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We already knew about most of these but here's the announcment from the UFC
RICCO RODRIGUEZ TO BATTLE PEDRO RIZZO IN HEAVYWEIGHT ACTION AT UFC 45: REVOLUTION LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW, NOV. 21
Matt Lindland In Re-Match With Niko Vitale; Phil Baroni To Fight Evan Tanner In Ultimate Fighting Championship Middleweight Bouts At Mohegan Sun Arena
Lightweights Din Thomas, Yves Edwards To Meet At UFC’s 10th Anniversary Show
TICKETS NOW ON SALE!
LAS VEGAS, October 17, 2003…Heavyweight contenders Ricco Rodriguez and Pedro Rizzo will square off in one of the feature fights of UFC 45: Revolution, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 10th anniversary show, LIVE on pay-per-view at 10 p.m., (EST) Friday, November 21, from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Ct.
Two middleweight fights and a lightweight match also have been added to the eight-fight, all-star card. Middleweight top contender Matt Lindland will meet Falaniko Vitale in a re-match from UFC 43: Meltdown and power-puncher Phil Baroni will take on Evan Tanner, who will fight as a middleweight for the first time. In the lightweight bout, jiu jitsu submission specialist Din Thomas will meet Thai boxing-jiu jitsu fighter Yves Edwards.
Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes (29-3-0) from Hillsboro, Ill., will defend his title for the fifth time against highly rated Frank Trigg (9-1-0) from El Segundo, Calif., and legendary knockout artist “Tank” Abbott (8-9-0) of Huntington Beach, Calif., will meet Hawaiian power-puncher “Cabbage” Correira (18-4-0) of Hilo, Hawaii, in a heavyweight feature match.
Tickets, $300, $200, $100, $60 and $30, are on sale now at the Mohegan Sun box office and at www.tickets.com. Tickets also may be ordered by telephone at 1-800-477-6849. All ticket purchases are subject to transaction fees. UFC 45: Revolution will be available LIVE on pay-per-view on iNDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, Bell ExpressVu, TVN, Echostar and Viewers Choice Canada. The suggested retail price is $29.95.
Rodriguez (10-3-0 in mixed martial arts) is a former UFC heavyweight champion. He combines powerful stand-up and striking skills with a ferocious takedown and ground and pound offense to dominate opponents. The Newark, N.J., and Staten Island, N.Y., native, who now lives and fights out of Las Vegas, has notched impressive victories over many of the world’s top heavyweights, including Tsuyoshi Kosaka and former heavyweight champion, now the UFC’s new light heavyweight champ, Randy Couture.
Rizzo (12-5-0) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is coming off a technical knockout victory over highly-regarded Tre Telligman at UFC 43: Meltdown, June 6, in Las Vegas. Rizzo is a professional kick boxer who is also one of the UFC’s most powerful strikers. He knocked out Tank in his UFC debut and has defeated some of the biggest names in MMA including Mark Coleman and Dan Severn.
In Vitale, Lindland (8-2-0) of Eagle Creek, Ore., will be looking to avenge a loss on June 6. In that first meeting, Lindland, a U.S. Olympic wrestling silver medallist and one of the UFC’s top-rated fighters at 185 pounds, attempted a first-round takedown but fell backwards with Vitale (14-2-0) of Honolulu, Hawaii, on top. Lindland’s head hit the mat and he was out cold. Vitale won by knockout. While some Octagonside experts considered it a “lucky” victory, Vitale is a highly regarded freestyle fighter with excellent Brazilian jiu jitsu and kick boxing skills who also owns victories over UFC veterans Aaron Riley, Todd Medina and Tyrone Roberts.
Baroni (6-2-0), a Long Island, N.Y. native who now lives and fights out of Las Vegas, is returning to the Octagon after an almost nine month layoff since suffering a major training injury. He tore his pectoral muscle but after surgery and rehab says he is stronger than ever. One of the UFC’s most powerful pound-for-pound punchers, Baroni is again ready to display the speed and power he utilized in victories over former UFC middleweight champ Dave Menne and Amar Suloev.
Tanner (8-2-0) of Portland, Ore., is taking a page out Team Quest training partner Couture’s book and is dropping down a weight class. Always a top contender at light heavyweight, Tanner could be a monster at middleweight. A strong ground and pound fighter with powerful knees and leg kicks, Tanner will be looking to take the fight to the ground to neutralize Baroni’s punching power.
The Thomas-Edwards bout matches two of the UFC’s best lightweights. Thomas (18-3-0) of Orlando, Fla., is a member of the American Top Team, one of the country’s top mixed martial arts training centers in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He utilizes jiu jitsu submission techniques and a power-packed stand-up striking game to dominate opponents. Thomas is coming off a majority decision victory over Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt Matt Serra at UFC 41: Onslaught earlier this year in Atlantic City, N.J.
Edwards (13-6-1) from The Woodlands, Tex., a suburb of Houston, is a Thugjitsu fighter who is also coming off a victory at UFC 43: Meltdown where he dominated Eddie Ruiz to win a three-round unanimous decision. Edwards also continues to improve his boxing skills by training with Kenny Weldon, who helped build former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield’s career. The UFC’s first fight event, UFC1: The Beginning, was held November 12, 1993, at McNichols Arena in Denver, Colo. That night, Royce Gracie defeated Gerard Gordeau in the final match with a tap out by rear naked choke to become the first UFC champion. Other fighters on that first card included Ken Shamrock, Kevin Rosier, Art Jimmerson, Teila Tuli, Patrick Smith, Zane Frazier, Jason DeLucia and Trent Jenkins. As part of the 10th anniversary, the public is invited to visit the web site, www.ufc.tv, and vote for the top 10 UFC fighters of all time.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., is today the world’s premier mixed martial arts sports association. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the UFC programs six live pay-per-view events annually through cable and satellite providers. In addition to its U.S. distribution, UFC events are distributed internationally through WOWOW, Inc. in Japan, Globosat in Brazil, Main Event Television in Australia and Sky Network Television in New Zealand. Zuffa, LLC, licenses the distribution of UFC video games through Crave Entertainment and TDK Mediactive. “UFC,” “Ultimate Fighting Championship,” “Ultimate Fighting,” “Submission” and the Octagon cage design are trademarks or registered trademarks of Zuffa, LLC in the U.S., Japan and other countries.
RICCO RODRIGUEZ TO BATTLE PEDRO RIZZO IN HEAVYWEIGHT ACTION AT UFC 45: REVOLUTION LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW, NOV. 21
Matt Lindland In Re-Match With Niko Vitale; Phil Baroni To Fight Evan Tanner In Ultimate Fighting Championship Middleweight Bouts At Mohegan Sun Arena
Lightweights Din Thomas, Yves Edwards To Meet At UFC’s 10th Anniversary Show
TICKETS NOW ON SALE!
LAS VEGAS, October 17, 2003…Heavyweight contenders Ricco Rodriguez and Pedro Rizzo will square off in one of the feature fights of UFC 45: Revolution, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 10th anniversary show, LIVE on pay-per-view at 10 p.m., (EST) Friday, November 21, from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Ct.
Two middleweight fights and a lightweight match also have been added to the eight-fight, all-star card. Middleweight top contender Matt Lindland will meet Falaniko Vitale in a re-match from UFC 43: Meltdown and power-puncher Phil Baroni will take on Evan Tanner, who will fight as a middleweight for the first time. In the lightweight bout, jiu jitsu submission specialist Din Thomas will meet Thai boxing-jiu jitsu fighter Yves Edwards.
Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes (29-3-0) from Hillsboro, Ill., will defend his title for the fifth time against highly rated Frank Trigg (9-1-0) from El Segundo, Calif., and legendary knockout artist “Tank” Abbott (8-9-0) of Huntington Beach, Calif., will meet Hawaiian power-puncher “Cabbage” Correira (18-4-0) of Hilo, Hawaii, in a heavyweight feature match.
Tickets, $300, $200, $100, $60 and $30, are on sale now at the Mohegan Sun box office and at www.tickets.com. Tickets also may be ordered by telephone at 1-800-477-6849. All ticket purchases are subject to transaction fees. UFC 45: Revolution will be available LIVE on pay-per-view on iNDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, Bell ExpressVu, TVN, Echostar and Viewers Choice Canada. The suggested retail price is $29.95.
Rodriguez (10-3-0 in mixed martial arts) is a former UFC heavyweight champion. He combines powerful stand-up and striking skills with a ferocious takedown and ground and pound offense to dominate opponents. The Newark, N.J., and Staten Island, N.Y., native, who now lives and fights out of Las Vegas, has notched impressive victories over many of the world’s top heavyweights, including Tsuyoshi Kosaka and former heavyweight champion, now the UFC’s new light heavyweight champ, Randy Couture.
Rizzo (12-5-0) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is coming off a technical knockout victory over highly-regarded Tre Telligman at UFC 43: Meltdown, June 6, in Las Vegas. Rizzo is a professional kick boxer who is also one of the UFC’s most powerful strikers. He knocked out Tank in his UFC debut and has defeated some of the biggest names in MMA including Mark Coleman and Dan Severn.
In Vitale, Lindland (8-2-0) of Eagle Creek, Ore., will be looking to avenge a loss on June 6. In that first meeting, Lindland, a U.S. Olympic wrestling silver medallist and one of the UFC’s top-rated fighters at 185 pounds, attempted a first-round takedown but fell backwards with Vitale (14-2-0) of Honolulu, Hawaii, on top. Lindland’s head hit the mat and he was out cold. Vitale won by knockout. While some Octagonside experts considered it a “lucky” victory, Vitale is a highly regarded freestyle fighter with excellent Brazilian jiu jitsu and kick boxing skills who also owns victories over UFC veterans Aaron Riley, Todd Medina and Tyrone Roberts.
Baroni (6-2-0), a Long Island, N.Y. native who now lives and fights out of Las Vegas, is returning to the Octagon after an almost nine month layoff since suffering a major training injury. He tore his pectoral muscle but after surgery and rehab says he is stronger than ever. One of the UFC’s most powerful pound-for-pound punchers, Baroni is again ready to display the speed and power he utilized in victories over former UFC middleweight champ Dave Menne and Amar Suloev.
Tanner (8-2-0) of Portland, Ore., is taking a page out Team Quest training partner Couture’s book and is dropping down a weight class. Always a top contender at light heavyweight, Tanner could be a monster at middleweight. A strong ground and pound fighter with powerful knees and leg kicks, Tanner will be looking to take the fight to the ground to neutralize Baroni’s punching power.
The Thomas-Edwards bout matches two of the UFC’s best lightweights. Thomas (18-3-0) of Orlando, Fla., is a member of the American Top Team, one of the country’s top mixed martial arts training centers in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He utilizes jiu jitsu submission techniques and a power-packed stand-up striking game to dominate opponents. Thomas is coming off a majority decision victory over Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt Matt Serra at UFC 41: Onslaught earlier this year in Atlantic City, N.J.
Edwards (13-6-1) from The Woodlands, Tex., a suburb of Houston, is a Thugjitsu fighter who is also coming off a victory at UFC 43: Meltdown where he dominated Eddie Ruiz to win a three-round unanimous decision. Edwards also continues to improve his boxing skills by training with Kenny Weldon, who helped build former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield’s career. The UFC’s first fight event, UFC1: The Beginning, was held November 12, 1993, at McNichols Arena in Denver, Colo. That night, Royce Gracie defeated Gerard Gordeau in the final match with a tap out by rear naked choke to become the first UFC champion. Other fighters on that first card included Ken Shamrock, Kevin Rosier, Art Jimmerson, Teila Tuli, Patrick Smith, Zane Frazier, Jason DeLucia and Trent Jenkins. As part of the 10th anniversary, the public is invited to visit the web site, www.ufc.tv, and vote for the top 10 UFC fighters of all time.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., is today the world’s premier mixed martial arts sports association. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the UFC programs six live pay-per-view events annually through cable and satellite providers. In addition to its U.S. distribution, UFC events are distributed internationally through WOWOW, Inc. in Japan, Globosat in Brazil, Main Event Television in Australia and Sky Network Television in New Zealand. Zuffa, LLC, licenses the distribution of UFC video games through Crave Entertainment and TDK Mediactive. “UFC,” “Ultimate Fighting Championship,” “Ultimate Fighting,” “Submission” and the Octagon cage design are trademarks or registered trademarks of Zuffa, LLC in the U.S., Japan and other countries.
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