighting out of Delray Beach, Florida). Ranked third and seventh respectively, Henderson and Evans will both be looking to rebound back into the win column. Henderson recently lost a split decision to Lyoto Machida at UFC 157 that snapped his four-fight win streak. Meanwhile, Evans will look to break two straight unanimous decision losses to Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 156 and Jon Jones at UFC 145.

Canada will also see its first women’s bantamweight bout as Port Colbourne, Ontario’s Alexis Davis (11-5) will meet Rosi Sexton (13-2, fighting out of Manchester, England). Davis, who has a black belt in both Japanese and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, has won five of her last six fights including victories over STRIKEFORCE® veteran Julie Kedzie and power-punching Amanda Nunes. The “Ally-Gator” earned Fight of the Night honours in her most recent win via rear naked choke over Shayna Baszler in January at Invicta FC4. Meanwhile, Rosi “The Surgeon” Sexton boasts black belts in tae kwon do and TJF jiu-jitsu and a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. She is currently on a three-fight win streak in the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship and was their 2005 132-pound champion.

In addition, UFC® 161: BARAO vs. WINELAND will feature two heavyweight bouts including Stipe Miocic (9-1, fighting out of Euclid, Ohio) against newly signed Soa Palelei (18-3, fighting out of Perth, Australia), and hard-hitters Pat Barry (8-5, fighting out of Alexandria, Minnesota) and Shawn Jordan (14-4, fighting out of Albuquerque, New Mexico). Former STRIKEFORCE® middleweight champion Jake Shields (27-6-1, 1NC, fighting out of San Francisco, California) will also square off in a welterweight bout against Tyron Woodley (11-1, fighting out of St. Louis, Missouri) who is coming off a spectacular knockout in his UFC debut.

In addition to Davis, six other Canadians will step into the Octagon® at UFC® 161 including Winnipeg’s own Roland Delorme (8-1, 1NC) who faces Edwin Figueroa (9-2, fighting out of McKinney, Texas) in a bantamweight bout, Ryan Jimmo (17-2, fighting out of Edmonton, Alberta) will return against light heavyweight Igor Pokrajac (25-9, 1NC, fighting out of Zagreb, Croatia) and Toronto’s Sean Pierson (13-6) will battle welterweight TJ Waldburger (16-7, fighting out of Belton, Texas). Montreal’s Yves Jabouin (18-8) will also challenge bantamweight Dustin Pague (11-8, fighting out of Dulles, Virginia). Two other lightweight fights include Sam Stout (20-8-1, fighting out of London, Ontario) against Isaac Vallie-Flagg (14-3-1, fighting out of Albuquerque, New Mexico), and Mitch Clarke (9-2, fighting out of Edmonton, Alberta) versus John Maguire (18-5, fighting out of Cambridge England).

The Ultimate Fighting Championship® will host a press conference on April 10 in Winnipeg with the main event stars, as tickets for UFC® 161: BARAO vs. WINELAND go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 12 at 10 a.m. CT at ticketmaster.ca. More details surrounding the 1 p.m. CTpress conference are available below.

Additional bouts will be announced in the days to come at www.ufc.com.

Tickets for UFC® 161: BARAO vs. WINELAND go on sale Friday, April 12 at 10 a.m. CT and are priced at $500, $350, $250, $150, $90 and $50. Tickets will be available at the MTS Centre box office, at all Ticketmaster outlets, charge by phone at 1.855.985.5000 or online at www.ticketmaster.ca

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event on Wednesday, April 10 at 10 a.m. CT via the website ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers on Thursday, April 11, starting at 10 a.m. CT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC® 161: BARAO vs. WINELAND 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.

UFC® 161: BARAO vs. WINELAND PRESS CONFERENCE – OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

WHEN:
Wednesday, April 10 – 1 p.m. CT (media check-in starts at 12 p.m.)

WHERE:
The Met, 281 Donald Street, Winnipeg

WHO:
Dana White, UFC® President
Tom Wright, UFC® Director of Operations: Canada, Australia and New Zealand
Renan Barao, UFC® Interim Bantamweight Champion

Eddie Wineland, UFC® Bantamweight Contender

*This press conference will also be streamed live on UFC.com

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 airs on FX.

In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 145 countries, to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide, in 28 different languages. 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 nearly 2.4 million followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best-selling DVDs and video games, an internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TV offering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, a new franchise in development with EA, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel and trading cards.