ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® CONFIRMS REMAINING BOUTS FOR UFC 92: THE ULTIMATE 2008

Courtesy of the Ultimate Fighting Championship:

For Immediate Release:
December 18, 2008

MIKE MASSENZIO vs. CB DOLLAWAY
MOSTAPHA AL TURK vs. CHEICK KONGO
DEAN LISTER vs. YUSHIN OKAMI
MIKE WESSEL vs. ANTONI HARDONK
REESE ANDY vs. MATT HAMILL
BRAD BLACKBURN vs. RYO CHONAN
PAT BARRY vs. DAN EVENSEN

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27
LIVE FROM THE MGM GRAND – LAS VEGAS, NV

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization is proud to confirm the remaining bouts on the historic final card of the year – UFC 92: THE ULTIMATE 2008, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, December 27, 2008. The already stacked fight card is rounded out with a brilliant batch of exciting mixed martial artists.

It’s a matchup between two highly-touted middleweight newcomers as New Jersey’s Mike Massenzio (6’2”/185 lbs., fighting out of Paterson, N.J.) meets The Ultimate Fighter® Season 7 finalist CB Dollaway (6’2”/185 lbs., fighting out of Tempe, Ariz.). This will not be the first time these two have met in competition. Dollaway, a former NCAA Division I wrestler and Ohio-born fighter, defeated the Teaneck native at the Junior college wrestling nationals.

If Lebanon-born fighter Mostapha Al Turk (6’2”/242 lbs., fighting out of London, England) is to win his UFC debut it will have to come against a brand name in the heavyweight division. Cheick Kongo (6’4”/240 lbs., fighting out of Paris, France) looks to improve his UFC record to 5-2 when he faces the 35-year-old heavyweight.

A very well respected ground fighter, Dean Lister (6’1”/185 lbs., fighting out of San Diego, Calif.) owns UFC submission victories over Alessio Sakara and grappling wiz Jeremy Horn; but the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt will have to excel in all areas if he is to beat perpetual contender Yushin Okami (6’2”/185 lbs., fighting out of Kanagawa, Japan), who holds a 6-1 UFC record with one loss coming against former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin.

For an exciting match in the heavyweight division, look no further than Weesp, Holland’s Antoni Hardonk (6’4”/245 lbs., fighting out of Amsterdam and Los Angeles, Calif.). The Dutch kickboxing specialist is on a two-fight win streak with devastating stoppages over Colin Robinson and Eddie Sanchez. But now the 32-year-old turns his attention to Celina, Ohio’s Mike Wessel (6’0”/260 lbs., fighting out of Little Rock, Ark.). A former assistant strength and conditioning coach for the University of Arkansas, Wessel has won eight of his first nine professional bouts.

Looking to rebound from a loss to Franklin at UFC 88, Loveland, Ohio’s Matt Hamill (6’1”/205 lbs., fighting out of Utica, N.Y.) will put his top tier wrestling ability and improved striking up against former three-time NCAA Division I wrestler and Minot, North Dakota native Reese Andy (5’10”/205 lbs., fighting out of Renton, Wa.).

One of the few men to ever beat current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, welterweight Ryo Chonan (5’9”/170 lbs., fighting out of Yamagata City, Japan) always looks to dazzle the crowd. Chonan is coming off a split decision victory against Roan Carneiro and will try to extend the win streak to two when he faces Los Angeles, California’s Brad Blackburn (5’10”/170 lbs., fighting out of Olympia, Wa.), who earned a second-round TKO in his UFC debut.

It’s a matchup between two decorated kickboxers as Pat Barry (5’11”/235 lbs, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wis.) faces Dan Evensen (6’3”/250 lbs., fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.). Originally from Norway, the 10-3 Evensen will look to put the first blemish on the New Orleans fighter’s 3-0 record.

Tickets for UFC 92: THE ULTIMATE 2008 are still on sale and will be available at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Box Office, all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, Charge-By-Phone at (702) 474-4000 or online at ticketmaster.com.

UFC 92: THE ULTIMATE 2008 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).

For more information on UFC 92 and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, visit UFC.com.

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, Bell ExpressVU, SaskTel Max™, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Viewers Choice, and WOWOW in Japan, and via the Internet worldwide on Yahoo! Sports, and commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. 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 ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or ufcespanol.com.

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