UFC® INVADES CANADA FOR THE FIRST TIME

Courtesy of the Ultimate Fighting Championship:

OVER 13,000 TICKETS SOLD FIRST DAY VIA UFC® FIGHT CLUB™ PRESALE

UFC 83: SERRA vs. ST-PIERRE 2
Saturday, April 19, 2008 Live from the Bell Centre

Montreal, Quebec (CANADA) – 02/04/2008 – Dana White, President of The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization, today announced during a live press conference held in Montreal that the UFC will bring its first ever event to Canada in April when Quebec’s own Georges “Rush” St-Pierre, the Interim UFC Welterweight Champion, attempts to become the undisputed champion in a rematch with reigning titleholder Matt “The Terror” Serra at UFC 83: SERRA vs. ST-PIERRE 2. White also announced the full lineup of fights for the April 19 UFC 83 card, which will take place live from Montreal’s Bell Centre on Saturday, April 19, 2008.

“More than 13,000 tickets were sold for UFC 83 in the first 24 hours of the UFC® Fight Club™ presale,” said White. “I’m excited to say that this event is almost a complete sellout in just one day – today we expect the event to sell out completely.

“We are so excited to bring this fight to Canada, and what better main event is there than Matt Serra vs. Georges St-Pierre 2,” said White. “This is going to be an incredible rematch – Matt Serra is a unique individual, no one gave him a chance against Georges St-Pierre the first time, but he knocked him out in the first round and took his title. St-Pierre showed why he is a future Hall of Famer by coming back and winning the rubber match against Matt Hughes in impressive fashion last December to take the interim championship. These are two guys with a lot of pride who want to make it clear to everyone who the real UFC World Welterweight champion is.”

“We are pleased to host the first UFC event in Canada. We are convinced that the quality of the event will thrill Quebecers who will witness home-province fighters Georges St-Pierre and Patrick Côté showcasing their courage and skills at the Bell Centre,” said Pierre Boivin, President of Gillett Entertainment Group.

Tickets for UFC 83: SERRA vs. ST-PIERRE 2 are priced at $550, $400, $225, $150, $100 and $50 and are available at the Bell Centre Box Office, and a limited number of tickets remain available.

UFC® Fight Club™ members have the opportunity now to purchase tickets to this event via the website www.ufc.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Wednesday, Feb. 6 starting at 12pm EST. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through www.ufc.com. If any tickets remain following these two presales, they will be made available to the general public on Friday.

UFC 83: SERRA vs. ST-PIERRE 2 is available live on pay-per-view at 10pm EST/7pm PST on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).

Fighting out of Long Island, NY, Matt Serra (16-4) shocked the world a year ago by defeating St-Pierre by first round knockout for the UFC Welterweight Championship. Ever since then, many have speculated on the outcome of a rematch between the two. Serra was set to take on fellow The Ultimate Fighter Season 6 coach Matt Hughes in a fight on Dec. 29, but he suffered a herniated disc in his back during training and had to pull out of the fight. Now fully recovered, Serra is ready to head to Canada and defend his crown against the man he took it from at UFC 69.

“I’m actually excited to go to Canada and fight St-Pierre in his hometown,” said Serra. “I think this puts more pressure on him than it does me. I know he’s going to come at me hard, but I’m ready for that and I’m preparing for a great fight. I know that’s what I would do if a guy knocked me out like that. But I plan on staying the champ and taking my belt back home to Long Island.”

St-Pierre (15-2), fighting out Montreal, Quebec, Canada, became the UFC welterweight champion at UFC 65 when he stopped Matt Hughes in the second round. After losing his belt to Serra in April of 2007, St-Pierre rebounded in spectacular fashion, defeating Josh Koscheck at UFC 74 by a three round unanimous decision, and submitting Hughes in their rubber match for the 170 pound interim title at UFC 79. Now the former champion looks to regain the welterweight crown in his home province and prove to his fans and his country that he is the best 170 pound fighter in the world.

“I am at the same point as I was last year when I fought Matt Serra, except this time I am fighting as the contender not the champion,” said St-Pierre. “It’s a dream come true to have this historic UFC event in Canada, I’ve waited my whole life for this opportunity, and especially fighting for – and winning – the world title in front of my people.”

St-Pierre continued, “I see this fight not as revenge but as redemption. I know I can do better than I did last time, and for me for sure it is going to be redemption.”

White also announced the entire UFC 83 lineup, which is stacked with a former world champion, a host of contenders and rising stars, and some of Canada’s finest mixed martial artists.

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (24-3) begins on his road back to the 185-pound title when he takes on The Ultimate Fighter season 4 winner, Travis Lutter (12-4), a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt who has upset on his mind.

British superstar Michael “The Count” Bisping (15-1), the winner of season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter and one of the game’s top young competitors, will make his middleweight debut on April 19 against well-rounded Florida battler ‘Chainsaw’ Charles McCarthy (10-4).

Surrey, British Columbia’s finest, middleweight Kalib Starnes (10-3-1), will return home to fight for the first time in over two years when he takes on hard-hitting contender Nate ‘Rock’ Quarry (15-2) in a three round contest.

The Ultimate Fighter season six winner Mac Danzig (18-4-1) has entered the UFC with a bang since his stint on the reality show in 2007, but grappling wizard Mark Bocek (5-1), hailing from Woodbridge, Ontario, has no plans on losing in front of Canadian fans in their lightweight bout on April 19th.

In an All-Canada battle sure to thrill fight fans, middleweight contenders Jason ‘The Athlete’ MacDonald (20-9) of Edmonton, Alberta, and Joe Doerksen (39-11) of Winnipeg, Manitoba revisit their four round war from 2005, and this time, Doerksen will look to be the one to emerge victorious.

Also on the UFC 83 card, London, Ontario’s own ‘Hands of Stone,’ Sam Stout (14-3-1), returns to action in a lightweight bout against Louisiana veteran Rich ‘No Love’ Clementi (38-12-1), and middleweight Ed ‘Short Fuse’ Herman (16-4) takes on unbeaten Brazilian Demian Maia (7-0).

And don’t think that Georges St-Pierre is the only Quebec native representing his hometown at the Bell Centre, as Victoriaville welterweight Jonathan Goulet (21-9, 1 no contest) takes on Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-4), and Quebec City’s highly-regarded middleweight contender Patrick ‘The Predator’ Cote (13-4) puts his three fight UFC winning streak on the line against an opponent to be announced shortly.

For more information about UFC 83 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® 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., UFC® produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN Entertainment, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Bell ExpressVU, and Viewers Choice, and commercially through Joe Hand Promotions. In addition to its North American distribution, UFC programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit www.ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or www.ufcespanol.com.

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