WORLD EXTREME CAGEFIGHTING® CONFIRMS REMAINING BOUTS FOR WEC® VARNER VS. CERRONE
Courtesy of World Extreme Cagefighting:
For Immediate Release
January 7, 2009
MIKE CAMPBELL VS. DANILLO VILEFORT
ROLANDO PEREZ VS. JOSE ALDO
ANTHONY NJOKUANI VS. ED RATCLIFF
EDGAR GARCIA VS. HIROMITSU MIURA
IAN MCCALL VS. DOMINICK CRUZ
FRANK GOMEZ VS. SCOTT JORGENSEN
JESSE LENNOX VS. BLAS AVENA
SETH DIKUN VS. CHARLIE VALENCIA
Live From San Diego Sports Arena, Sunday, January 25
Las Vegas, NV (USA) – World Extreme Cagefighting® today confirmed the remaining bouts on an already blockbuster card which will feature WEC® lightweight champion Jamie Varner defending his belt against undefeated Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Plus, in the co-main event, former WEC featherweight title holder Urijah Faber and former UFC lightweight champ Jens Pulver look to deliver another classic in 2009 as the WEC holds its first-ever event in San Diego at the San Diego Sports Arena on Sunday, January 25.
World Extreme Cagefighting will be televised live nationally on VERSUS beginning at 9:30 pm ET/6:30 pm PT. All live WEC events will be presented in Hi-Definition (HD) where available. For more information and how to find VERSUS in your local viewing area, visit http://www.versus.com/findversus.
Tickets for World Extreme Cagefighting are still on sale and are priced at $175, $125, $75 and $35 (not including applicable services or taxes). Tickets are available for purchase through the San Diego Sports Arena Box Office, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at 619-220-8497.
Mike Campbell (5’9”/170 lbs., fighting out of Bellingham, Mass.) puts his undefeated mixed martial arts record on the line against Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Danillo Vilefort (6’1”/185 lbs./fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.). Campbell, originally from Aurora, Colo., now trains at the famous SitYodTong academy with Mark Dellagrotte and looks to improve to 7-0 against the former South American judo champion, who holds an 8-2 professional record.
A four-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, Jose Aldo (5’7”/145 lbs., fighting out of Rio de Janeiro) has won his two WEC matches via TKO and holds a 12-1 MMA record. The 22-year-old Manaus, Brazil native will look to improve on that mark when he faces Rolando Perez (5’9”/145 lbs., fighting out of Chula Vista, Calif.), who at 4-1-1 will make his WEC debut. The San Diego native now trains at Alliance Training center with UFC fighter Brandon Vera.
Ed Ratcliff (5’10”/155 lbs., fighting out of San Diego, Calif.) is looking to rebound from a submission loss to Marcus Hicks and improve his record to 7-1 when he squares off against Nigerian-born fighter Anthony Njokuani (6’0”/155 lbs., fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.), who is making his WEC debut. Ratcliff, a Chicago native with a black belt in Karate and Tae Kwon Do, has two WEC wins by referee stoppage.
Mexican-born Edgar Garcia (5’11”/170 lbs., fighting out of Yuma, Ariz.) is no stranger to competition. The 24-year-old was a state wrestling champion in Arizona and now holds a 6-0 mixed martial arts record. He’ll need all that experience when he faces judo black belt Hiromitsu Miura (5’9”/170 lbs., fighting out of Tokyo, Japan), who makes his fifth appearance in the WEC.
San Diego native Dominick Cruz (5’8”/135 lbs.) won’t have to travel far when he faces 24-year-old bantamweight Ian McCall (5’5”/135 lbs., fighting out of Dana Point, Calif.). Cruz (11-1) suffered his sole loss against former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber but rebounded with a unanimous decision win against Charlie Valencia last June. McCall (7-1) looks to rebound from a submission loss to Valencia in his last WEC match.
There’s no doubt that Frank Gomez (5’10”/135 lbs., fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) is receiving top-tier training. The Las Vegas native prepares with Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque, has posted a 6-0 MMA record and will make his WEC debut against Scott Jorgensen (5’4”/135 lbs., fighting out of Boise, Idaho). A Payson, Utah born fighter, Jorgensen improved his record to 5-2 with a unanimous decision victory against Kenji Osawa in his second WEC bout.
A five-fight veteran of the WEC, Blas Avena (6’0”/170 lbs., fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) needed just 1:07 to stop Dave Terrel in his last fight. The East Los Angeles, California native, who has a 6-2 record, now turns his attention to Cedar Rapids, Iowa born fighter Jesse Lennox (5’9”/170 lbs., fighting out of Davenport, Iowa), who holds a 13-1 record.
East Los Angeles, California’s Charlie Valencia (5’3”/135 lbs., fighting out of Ontario, Calif.) is coming off consecutive losses and the 34-year-old looks to get back on the winning track against Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s Seth Dikun (5’10”/135 lbs., fighting out of Victorville, Calif.), who is 6-2 and is making his WEC debut. Valencia has two WEC wins, a submission victory against McCall and a referee stoppage over Antonio Banuelos.
All bouts subject to change. For more information about current WEC fight news, visit www.wec.tv.
About World Extreme Cagefighting
The WEC brand is recognized as one of the premier mixed martial arts organizations in the United States. Founded in 2001, the WEC features many of the most prominent athletes in the sport of mixed martial arts today. Owned and operated by WEC Holdings LLC., and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., the WEC produces live and taped events annually that are distributed through the Versus network. In addition to its U.S distribution, WEC programming is shown on the TSN network in Canada and Cadena Tres in Mexico. For more information and current WEC fight news, visit www.wec.tv. World Extreme Cagefighting® and WEC® are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by WEC Holdings, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions and are licensed to WEC Productions, LLC.
About VERSUS
VERSUS celebrates real competition across all platforms (VERSUS.com, VERSUS on Demand and VERSUS HD). Now in more than 73 million homes, the network is the national cable home of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Stanley Cup Playoffs as well as best-in-class events such as The Tour de France, Davis Cup Tennis, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), the Indy Racing League and Professional Boxing. The network also offers collegiate sports featuring nationally-ranked teams from top conferences such as the Pac-10, Big 12, Mountain West and Ivy League. VERSUS features the best field sports programming on television and is a destination for sports fans, athletes and sportsmen to find exclusive, competitive events and original programs, such as TapouT, Sports Soup and THE CONTENDER that audiences can't find elsewhere. VERSUS, a wholly owned company of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK), is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.