ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® ANNOUNCES REMAINING BOUTS FOR UFC 86: JACKSON VS. GRIFFIN

Courtesy of the Ultimate Fighting Championship:

For Immediate Release:
June 27, 2008

JUSTIN MCCULLY vs. GABRIEL GONZAGA
COLE MILLER vs. JORGE GURGEL
DENNIS SIVER vs. MELVIN GUILLARD
JUSTIN BUCHHOLZ vs. COREY HILL

SATURDAY, JULY 5, 2008
LIVE FROM MANDALAY BAY EVENTS CENTER

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization today announced the remaining fights for the upcoming UFC 86: JACKSON vs. GRIFFIN which features opposing coaches for The Ultimate Fighter® Season 7, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and the winner of the first-ever season of The Ultimate Fighter, Forrest Griffin. The Ultimate Fighting Championship organization presents UFC 86: JACKSON vs. GRIFFIN live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday, July 5, 2008.

Just confirmed on the undercard are exciting match-ups between Justin McCully vs. Gabriel Gonzaga; Cole Miller vs. Jorge Gurgel; Dennis Siver vs. Melvin Guillard; and Justin Buchholz vs. Corey Hill.

Tickets for UFC 86: JACKSON vs. GRIFFIN are on sale now and are priced at $800, $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50. Tickets are being 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 86: JACKSON vs. GRIFFIN 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 $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).

Justin “The Insane One” McCully (8-3-2) 6’2”/240 lbs., fights out of Huntington Beach, Calif. After his dominant three round victory over Antoni Hardonk in April of 2007, bright things were forecast for heavyweight McCully. Then injuries sidelined the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt for much of the year. Now healthy and eager to assault the heavyweight division, “The Insane One” returns to the Octagon™ against Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga (8-3-0) 6’1”/240 lbs. Gabriel Gonzaga’s rise up the heavyweight ranks was nothing short of spectacular, with wins over Kevin Jordan, Fabiano Scherner, Carmelo Marrero, and Mirko Cro Cop thrilling fight fans around the world. Losses to Randy Couture and Fabricio Werdum have slowed the Brazilian’s progress, but after an intense training camp in his adopted home of Ludlow, he is ready to once again regain his spot in the UFC title picture.

Cole Miller (13-3-0) 6’1”/155 lbs., fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla., notched impressive wins over Andy Wang and Leonard Garcia after his stay on The Ultimate Fighter® 5, furthering his reputation as one of the lightweight division’s top up and comers. Though the Georgia native hit a bump in the road in a hard fought January loss to Jeremy Stephens, this Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt is more focused than ever heading into his match-up with Jorge Gurgel (16-3-0) 5’9”/155 lbs. Winner of three of his five UFC fights, Jorge Gurgel’s energetic style has made him a fan favorite around the world. It wasn’t until his hard-fought decision win over John Halverson at UFC 82 in March that fans got to see the real “JG,” as he used all his talents to earn his most impressive victory yet in the Octagon. The Cincinnati fighter will look to build on his success against Miller.

Dennis Siver (11-5-0) 5’7”/155 lbs., fighting out of Mannheim, Germany has been gathering more and more fans with each bout after a knockout win over Naoyuki Kotani and a memorable war with Gray Maynard in his last two UFC outings. While this hard-charging 28-year old will be pushed to the limit once again when he takes on Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard, which is precisely the type of fight the four year mixed martial arts veteran lives for. At (39-8-3) 5’9”/155 lbs., the career of New Orleans’ Guillard has seen its share of ups and downs. With a renewed focus on his ground game, the still developing lightweight prospect is eager to show not only his knockout power, but his ability to win a fight wherever it may go. A recent winner over Eric Regan in March, “The Young Assassin” is chomping at the bit to get back in the Octagon and back in the UFC win column.

Justin Buchholz (8-2-0) 6’0”/155 lbs., fighting out of Sacramento, Calif., hasn’t had any opponents hear the final bell ring. The aggressive Alaskan native has no intentions of letting Corey Hill become the first. A well-rounded battler who now trains with WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber in Sacramento, Buchholz is looking to not only finish off his foe, but to get his first Octagon win under his belt and begin on his road to the UFC lightweight title. At 6 foot 4, Hill (2-0-0) is a scary match-up for everyone at 155 pounds. Add in an ever-developing fight game and the West Virginia native is on the fast track to big things in the coming years. Just ask Joe Veres, who Hill stopped in his UFC debut in January. The popular member of The Ultimate Fighter’s fifth season cast hopes to keep his unbeaten string unbroken when he faces off against Buchholz.

For more information about UFC 86, UFC 87, UFC 88 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 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.