Tag: Flagship

UFC 132: Arianny Celeste in Bud Light Commercial for UFC 132

Earlier this year, the UFC announced that they had renewed their sponsorship deal with Bud Light. The promotion revealed that Bud Light would increase their pay-per-view sponsorships from two events per year to four. Bud Light also agreed to back on…

Earlier this year, the UFC announced that they had renewed their sponsorship deal with Bud Light. The promotion revealed that Bud Light would increase their pay-per-view sponsorships from two events per year to four. Bud Light also agreed to back one special promotion event per year.

It appears that the next event that Bud Light will sponsor will be UFC 132. They have recently released a commercial for the event featuring UFC octagon girl Arianny Celeste.

UFC 132 will take place on July 2 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The main event on the card will feature the UFC’s first bantamweight title fight as champion Dominick Cruz defends his title against the only man to defeat him, Urijah Faber.

Also appearing on the UFC 132 fight card will be Wanderlei Silva who will make his long-awaited return to the cage. His opponent will be Chris Leben. 

Tito Ortiz will fight for his UFC career on the UFC 132 fight card, as Dana White has said that this is Ortiz’s last chance with the promotion. Ortiz has not won a fight since 2006 and will be the underdog on July 2 when he faces Ryan Bader.

UFC 132: Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber Talk First UFC Bantamweight Title Fight

Bleacher Report’s Danny Acosta:After 17 years, the UFC is ready to deliver the first sub-155-pound main event in Octagon history. The headlining honors belong to 135-pounders Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber as the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, …

Bleacher Report’s Danny Acosta:

After 17 years, the UFC is ready to deliver the first sub-155-pound main event in Octagon history.

The headlining honors belong to 135-pounders Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber as the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. hosts UFC 132 this Saturday night.

Their last meeting in Sin City occurred in March 2007 when Faber, then the WEC featherweight champion, retained his belt versus Cruz via first-round guillotine choke. Four years later, Cruz has the opportunity to defend his 135-pound crown for the third time in his UFC debut while avenging the lone loss of his 18-fight career (17-1) against “The California Kid” (25-4).

“That’s exactly what I feel I’m doing: I’m staking my claim and showing what I can do and that I deserve to be the king of this weight class,” the UFC bantamweight champion told Bleacher Report.

UFC parent company Zuffa experimented with the marketability of the lower weight classes by showcasing them in the WEC for the last three years. It was successful largely because of Faber, the face of the organization, who headlined the WEC’s lone pay-per-view offering opposite Jose Aldo.

Participating in another landmark bout for the sub-155-pound divisions is the latest in a long line of Faber’s headlining duties that date back to his third ever contest.   

“I feel lucky to have been in this position but it’s also come on the back of a lot of hard work. There hasn’t been all highs in my career,” Faber said to Bleacher Report, “and to stay on course and not get deserted and create opportunities for yourself—that’s what this is about. This is me creating opportunities by winning by staying persistent and consistent and going after what I want.”

The UFC’s inaugural bantamweight title tilt suggests the lower the weight, the higher the stakes. The chemistry for this bout fuels the rematch with heavyweight hype.

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UFC 132 Fight Card: Wanderliei Silva Facing Chris Leben as His Career Winds Down

UFC 132 will take place on July 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV.  The fight card will close out a run of six straight weekends of UFC/Strikeforce fight cards. The main event on the card will feature the UFC’s first bantamweight t…

UFC 132 will take place on July 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV.  The fight card will close out a run of six straight weekends of UFC/Strikeforce fight cards.

The main event on the card will feature the UFC’s first bantamweight title bout as champion Dominick Cruz defends his title against the only fighter to ever defeat him, Urijah Faber.

Also appearing on the card will be Tito Ortiz, who will be fighting for his UFC career when he meets the heavily favored Ryan Bader.

Wanderlei Silva makes his return to the Octagon at UFC 132. Silva has not fought since February 2011. He will meet Chris Leben on the main card of the event.

Bleacher Report’s Adam Wells had the following to say about Silva’s fight against Leben:

Silva’s heart doesn’t really seem to be in the sport anymore. He is 34 years old and seems to only want to take fights that he knows he will win. He doesn’t want to challenge himself as a fighter anymore for whatever reason.

In fact, he talked his way out of fighting Brian Stann at UFC 130 because his ego is so fragile that he assumed Stann, a former U.S. Marine, would be the fan favorite on Memorial Day weekend.

The end is coming for Silva very, very soon. With a loss at UFC 132, it will arrive sooner than he may want it to.

UFC 132 Fight Card: Carlos Condit’s Most Impressive Wins

UFC 132 Fight Card: Carlos Condit’s Most Impressive WinsBleacher Report’s John Heinis:Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit is one of the UFC’s most promising young stars in the welterweight division. Despite being just 27 years old, Condit alr…

UFC 132 Fight Card: Carlos Condit’s Most Impressive Wins

Bleacher Report’s John Heinis:

Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit is one of the UFC’s most promising young stars in the welterweight division.

Despite being just 27 years old, Condit already has 31 professional fights under his belt, and boasts a quality record of 26-5. 

Condit will take on fellow rising star Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 132, in a bout that many feel will be an unofficial No. 1 contender fight to see who has the next shot at the welterweight title.

That shot would be a ways off, as the most recent Strikeforce welterweight champion, Nick Diaz, will start his second stint in the UFC to challenge GSP for 170-pound supremacy at UFC 137 on October 29.

Nevertheless, Condit, a former WEC welterweight champion, is not a long ways off from proving he is among the cream of the crop. 

Let’s take a look inside and see which victories have really defined Condit as a fighter.

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UFC 132 Fight Card: Reasons to Watch – Carlos Condit Isn’t in Boring Fights

Carlos Condit is the kind of fighter who lays it on the line every time the octagon door closes. He isn’t afraid of a standup slugfest or a ground war. Since entering the UFC, he is nearly flawless, with his one loss coming in a controversial spli…

Carlos Condit is the kind of fighter who lays it on the line every time the octagon door closes. He isn’t afraid of a standup slugfest or a ground war. Since entering the UFC, he is nearly flawless, with his one loss coming in a controversial split decision to Martin Kampmann.

Condit got many talking after he knocked out Brittish powerhouse Dan Hardy in his last bout. He is primed for a title shot in the near future if he can get this W.

Dong Hyun Kim is no slouch, however. He is undefeated in his UFC career and is coming off his most impressive win of his life over Nate Diaz.

Kim isn’t known for excitement, but if anyone can make him exciting, it is Condit. Whether he is taking a beating or dishing it out, I can promise the “Natural Born Killer” will have the crowd on their feet.

Bleacher Report’s Jordan Luchtefeld

UFC 132 Fight Card: 7 Reasons It Will Be the PPV Event of the Summer

UFC 132 features great stylistic matchups, compelling storylines and fights that are sure to leave fans satisfied for paying $55.This PPV is not headlined by Brock Lesnar, Jon “Bones” Jones or Georges St-Pierre, so it won’t get the same amount …

UFC 132 features great stylistic matchups, compelling storylines and fights that are sure to leave fans satisfied for paying $55.

This PPV is not headlined by Brock Lesnar, Jon “Bones” Jones or Georges St-Pierre, so it won’t get the same amount of buys that those PPVs would have gotten. But my goodness, look at this card. It’s as if UFC President Dana White and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva got together and said let’s make a card strictly for the fans.

1)It starts with the undercard, which fans can see live on Facebook and on Spike. Three fights taking place on Facebook that fans won’t want to miss are Anthony Njokuani vs. Andre Miller, Brad Tavares vs. Aaron Simpson and Brian Bowles vs. Takeya Mizugaki.

The Njokuani-Miller fight is one of the most exciting matchups on the card. Expect a kickboxing clinic between these two high-level strikers.

2)Move on to Spike’s version of the Prelims and you’ve got George Sotiropoulos vs. Rafael Dos Anjos and Melvin Guillard vs. Shane Roller.

These are two exciting lightweight matchups that will have compelling storylines and questions. Will Guillard continue his winning streak and become that lightweight contender MMA fans always envisioned him to be? And will Sotiropoulos get back on his horse and start another winning streak?

3)From the first fight on PPV between Dennis Siver and Matt Wiman to the main event between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber, this fight card is stacked with exciting matchups that have a large effect on five weight divisions.

Siver and Wiman is simply a crowd-pleasing fight. Their styles match up so well, and both fighters will most likely want to keep this fight on the feet. UFC 132 will get off to a fast start with this PPV opener.

4)The welterweight division is in need of new contenders for St-Pierre’s belt, and these two guys are just that. Carlos Condit is riding a wave of momentum after a highlight reel knockout over Dan Hardy, and Dong Hyun Kim is undefeated with recent wins against Amir Sadollah and Nate Diaz.

Condit proved what he can do when he gets off to a fast start in his last fight, so let’s see how long it takes him to kick things into gear in this bout.

5)Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader is not only a good matchup stylistically, but the fact that it’s do-or-die for Ortiz makes it that much more intriguing.

Ortiz is the biggest reason why I got into MMA. The Ultimate Fighter, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and the sheer awesomeness of the sport helped, too, but I absolutely hated Ortiz and wanted to watch him get beat up. I would order PPVs just to watch him take a beating and finally this Mohawk guy gave me what I wanted.

Looking back, Ortiz was a genius in promoting fights and getting new fans. I have him to thank for really getting me invested in the sport and seeing how great the sport was. If it’s Ortiz’s last fight in the UFC, you better believe he will go down swinging.

6)I don’t think Joe Silva could have made a more exciting matchup than the co-main event, Chris Leben vs. Wanderlei Silva. They have the same brawling style that makes them fan favorites, and when they meet in the center of the octagon, expect them to throw down.

If all the other fights on this card end up being lackluster and not worth your $55, this fight will be the PPV’s saving grace. Buy this PPV for this fight, and everything else will just be icing on the cake.

7)This is the first time a UFC PPV has been headlined by a bantamweight fight, and they couldn’t have picked two better fighters to take the main stage.

This is a rematch four years in the making, and Faber has the mental edge as he won the first fight by guillotine choke in the first round. But make no mistake, these are two completely different fighters from who they were in 2007.

Both fighters have evolved in many ways, and they are embraced as the elite of the division. Both have exciting styles, and they should leave the fans with a crowd-pleasing main event.

Bleacher Report’s Jake Martin