UFC 79: Nemesis features Serra Vs Hughes On December 29th

ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® PRESENTS UFC 79: NEMESIS

SATURDAY, DEC. 29
LIVE FROM MANDALAY BAY EVENTS CENTER

UFC® WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
MATT “THE TERROR” SERRA vs. MATT HUGHES

Tickets Go on Sale Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 10am PT

Las Vegas, NV – 10/17/2007 (USA) – For a sixth straight season, millions of UFC® fans around the world watched competitors on The Ultimate Fighter® do battle in an attempt to become one of the newest stars in the UFC organization. But fans are also watching another battle rage, this one between the two coaches, UFC welterweight champion Matt “The Terror” Serra and former UFC champion Matt Hughes. Now, the coaches will have their chance to face off inside the Octagon™, with the world welterweight title at stake. The Ultimate Fighting Championship® presents UFC 79: NEMESIS live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center Saturday, December 29, 2007.

“Matt Hughes and Matt Serra did an awesome job as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter and now they are set to fight for Serra’s UFC Welterweight World Championship,” said Dana White, UFC President. “Serra wants to hold on to his title and Hughes wants it back. The show left little doubt about the dislike these two have for each other, and I think this is going to be an explosive fight.”

Tickets for UFC 79: NEMESIS go on sale Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 10am PST and are priced at $1,000, $750, $500, $300, $200 and $100. Tickets will be sold at any Mandalay Bay box office and all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s West at the Fashion Show Mall 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® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Sunday, Oct. 21 at 10am PT via the website www.ufc.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Tuesday, Oct. 23 starting at 10am PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through www.ufc.com.

There also will be a special auction for Octagon-side floor seats available only through www.ticketmaster.com starting Wednesday, October 24 and ending Monday, November 5.

UFC 79: NEMESIS 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 ($39.99 CAD) and $49.95 for HD where available.

Current UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra (16-4) is proof that The Ultimate Fighter not only produces top contenders in the UFC, it produces champions. The winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 4, Serra plowed his way through the reality show to win a “comeback” shot for the 170-pound title against then champion Georges St-Pierre. In what turned out to be an upset win of epic proportions for Serra, the Long Island native overwhelmed “Rush” with a barrage of strikes and stopped him cold at 3:25 of the first round. Now Serra looks to defend his title against the legendary Hughes and secure his own legacy in the UFC 170-pound division.

“I think this is going to be a tough fight. As a person, I can’t stand Matt Hughes, I don’t like him at all, but I respect him as a fighter,” said Serra. “You can’t deny what he has accomplished as a fighter, but he basically thinks my last fight was a fluke, like I don’t belong in there with him. I believe there’s one way Matt Hughes can beat me, but I can beat him several different ways, and I plan on beating him on all fronts.”
Hughes (43-5), a two-time UFC champion with seven combined title defenses to his name, has a deadly ground game that has earned him wins over St-Pierre, BJ Penn, Chris Lytle, Royce Gracie, and Frank Trigg (twice). After giving up his title to St-Pierre at UFC 65, Hughes returned to the Octagon at UFC 68 in March to take on The Ultimate Fighter Season 4 finalist Chris Lytle. He won via unanimous decision, and ever since then, he has waited for the opportunity to fight for the title and he wants to prove that he is not only the best 170-pounder in the division today, but that he is the greatest 170-pound fighter ever to fight in the UFC.

“To me, Serra is just another opponent,” said Hughes. “He’s just another guy that likes to run his mouth. I think nine out of 10 times he loses to GSP, so Serra did get lucky once, maybe. I think I have a lot more ways to win this fight than he does – I just need to watch out for those looping punches.”

For more information about UFC 77, UFC 78, The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale, UFC 79 or any upcoming UFC event, visit www.ufc.com or uk.ufc.com. All bouts are live and subject to change.