ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® CONFIRMS FULL CARD FOR UFC 93: FRANKLIN VS. HENDERSON

Courtesy of the Ultimate Fighting Championship:

For Immediate Release:
January 2, 2009

STACKED CARD HITS THE O2 DUBLIN, IRELAND, JANUARY 17, 2009

Las Vegas, Nevada (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization has confirmed the stacked 10-bout fight card for UFC 93: FRANKLIN vs. HENDERSON. The UFC®’s first ever event in the Republic of Ireland emanates from the brand new O2 in Dublin.

In the main event, two former world champions collide as former UFC® Middleweight king Rich Franklin faces former two-division title-holder Dan Henderson in a light heavyweight battle which will set the tone of the 205lbs division in 2009.

In the semi-final attraction, UFC Hall of Famer and ‘godfather of ground and pound’ Mark Coleman faces highly regarded Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua in a rematch of their stunning 2006 bout in Japan.

Rounding up the main card is a mouthwatering collision between highly experienced welterweight warriors Marcus Davis, 20-5, and Chris ‘Lights Out’ Lytle, 36-16-4. It is a fight the pair demanded be made after they thrilled fans with their winning performances at UFC 89 in October.

Davis, the Bangor, Maine, based ‘Irish Hand Grenade’ said: “Chris told me when we were both on the UFC 89 card that he was going to call me out in the Octagon after his fight. I said ‘go for it.’ This is a fight which can’t help but be exciting, and we both think the winner will crack the top 5. And as an Irish American who grew up hearing stories of all the great boxing fights which took place in Ireland, I’m so happy to be fighting in Dublin.

“When I left boxing for MMA, I gave up on my dream of fighting in Belfast or Dublin but I fought in Belfast at UFC 72 (June 2007) and now I am fighting in Dublin. I would have fought anyone to get on this card and I promise the Irish fans I’ll give them the fight of the night.”

Lytle added: “Marcus and I both come to throw bombs. I don’t think this will be the fight of the night, I think it will be the fight of the year.”

Two fighters who will have something to say about that are exciting middleweights Alan Belcher, 12-4, and UFC newcomer Denis Kang, who also face-off at UFC 93.

Known for his aggressive, attacking style, Biloxi, Mississippi's Belcher is coming off a three round win over Ed Herman while Octagon™ debutant Kang arrives in the UFC with a huge international reputation. The Canadian brings a 30-10-1-2 MMA record to the UFC.

Also heading to the Emerald Isle is UFC pioneer Jeremy Horn. The 33-year-old Salt Lake City native has amassed an incredible record of 80-15-5 during his 13-year mixed martial arts career and now he takes on Brazilian Jiu-jitsu expert Rousimar Palhares. The Brazilian, 8-2, has won six of his last seven bouts and is looking to rebound immediately after his recent point loss to Dan Henderson.

Both 185lbers are looking for an impressive win to get back within striking range of the UFC Middleweight World Title.

The undercard for UFC 92: FRANKLIN V HENDERSON features five outstanding match-ups.

First, German Dennis Siver, 11-6, and Nate Mohr, 8-5, throwdown in a lightweight contest; then light heavyweights ‘Ravishing Red’ Eric Schafer, 12-3-2, and Brazilian Antonio ‘Samuray’ Mendes, 14-3, collide in a potentially fascinating battle of submission specialists.

The 10,000 Irish fans who sold out the O2 within two weeks are already excited by the prospect of Dublin’s own undefeated welterweight Thomas ‘the Tank’ Egan, 6-0, taking on another unbeaten Octagon newcomer in John Hathaway.

Egan, who at 20 is the youngest fighter currently on the UFC roster, arrives in the world’s elite MMA organization with his countrymen predicting big things of the fluent Gaelic speaker. But Englishman Hathaway is unbeaten in 10 professional fights and is a well rounded fighter with big ambitions of his own.

Rounding up the UFC’s historic first event in Eire is a light heavyweight bout between Ivan Serati, 10-2, and 14-1 Tomasz Drwal and, finally, Alexandre Barros, 13-5, and Martin Kampmann 13-1, will look to impress in their welterweight bout.

About UFC 93

The world’s most exciting sport returns to the Emerald Isle as the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization opens up 2009 with a star-powered card at the O2 Dublin in Dublin, Ireland on January 17, 2009.

In the light heavyweight main event, former two-division world champion Dan Henderson will collide with former UFC middleweight king Rich Franklin in three-round war which will set the tone for the 205lbs division in 2009. Then, 2005 PRIDE® Grand Prix Champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua returns to the Octagon™ to throw down with UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman in a rematch MMA fans thought they would never see. The pair last met in Japan in 2006, with the legendary Coleman pulling off a stunning upset by breaking Rua’s arm in the first round.

UFC 93 will be available 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); UFC fans also have the option to watch UFC 93 pay-per-view live from Dublin, Ireland at 3pm EST/12Noon PST.

UFC 93 will be available exclusively live on Setanta Sports in the UK and Ireland.

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.

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.