UFC® RETURNS TO FAIRFAX
SATURDAY, APRIL 4
AT THE PATRIOT CENTER
EXPLOSIVE FEATHERWEIGHTS CHAD MENDES AND RICARDO LAMAS HEADLINE IN FIVE-ROUND MAIN EVENT
PLUS:
JORGE MASVIDAL vs. AL IAQUINTA
MICHAEL CHIESA vs. MITCH CLARKE
DUSTIN POIRIER vs. DIEGO FERREIRA
LIZ CARMOUCHE vs. LAUREN MURPHY
TICKETS FOR
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®:
MENDES vs. LAMAS
AT PATRIOT CENTER
ON SALE FRIDAY, FEB. 13
Las Vegas – The UFC® returns to Fairfax, Va. on Saturday, April 4, as
the featherweight division’s No. 1 contender Chad Mendes goes to head-to-head with fourth-ranked
Ricardo Lamas
in the five-round main event
at the Patriot Center. Having both gone the distance in title bouts
against champion Jose Aldo, these battle-tested 145ers will light up the
Octagon® when
UFC FIGHT NIGHT® takes center stage in the Greater Washington area.
Mendes
(16-2, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.), one of the heaviest hitters
in the featherweight division, has been taking out top contenders in
dominant fashion
with wins over Darren Elkins, Clay Guida, Nik Lentz and Cub Swanson.
His back-and-forth battle with Aldo at UFC 179 went down as one of the
greatest fights in 2014. Lamas (15-3, fighting out of Chicago, Ill.)
boasts an equally impressive resume that includes
wins over Dennis Bermudez, Erik Koch and Swanson. With combined wins
over the Who’s Who in the 145-pound weight class, Mendes and Lamas eye
each other as their ticket to earning another shot at the title.
The co-main event will feature a staple in the lightweight division as (No. 13)
Jorge Masvidal (28-6, fighting out of Miami)
takes on rising contender (No. 15) Al Iaquinta
(11-3-1, fighting out of Wantagh, N.Y.), a winner of three straight. Plus,
The Ultimate Fighter® season 15 winner Michael Chiesa
(11-2, fighting out of Spokane Valley, Wash.) takes on Canadian-born Mitch Clarke
(11-2, fighting out of Glendale, Ariz.).
In addition, former top featherweight contender
Dustin Poirier (16-4, fighting out of Coconut
Creek, Fla.) will test the 155-pound waters when he makes his UFC lightweight debut against
Diego Ferreira (10-1, fighting out
of Pharr, Texas). Also, in a crucial women’s bantamweight bout, former title contender and women’s MMA pioneer (No. 8)
Liz Carmouche
(8-5, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.) makes her fifth UFC appearance against rising star
Lauren Murphy (8-1, fighting out of Glendale,
Ariz.).
Additional bouts include:
·
(No. 11)
Julianna Pena
(6-2, fighting out of Spokane, Wash.), the first female season winner to emerge from
The Ultimate Fighter, returns after a 17-month layoff to take on rising women’s bantamweight
Milana Dudieva
(11-3, fighting out of Alagir, Russia).
·
Former STRIKEFORCE lightweight champion and fan-favorite (No. 11)
Clay Guida
(31-12, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) takes on
Robbie Peralta (18-5, 1NC, fighting out of
Escondido, Calif.) in a featherweight bout.
·
Former lightweight title contender
Gray Maynard (12-5-1, 1NC, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) meets MMA veteran
Alexander Yakovlev (21-6-1, fighting out of Fairfield, N.J.).
·
Ron Stallings (12-7,
1NC, fighting out of Camp Spring, Md.) will make his second Octagon appearance when he meets middleweight
Justin Jones
(3-1, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.).
·
The Ultimate Fighter season 17 alumnus
Clint Hester (11-4, fighting out of Atlanta,
Ga.) squares off against fellow season cast mate Luke Barnatt
(8-2, fighting out of Cambridge, England).
·
Plus, heavyweights
Shamil Abdurahimov (15-2, fighting out of Makhachkala, Russia) and
Timothy Johnson (8-1, fighting out of Fargo, N.D.) meet in their UFC debuts.
Tickets for
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MENDES vs. LAMAS go on sale Friday, Feb. 13 at 10 a.m. ET
and are priced at $179, $129, $94, $74 and $54 (plus applicable service
charges). Tickets are available for purchase at all Ticketmaster
outlets
including the Patriot Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com
or via Phonecharge at (800) 745-3000. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.
UFC Fight Club®
members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. ET via the website
www.ufcfightclub.com. A special internet ticket pre-sale will be
available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, Feb. 12 starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through
UFC.com.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®:
MENDES vs. LAMAS will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on Saturday, April 4, with the prelims kicking off the morning on FOX Sports 1 at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT
and on UFC FIGHT PASS™ at 10 a.m. ET and 7 a.m. PT.
RODRIGO “BIG NOG” NOGUEIRA NAMED NEW COACH OF
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER®
BRAZIL 4
Nevada State Athletic Commission requests Anderson Silva step down as coach of the series
Las Vegas – The UFC®
announced today that Brazilian legend Rodrigo "Big Nog" Nogueira will join the cast of
The Ultimate Fighter® Brazil 4,
the organization’s signature television reality series, as coach following the departure of UFC middleweight Anderson Silva.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission, which regulates
The Ultimate Fighter series’ exhibition fights filmed in Las Vegas, requested that Silva
cease participation in
the series
as a result of his temporary suspension following the recently announced preliminary results of his January
9 pre-fight drug test for UFC® 183.
The
UFC and Globo, the show’s Brazilian broadcaster, respect the
Commission’s decision, which will allow Silva to focus his attention on
the matter before the Commission.
Anderson
Silva has been an amazing champion and a true ambassador of the sport
of mixed martial arts and the UFC will continue to support him as this
process unfolds.
The series, which began filming in Las Vegas on Monday, Feb. 2,
originally featured Silva and former UFC light heavyweight champion
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua as head coaches. Rua will continue on as coach of
Team Shogun versus the newly formed Team Nogueira, which
will also include Big Nog’s twin brother Rogerio "Lil Nog" Nogueira as
an assistant coach.