ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL MAIN CARD BOUTS FOR UFC 79: NEMESIS

Courtesy of the Ultimate Fighting Championship:

For Immediate Release:
December 5, 2007

SOA PALELEI vs. EDDIE SANCHEZ
RICH CLEMENTI vs. MELVIN GUILLARD
LIVE FROM MANDALAY BAY EVENTS CENTER
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2007

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) organization today announced the remaining fights on the main card for the upcoming UFC 79: NEMESIS which features Georges St-Pierre battling Matt Hughes for the interim UFC Welterweight Championship, and the long-awaited mega-fight between the two greatest 205-pound fighters of all-time, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva.

Also on the main card are exciting match-ups between Soa Palelei vs. Eddie Sanchez, and Rich Clementi vs. Melvin Guillard. The UFC presents UFC 79: NEMESIS Saturday, December 29, live from Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Tickets for UFC 79: NEMESIS are on sale now and are priced at $1,000, $750, $500, $300, $200 and $100. Tickets are available through 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 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.

Eddie “The Manic Hispanic” Sanchez (8-1-0) 6’2”/230 lbs., fights out of The North County Fight Club, Calif. As a heavyweight, Sanchez is very athletic, but it his heart and determination that have given him a name in the UFC. His loss against the devastating kicker Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic has not discouraged him from getting back into the Octagon™. With his heavy hands and hard head at UFC 72 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Sanchez gladly took on local Belfast fighter Colin “Big C” Robinson, going on to win by TKO at :32 in the second round. The “The Manic Hispanic” now looks to continue his rise in the heavyweight division as he takes on former Pride® fighter Soa “The Hulk” Palelei (8-1-0). The 6’4”/265 lb. Australian was undefeated until October 31, 2004 when, during Pride: High Octane, fighter Choi Mu Bae submitted him by a rear naked choke at the end of round two. Then, after a two and half year absence, Palelei returned to fighting with a KO win over Shaun Vanof at King of the Cage. With the exception of Sanchez’s UFC experience, both fighters have a history that appears fairly evenly matched on paper. But those who know the Abu Dhabi veteran and previous Australian Open Champion may think otherwise. Palelei has since been training at the renowned Team Quest camp with Dan Henderson and Sokoudijou, who is also making his UFC debut at UFC 79. “The Hulk” is eager to make his mark in the UFC as he takes on “The Manic Hispanic.”

Rich “No Love” Clementi (35-12-1) 5’9”/155 lbs., fighting out of Slidell, LA., is a seasoned veteran of over 49 mixed martial arts bouts. Clementi’s career had been epitomized by near-misses and close losses just when it appeared that he was on the verge of breaking through to the top ten. While this well-rounded battler from Louisiana was talented enough to compete on the UFC level, the breaks just weren’t going his way in losses to Yves Edwards, Din Thomas, and Shonie Carter. His luck changed in January though, when he put on one of his most impressive performances in breaking down and then submitting tough Ross Pointon. Then Clementi’s luck took another turn with a three round unanimous decision loss to Roan Carneiro at UFC Fight Night® in April. He was given another opportunity to move himself further up the welterweight ranks at UFC 76 with a submission by choke win over Anthony Johnson in the second round. Now with a chance to get his momentum going again, Clementi moves down to lightweight to take on “The Young Assassin” Melvin Guillard. Fighting out of Baton Rouge, LA, Guillard (39-7-3) is an explosive fighter with good wrestling and striking skills. His brash personality made him stand out immediately on The Ultimate Fighter® 2, but with a decisive win over Marcus Davis in the finale, Guillard proved he has more than just attitude. After a setback against Josh Neer at welterweight, Guillard dropped down to the lightweight division at UFC 60 and destroyed Rick Davis quickly in the first round. Continuing as a lightweight, he followed that win with a second round TKO over Gabe Ruediger at UFC 63, but Guillard couldn’t keep his streak going when he was submitted by Joe Stevenson in the first round of his UFC Fight Night headline debut. Now, Guillard looks to change his luck as he looks for a win over Clementi.

For more information about UFC 79 or any upcoming UFC event, visit www.ufc.com or uk.ufc.com. All bouts are live and subject to change.

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 twelve to fourteen 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 MAIN EVENT in Australia, Globosat in Brazil and Bravo and Setanta PPV in the United Kingdom. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit www.ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or www.ufcespanol.com.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa™, 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.