CHUCK LIDDELL INJURED; FORCED TO WITHDRAW FROM UFC 85

Courtesy of the Ultimate Fighting Championship:

For Immediate Release:
April 21, 2008

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization announced today that Chuck Liddell has been forced to withdraw from the UFC 85 event. Liddell tore his hamstring last week while training for his June 7 bout with undefeated light heavyweight Rashad Evans.

“Unfortunately, Chuck Liddell tore his right hamstring during training last week, and being the warrior that he is, he still wanted to fight, which is the reason why everyone in the world loves him," said Dana White, UFC President. "But I wouldn't let anyone fight with his leg looking that way. Let him heal and come back and fight when he is 100 percent.”

White continued, “We're adding fights to the card and rearranging it so the UK fans won't have to worry, we'll still be bringing an amazing card to London and the O2 Arena. The UFC always delivers.”

The UFC will announce a new main event shortly, along with a full lineup of 13 fights for the UFC 85 card, making it the biggest UFC event in over a decade. The event will include a heavyweight eliminator between Brandon Vera and Fabricio Werdum, a welterweight showdown between popular striker Marcus Davis and The Ultimate Fighter® alumnus Mike Swick, a middleweight battle between Nate Marquardt and Thales Leites, and a light heavyweight clash between Luiz Cane and Jason Lambert.

Plus, undefeated British heavyweight Neil Wain will make his UFC debut against dangerous kickboxer Antoni Hardonk.

The remaining bouts for UFC 85 will be announced shortly.

For more information about UFC 85 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, Viewers Choice, SaskTel Max™ and via the Internet worldwide on Yahoo! Sports, 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.

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.