Las Vegas, NV – The stakes couldn’t be higher when UFC® light heavyweight champion Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell takes to the Octagon™ to defend his crown against Brazil’s Renato “Babalu” Sobral as the main event for the Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization’s UFC 62: LIDDELL vs. SOBRAL live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center Saturday, August 26, 2006.
Tickets priced at $750, $500, $300, $200, $100 and (not including applicable services or taxes) for UFC 62: LIDDELL vs. SOBRAL are now on sale. Tickets will be sold at any Mandalay Bay box office and all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (Tower Records/WOW!, Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Robinsons-May stores and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call the Mandalay Bay box office at (702) 632-7580 or Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.ufc.com, www.mandalaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
UFC 62: LIDDELL vs. SOBRAL also is available live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $39.95.
One of the game’s true superstars, Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Liddell has defended the crown he won from Randy Couture in April of 2005 twice, most recently with a second round knockout of Couture in their February rubber match. Sidelined since then due to a toe injury, Liddell knows that a victory on August 26 will set-up perhaps the most anticipated matchup in MMA this year with the San Luis Obispo resident taking on Brazilian superstar Wanderlei Silva.
But Sobral is no one’s stepping stone, as evidenced by his ten fight winning streak since the first bout between the two, won by Liddell in November of 2002. In that almost four year period, Sobral has truly fought his way to the number one contender’s slot, submitting Travis Wiuff,
Chael Sonnen, and Mike Van Arsdale in his last three UFC bouts, and even beating world-class combatants Jeremy Horn, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, and Trevor Prangley in a single night in 2003. Winning the world title has long been Sobral’s dream, and he has no intentions of letting that dream slip away.
Also announced for UFC 62 is a second meeting between Stephan “The American Psycho” Bonnar and Forrest Griffin, the two light heavyweights who fought each other at The Ultimate Fighter® Season 1 finale. UFC fans will remember Bonnar vs. Griffin 1 - an epic battle that consisted of three non-stop rounds of fighting that ultimately inspired Dana White to award both light heavyweights a six-figure UFC contract. That fight took place over a year ago on April 9, 2005 with Griffin winning by unanimous decision. Since then, Bonnar has defeated tough opponents including Sam Hoger, James Irvin and Keith Jardine, but lost a three round decision last month to Rashad Evans. Meanwhile, Griffin defeated equally tough opponents including Bill Mahood and Elvis Sinosic, but lost a split decision to Tito Ortiz last April at UFC 59 – a fight that stands as one of the most exciting light heavyweight matchups in the UFC.
Bonnar vs. Griffin 2 promises to be another classic fight, with the winner moving up as one of the top contenders in line for a light heavyweight title fight.
The remaining fighters and bouts for UFC 62: LIDDELL vs. SOBRAL will be announced in the near future.
About The Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship® brand is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization and offers the premier series of MMA sports events. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., the UFC® organization produces approximately eight live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed through cable and satellite providers. In addition to its U.S. distribution, UFC fight programs are distributed throughout the world including broadcast on WOWOW, Inc. in Japan, Globosat in Brazil and Bravo in the United Kingdom. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit www.ufc.com.
Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC or other respective owners.
