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Thursday, December 6, 2007

The Finals For 'The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes Vs Team Serra' Are Set!

Courtesy of Spike TV:

Mac Danzig and Tommy Speer to Battle with UFC(R) Six-Figure Contract on the Line

Roger "El Matador" Huerta Looks to Unhinge Clay "The Carpenter" Guida in the Night's Co-Main Event

Spike TV to Air Fights Live on Saturday, December 8 at 9:00 PM ET from the Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas

NEW YORK, Dec. 6 -- After six grueling weeks of training and living in The Ultimate Fighter(R) house, Mac Danzig and Tommy Speer have advanced to the finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes Vs Team Serra, and will square off on Saturday, December 8 at 9:00 PM ET on Spike TV LIVE from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV. Both Danzig and Speer were members of Team Hughes on the show, but with a six figure contract with the UFC(R) on the line, their camaraderie will surely dissipate once they step into the Octagon(TM) for the biggest fight in either's career.

A Pittsburgh native living in southern California, the 27 year old Danzig stormed his way to the finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes Vs Team Serra with a string of dominant performances, submitting Joe Scarola via triangle choke in the preliminary round and John Kolosci in the quarterfinals via rear-naked choke. In the semifinals, Mac Danzig once again defeated John Kolosci via rear-naked choke to earn a shot at becoming The Ultimate Fighter. Danzig plans to utilize his strong jiu jitsu and striking skills in taking home this season's title.

Standing in Danzig's way is "Farmboy" Tommy Speer, a 22 year old hailing from Rochester, Minnesota, where, true to his nickname, he works on his family's dairy farm. To reach the finals, Speer exhibited great resiliency, overcoming a deep rear-naked choke against "War Machine" Jon Koppenhaver to win via unanimous decision in the preliminary round and refusing to tap while locked into an arm bar before winning via unanimous decision against Ben Saunders in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Speer scored a devastating knock out at the hands of George Sotiropoulos to punch his ticket to the finals. In his showdown with Mac Danzig, Speer will look to continue to use his overpowering strength and endurance in his quest to become the next Ultimate Fighter.

Sharing top billing for The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes Vs Team Serra Finale, budding UFC superstar, Roger "El Matador" Huerta (20-1-1), the first UFC fighter to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated, takes on hard-hitting Clay "The Carpenter" Guida in a battle of top lightweight contenders. Kenny Florian will join Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan at the announcer's table as a guest commentator for this bout and will provide a unique perspective being a fellow member of the upper echelon of the UFC's lightweight division.

Training out of Minneapolis, MN, Huerta (20-1-1) made his UFC debut in September 2006 at UFC 63, where he scored a unanimous decision victory Jason Dent. The 24 year-old has since tallied four straight wins in the Octagon against lightweight contenders John Halverson, Leonard Garcia, Doug Evans, and Alberto Crane, running his perfect record in the UFC to 5-0. "The Matador" will attempt to continue his string of dominance in the 155lb division against his toughest opponent to date in Guida.

A Chicago native training at the Hellhouse gym, Clay "The Carpenter" Guida (21-5-0) enters his match-up with Huerta coming off a victory over Marcus Aurelio at UFC 74 in August via split decision. Previously, Guida dropped a brutal, hard-fought split decision to fellow lightweight rising star Tyson Griffin at UFC 72 in Belfast this past June. Many consider his memorable war with Griffin as a candidate for '2007 UFC Fight of the Year.'

Also on the card, in other welterweight action, Ben Saunders is pitted against TUF 6 housemate Dan Barrera in a rematch from this season's hotly contested battle between the two fearsome strikers, George Sotiropolous and Billy Miles do battle, and a personal feud between Jared "J-Roc" Rollins and John "War Machine" Koppenhaver will be settled inside the Octagon(R) in the night's first televised match.

Spike TV is available in 96.1 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

CONTACT: David Schwarz, +1-212-767-8639, or Salil Gulati, +1-212-767-8705, both of Spike TV; or Jennifer Wenk, +1-702-221-4790, or Rachel Trontel, +1-702-588-5516, both of UFC-Las Vegas