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The Hoyts Group is an Australian group of companies, including Hoyts Exhibition, Hoyts Distribution and Val Morgan.

Hoyts Exhibition manages 450 screens across 40 Australian and 10 New Zealand cinema complexes, making it Australia's second largest cinema chain.

Val Morgan, the cinema advertising arm of the Hoyts Group, dominates the cinema advertising market with over 95% market share. Hoyts Distribution is the largest independent film distributor in Australia; a business centred on the purchase of rights to, and subsequent management of, distributing independent films in Australia through theatrical, television and home entertainment channels.

The Hoyts Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sydney-based Pacific Equity Partners.

In the exhibition business, the largest part of the Hoyts Group, their main rivals are Village, Greater Union and, to a lesser extent, Wallis Cinemas, Palace Cinemas and Dendy.

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UFC returns to Australia this December - 21st Feb 2013

HOYTS PLUS PRESENTS UFC 159: JONES VS. SONNEN LIVE AT SELECTED HOYTS CINEMAS

28 APRIL 2013

Cinemas: Broadway, Chadstone, Melbourne Central, Northland, Stafford, Norwood, Carousel

On April 28th, UFC champion and king of the light heavyweight division, Jon “Bones” Jones returns to New Jersey, where he first won his world title. He will face one of the most polarizing figures in mixed martial arts, Chael Sonnen, the self-proclaimed “Gangster from West Linn.”

Fresh from their stint as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter season 17, Jones and Sonnen will now settle the score in a super fight for the ages.

UFC 159: Jones vs Sonnen – Sunday, April 28th, live at selected Hoyts cinemas from Prudential Center in Newark, NJ:

12pm - NSW / VIC / QLD
11:30am - SA
10am - WA

Single Ticket = $25*
Groups of 2 or more people = $20* each

Buy Tickets

MAIN FIGHT CARD**

Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen
Michael Bisping vs. Alan Belcher
Roy Nelson vs. Cheick Kongo
Phil Davis vs. Vinny Magalhaes
Jim Miller vs. Pat Healy

**Card subject to change
*An additional booking fee applies when booking online

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UFC 155: Pro wrestlers react to main event result

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The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world, which hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport and produces events worldwide Based in the United States, the UFC has eight weight divisions and enforces the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Dana White serves as the president of the UFC while Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta control the UFC's parent company, Zuffa, LLC.

The first UFC event was held in 1993 in Denver, Colorado. The purpose of the event was to identify the most effective martial art in a real fight between competitors of different fighting disciplines, including Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Tae Kwon Do, Wrestling, Muay Thai, Karate and other styles. In subsequent competitions, fighters began adopting effective techniques from more than one discipline, which indirectly helped create an entirely separate style of fighting known as present-day mixed martial arts.

With a cable-television deal and expansion into Canada, Europe, Australia the Middle East, Asia and new markets within the United States, the UFC as of 2011 has gained in popularity, along with greater mainstream-media coverage. As of 2001 viewers can access UFC programming on pay-per-view television in the U.S., Brazil, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Italy. UFC programming can also be found on FX, Fuel TV, and Fox in the U.S., on ESPN in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, as well as in 150 countries and 22 different languages worldwide. UFC also carries a mobile site for on-the-go users and a Sports Bars page for fans to find places showing the pay-per-view. It is also available on the Roku streaming player.

History

Early competition – early 1990s

Royce Gracie used Brazilian jiu jitsu in the early years of UFC to defeat opponents of greater size and strength.

Art Davie proposed to Rorion Gracie and John Milius an eight-man single-elimination tournament with a title of War of the Worlds. The tournament was inspired by the Gracies in Action video-series produced by the Gracie family of Brazil which featured Gracie Jiu-Jitsu students defeating martial-arts masters of various disciplines such as karate, kung fu and kickboxing. The tournament would feature martial artists from different disciplines facing each other in no-holds-barred combat to determine the best martial art and would aim to replicate the excitement of the matches Davie had seen on the videos. John Milius, a noted film director and screenwriter, as well as a Gracie student, agreed to be the ewith a 9 in (23 cm) height and 400 pounds (180 kg) weight disadvantage. Many martial artists believed that technique could overcome these size disadvantages, and that a skilled fighter could use an opponent's size and strength against him.

With the 175 lb (79 kg) Royce Gracie winning three of the first four events, the UFC quickly proved that size does not always determine the outcome of the fight.

During this early part of the organization, the UFC would showcase a bevy of different styles and fighters. Aside from the aforementioned Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and Patrick Smith, the competitions also featured competitors such as Hall of Famer Dan Severn, Marco Ruas, Gary Goodridge, Don Frye, Kimo Leopoldo, Oleg Taktarov and Tank Abbott.

In April 1995, following UFC 5 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Davie and Gracie sold their interest in the franchise to SEG and disbanded WOW Promotions. Davie continued with SEG as the show's booker and matchmaker, as well as the commissioner of Ultimate Fighting, until December 1997.

(Credit: Wikipedia)

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Dana White urges patience from fans, critics, with UFC's future on Fox - 30th September 2012
(Credit: MMA Torch)

The UFC hasn't finished out their first full year on their seven-year deal with Fox, but they've gone through growing pains throughout 2012 that have brought about a lot of criticisms of the organization. Numbers have been down on televised events, and the move to Friday nights for The Ultimate Fighter has brought about the lowest ratings in the show's history. Add in an injury issue that has destroyed the UFC's plans throughout the year, and there has definitely been a lot of negativity.

However, White maintains that anyone writing about the UFC's future, what they should be doing, and where they should be going, is inherently wrong. After Saturday's UFC on Fuel 5 event, White once again reiterated his stance that no one but the UFC knows what's coming, and disagreed with any notion that the Fox deal has been a mistake for the UFC.

"I can't tell you everything we're doing – so when I try to explain it, it's half-assed," White said in an interview with MMAjunkie.com. "When I see reporters back home trying to write out our business model, and 'Here's what they need to do' – shut the f--- up. It drives me crazy. (Reporters) have no idea what's going on, and (they) try to jump in the middle and talk about what's wrong and how to fix it. These guys that start writing these stories about what's broken, it drives me nuts."

"You have to sit back and just watch," White continued. "We're changing everything up. Things are going to be done completely different than they were. The answer isn't do less shows. When we were doing five shows a year, when we were doing eight shows a year – you can't grow the sport with five or eight shows a year. You can't bring in enough talent, enough guys can't make money. You can't cultivate all these different markets. You have to have fights. To get it done and do it the right way, you've got to have the TV deals."

"Everybody's like, 'This FOX thing was such a … this and that,' The FOX thing is the greatest thing to ever f---ing happen to this sport, and the greatest thing to ever happen to us. It will be all flushed out in the next three or four years. It's going to be great – just a lot of work."

Penick's Analysis: This is absolutely a marathon for the UFC, this isn't a deal that was going to immediately vault them into the stratosphere of popularity - as much as all of us would have liked to see the sport make that leap. There's a learning curve, there are growing pains, there are any number of issues that come up in figuring out the best way to go about this relationship with Fox. So it's understandable that things wouldn't be entirely smooth in this first year. They've got six more years after 2012 before the deal expires, and you only need to look at how much things have shifted for the UFC in the last six years to see how much things can change in a short period of time. They've got things they haven't implemented yet, and we'll see how what they'll be doing and how they'll be doing it as the next several years play out. That doesn't mean they should be immune from criticism, but White does have a reason to preach patience.

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UFC® Sydney Alves vs. Kampmann

The Ultimate Fighting Championship® organisation has announced it will return to Australia with UFC® Sydney Alves vs. Kampmann to be held at Sydney's Allphones Arena on Saturday 3 March 2012. Following two sell-out shows in this country, this highly anticipated event pits two of the UFC's most explosive welterweights against each other and also sees the debut of the flyweight division with a two-bout tournament to decide the top contenders at 125-pounds (56.7kg).

Tickets for UFC® Sydney Alves vs. Kampmann will be available to UFC Fight Club members from Monday 19 December, 10am and to UFC Newsletter subscribers from Tuesday 20 December, 10am, before going on general release through Ticketek on Wednesday 21 December 21 at 10am (times are AEDT). Tickets are priced from $75 to $425.

Marshall Zelaznik, Managing Director of UFC's International Development, said: "The UFC is thrilled to return to Sydney for its third live event in three years. We've had tremendous success with our two previous events, with last year's UFC 127 remaining the equal fastest sell-out in the organisation's history. I've got no doubt that our Aussie fans will be just as excited about our March event, especially as they'll witness UFC history with the introduction of the flyweight division. The 125-pound contenders will absolutely put everything on the line is Sydney, knowing that the winners of those two bouts will then have a shot at the inaugural flyweight title. It's going to be a great show!"

EVENT DATE:
Saturday 3 March - Allphones Arena, Sydney

News

UFC 138 Gets Fox Sports...

After more than a devade of working his arse off and telling anyone who would listen that mixed martial arts would one day surpass soccer as the world’s most popular sport, UFC president Dana White has finally gotten to the super big time in the sports media world.

The UFC, the major league of MMA, will debut on network television on Saturday when Fox Sports airs the heavyweight title bout between champion Cain Velasquez and No. 1 contender Junior dos Santos live at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

The seven-year deal between the UFC and Fox, which runs through 2018, is an affirmation of the brilliant work done in the last decade by White and UFC co-founders Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta (casino, gaming and entertainment entrepreneurs from Station Casinos) in building a sport from the ground up.

The Velasquez-dos Santos match up is an interesting clash of styles, pitting Velasquez’s top line wrestling and awesome conditioning against dos Santos’ terrific boxing and underrated jiu jitsu.

The match up would have been a huge pay-per-view main eventer, but when he finally landed the network deal, White didn't hesitated to offer it as the first Fox main event. The show will essentially serve as a one-hour promo for the UFC, and there could be no better way to showcase the sport at its best than by putting the two top fighters in the sport’s marquee division on network television in front of the largest possible audience.

“This is a throwback to the old days of boxing,” White said. “We are putting a big fight – a huge fight – on free TV to expose this thing to a new audience. Our goal has always been to bring big fights back to network television. We are thinking long-term for the future of this sport. It is an investment in the future of the UFC. Fans that have never seen the UFC before will see this show, and that’s why we decided to put Cain and Junior in this position.

“I know for a fact this is going to be an awesome fight. I know it is going to be great. That’s why it was these two [fighters] in this position. I have no worries at all this is going to be a great fight.”

As its popularity has grown, the UFC has added a vast array of businesses. There is now a UFC video game, a UFC magazine and UFC-branded gyms. There are DVDs, trading cards, action figures, fan festivals and tons of clothing.

The turnaround that White and the Fertittas engineered with the UFC, which they bought for $2 million in Jan. 2001, is every bit as impressive as what Vince McMahon did with the old WWWE -Titan Sports, bringing it to WrestleMania and sports entertainment level.

White and the Fertitta brothers engineered a similar turnaround with the UFC. Less than five years into their ownership, they were $44 million in debt and on the verge of selling the company.

White, though, believed deeply in the sport and in putting on the best, most evenly matched fights he could. Then, he encouraged his fighters to compete in a fan-friendly style, awarding cash bonuses for Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night. In addition, White often pays fighters locker-room bonuses, which are above and beyond what fighters are contracted to earn, if he likes their matches. Those bonuses have gone in excess of $1 million at times.

Making the best fights he could and rewarding the fighters who delivered entertaining bouts are key reasons for the UFC’s skyrocketing popularity and is largely what made the Fox deal possible.

The UFC flourished on cable. Its deal with Spike saved the company and helped it to get to the point where every major broadcast network had some degree of interest.

It’s still got a long way to go however. UFC fighters aren’t nearly as well known as stars in other sports or sports entertainment. No UFC fighter is close to WWE's The Rock, John Cena, Steve Austin or Impact Wrestling's Hulk Hogan.

White is banking on the Fox deal to help bring the UFC into the mainstream. Lightweight contender Joe Lauzon, who fought on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show on Spike, is convinced Fox will propel the sport to the next level.

“This is just the beginning,” Lauzon said. “The UFC took a huge jump when they got on TV with ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ [though] no one really understood how big of a deal it was until after the fact. Look how far the UFC has come with just Spike, basically.

“Now that they have Fox, and it’s going to take another tremendous jump. I think that Lorenzo Fertitta was saying it’s a commercial for the UFC. They’re going to use these Fox shows to get attention and funnel people into the pay-per-view.”

Prior to this deal, Velasquez would be preparing to defend his belt on pay-per-view. But White, 42, grew up in an era when there was still plenty of live boxing on television. He religiously watched fights on the weekends on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” and during the week on USA Network’s “Tuesday Night Fights.”

The biggest stars in the sport competed in those fights. But when pay-per-view came along, boxing promoters took their stars off network television and put them on PPV, where they were fighting in front of a significantly smaller audience.

White never forgot that, and when he took over the UFC, he vowed that he would honor the “Wide World of Sports” tradition and put big fights on free television when he got the opportunity.

There are few bigger bouts than a heavyweight championship match. Velasquez, who defeated former WWE megastar Brock Lesnar 13 months ago to win the belt, is an unlikely star in many ways.

A two-time All-American wrestler at Arizona State, he is soft-spoken and polite and not the kind of person to draw attention to himself. But he’s a fierce fighter who has become a fan favorite because of his aggressive, entertaining style.

He was on the set of Fox’s NFL pre-game show and has made dozens of appearances as he’s prepared to face dos Santos. Seeing the growth of the sport up-close has been mind-boggling to him.

“I saw it growing because it’s a very fun sport to watch, and it appeals to a young audience,” Velasquez said. “I never saw this, though. This is well beyond what I thought would ever be possible.”

And it’s only going to get bigger. The Fox contract will expose the sport to many who haven’t given it a chance and will help White cultivate an entirely new segment of fans.

The UFC may never become bigger worldwide than soccer, as White predicts, but that’s hardly a problem.

The combination of a network TV deal and White’s firm commitment to putting first-rate fights consistently on Fox will guarantee that the UFC’s growth spurt is nowhere close to being finished.

Make no mistake, UFC is right up their with WWE and most say its already far surpassed professional boxing (while taking away legions of fans from the sweet science).

White and his UFC are on top of the world, right next to WWE's Vince McMahon, who he has deep respect for.

UFC 132

MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas

The prelims start on facebook at about 6:15 p.m. Eastern

Jeff Hougland vs. Donny Walker
Anthony Njokuani vs. Andre Winner
Aaron Simpson vs. Brad Tavares
Brian Bowles vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Live on Spike at 8 p.m.
Rafael dos Anjos vs. George Sotiropolous
Melvin Guillard vs. Shane Roller
Live on PPV at 9 p.m.
Matt Wiman vs. Dennis Siver
Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader
Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben
Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber for the bantamweight title

Profile

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company and the largest in the world. It hosts most of the top-ranked fighters [3] and produces numerous events worldwide. The UFC has seven weight-divisions and enforces the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Dana White serves as the president of the UFC; Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta control its parent company, Zuffa, LLC.

Inspired by vale tudo tournaments in Brazil, the UFC and the sport of MMA have roots in the ancient Olympic combat sport of Pankration in 648 BC. In 1993, the UFC held its first competition in Denver, Colorado. Showcasing fighters of different disciplines—including boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, Muay Thai, karate and other styles—the UFC sought to identify the most effective martial art in a real fight. After a period of political backlash, the UFC gradually underwent reform by embracing stricter rules and achieving sanctioning with State Athletic Commissions.

With a cable-television deal and expansion into Canada, Europe, Australia the Middle East, Asia and new markets within the United States, the UFC as of 2011 has gained in popularity, along with greater mainstream-media coverage. As of 2011 viewers can access UFC programming on pay-per-view television in the U.S., Brazil , Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Italy. UFC programming can also be found on Spike, Versus and Ion Television in the U.S., on ESPN in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as in over 130 countries and 20 different languages worldwide. Credit: Wikipedia

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UFC In Australia Helps Sell More Beer, Chips, Hamburgers and PPVs, by Greg Tingle - 13th March 2011

G'day punters, sports nuts, fight fans, legal eagles, politicians, beer and food lovers...one and all. Surprise surprise, when the UFC comes to Australia venues sell more piss (beer) and food. Media Man turns on the beer taps and raise the heat in the kitchen with this special report guaranteed to satisfy any punters beer thirst or desire for kangaroo burgers...

We've all heard of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and they keep breaking records every time they come down under to Australia.

Could it be that they are going to have to find a bigger venue that Acer Arena that keeps selling out in less than a day every time the UFC circus hits town.

Now we learn that when UFC fever hits Sydney beer and food sales virtually double, and thirsts and appetites go through the roof.

We've learnt that the last fight fest was the quickest-selling event in history at Acer Arena and the also the biggest UFC crowd outside of North America.

Aussie pubs, clubs, hotels and other variations of drinking holes are happening up the action.

Licensed venues in Australia that show the UFC are stating a 104% increase since January 2010. That's the sort of numbers any business or enterprise would kill for.

Of course, the Aussie fight fans love the local UFC boys such George Sotiropoulos, Kyle Noke and James Te Huna. Sotiropoulos, an Aussie - Greek, is understood to be the most popular Australian, and when he's on, more drinks are served and consumed.

Venues reported bar and food trade well above an average Sunday with most folks popping in from Noon to dig in to tucker before the main event at 2pm EST.

"UFC has seen a tremendous growth in commercial purchases in bars, pubs and clubs in Australia," said UFC’s managing director of international development Marshall Zelaznik.

"Venue managers are seeing the positive impact it has on their Sunday trade and are booking UFC events for the rest of the year."

UFC's popularity continues to go from strength to strength, with t-shirt sales up, and now even a new UFC magazine out.

We also hear of the possibility of a local version of the reality TV series, The Ultimate Fighter.

UFC PPV events are shown on Main Event TV (via Foxtel, Optus and Austar) and are also available to licensed venues through Fox Sports and Austar.

Other combat sports in Australian and abroad continue to look at as UFC powers head, one success after another, with pro boxing appearing to be the biggest hurt sport due to the UFC's success, with 'sports entertainment' (pro wrestling) also experiencing some decline in PPV buy rates and revenue as a direct result of the UFC, according to commentators at Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Pro Wrestling Torch and Media Man.

UFC also continues to maintain its popularity as a form of sport that brings in punters money, betting huge and passionately, with PartyGaming, BetUS, Centrebet, Betfair and others all getting a modest slice of the action. UFC also has its own branded online poker, with word of a UFC land based and online slot machine on the way, following its gaming times via Wii, Playstation, Xbox 360 and others. When its comes to betting and gaming, UFC ain't playing around. They are deadly serious, and with money also pouring in from the directors Station Casinos enterprise in the U.S, the substance appears to beat its substantial hype.

Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? Will the UFC continue to maintain its popularity in Australia and abroad? What will be the next big market and side product for them? Tell us in the forum.

PartyBets.com website PartyBets.com profile PartyGaming

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UFC 114

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Jackson-Evans among MMA’s great grudges, by Dave Meltzer - 24th May 2010

Saturday’s Quinton Jackson-Rashad Evans battle, with the winner getting the next light heavyweight title shot at new champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is being talked about as perhaps the biggest grudge match in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Two items back up the thought. The first is this is expected to be the biggest pay-per-view show in company history that doesn’t have a championship match. Plus, Saturday’s show, from a marquee standpoint, is really a one-match card, with interest being carried almost completely by the main event.

The general rule of grudge-match promotion is the company attempts to take genuine animosity and promote it to make the match as big as possible. In this case, the Jackson vs. Evans animosity in some ways has almost been downplayed. Believe it or not, the “UFC Primetime” shows that have aired on Spike TV have been softened in editing, for fear that some of the rhetoric between the two African-American fighters, which at times had racial undertones, would be considered too controversial.

Regardless, with the UFC’s biggest grudge match on tap, it is a perfect time to look back at 10 of the biggest grudge matches and feuds, in the nearly 17-year history of MMA.

10. Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Baroni, San Jose, Calif., June 22, 2007: This was a manufactured grudge to the extent that Shamrock handpicked an opponent who he believed would deliver as much trash talk as he could provide, with the local star, Shamrock, facing the cocky “New York Badass.” With almost no television to market it to the public, Shamrock turned to the Internet to promote the match, doing a series of skits making fun of Baroni. Baroni fired back, particularly the week of the fight, in media interviews that would rank with some of pro wrestling’s best grudge match setups. The result was a match where the crowd reaction was equal to almost any in history. The match lived up to the hype, as it was one of the year’s best. Two battered warriors – Shamrock with a torn ACL suffered two weeks before the fight, and Baroni with a torn groin, suffered in the fight’s opening seconds – battled for two rounds until Shamrock finished him with a choke in front of hometown fans.

9. Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra, Montreal, April 19, 2008: A year earlier, in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history, Serra knocked out St. Pierre to win the welterweight title. The setting for the return couldn’t have been more perfect – the first UFC event held in Canada, in St. Pierre’s home market, which drew a UFC-record 21,390 fans to the Bell Centre. To build up the fight, Serra taunted St. Pierre long and loud, with remarks like, “Frenchy, drink your white wine,” which led to a super-charged atmosphere in the crowd. St. Pierre gave the crowd what it came to see with a second-round TKO.

8. Georges St. Pierre vs. B.J. Penn, Las Vegas, Jan. 31, 2009: This was also a rematch, as St. Pierre beat Penn via split decision three years earlier, a loss Penn never fully accepted. At this point, St. Pierre was defending his welterweight title against the current lightweight champion, pushed as a battle of two future all-time greats, both in their primes. Penn talked about fighting “to the death,” but after being pounded on for four rounds, both his corner and the doctor felt he had enough in a one-sided beating. The match garnered more controversy after the fact, as Penn’s team alleged that St. Pierre was greased. During the fight, the Nevada commission between rounds ordered St. Pierre’s body to be toweled off because after a corner man put Vaseline on his face, he patted him in the chest and back. But Penn’s formal complaint went nowhere.

7. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Saitama, Japan, Aug. 28, 2005: This was a battle for the Pride heavyweight title before 35,000 fans. Cro Cop had been chasing the title shot for three years, including a knockout win over Emelianenko’s younger brother, Aleksander. He was derailed once by losing to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and the match was delayed by Emelianenko’s hand injuries. The whole show was promoted around the night Cro Cop, by far the more popular and bigger star of the two fighters in Japan at the time, would finally end his long quest to win a world title. But it didn’t happen, as Emelianenko bested Cro Cop at his own game, standing, and won a three-round decision.

6. Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra, Las Vegas, May 23, 2009: The grudge started in 2006 during the filming of “The Ultimate Fighter’s” fourth season, where Serra was a competitor, and the eventual winner, of “The Comeback” series and Hughes was a coach. The two didn’t get along at all. Hughes saw Serra as a loudmouth New Yorker and Serra saw Hughes as the epitome of the high school jock bully. When Serra upset St. Pierre to win the title, Hughes, at ringside and scheduled for the next title shot, had a smile so big he was like a 7-year-old on Christmas morning, thinking a tough title win suddenly got easy. Sensing the hostilities, the UFC made Hughes and Serra rival coaches on TUF Season 6. The dislike between the coaches was obvious, even to the point of Hughes storming out because he lost to Serra in bowling. But the fight, originally scheduled for December 2007, ended up delayed by 17 months, due to both men suffering serious injuries and Serra’s wife having a pregnancy. There was fear the delay would make it so people no longer cared, but the reaction in the MGM Grand Garden Arena and surprisingly high pay-per-view numbers showed that wasn’t the case. The match itself wasn’t spectacular, but it was a close fight that could have gone either way. Hughes won on straight 29-28 scores.

5. Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva (three fights: Nov. 9, 2003, in Tokyo; Oct. 31, 2004, in Saitama, Japan; Dec. 27, 2008, in Las Vegas): An interesting trilogy, which included high-emotion staredowns and trash talk by both men, particularly leading up to the second and third fights. The first fight, won by Silva, was the finals of a middleweight PRIDE Grand Prix tournament before a sold-out crowd of 53,000 at the Tokyo Dome. Earlier in the night, Jackson had beaten Chuck Liddell and Silva had beaten Hidehiko Yoshida. Silva, in his prime against the relatively inexperienced Jackson, won the first fight with one of the most brutal finishes in memory, with 14 knees to the head, knocking Jackson out against the ropes. The second, a match for PRIDE’s middleweight 205-pound title, was one of the greatest in company history. Jackson decked Silva and had him almost beaten when the first round ended. But in the second round, Silva finished an exhausted Jackson with three hard knees to the head. In their third bout, this time with Jackson in his prime and Silva not the same fighter due to all the punishment he had taken over the years, Jackson won via knockout in the first punch of the fight.

4. Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie, Charlotte, N.C., April 7, 1995: This fight, the first singles championship fight in UFC history, with the inaugural “Superfight” title (the direct predecessor of the current UFC heavyweight title) at stake, was the biggest fight of the pre-Zuffa LLC era and still the longest fight in UFC history. Gracie had choked Shamrock out in a tournament on the first UFC event ever on Nov. 12, 1993. Shamrock, a pro wrestler who had some background in real fights in Japan, couldn’t match the real-life fighting experience of 75 years of the Gracie family. But he studied Gracie’s style and knew how to hype a rematch. Until UFC got television and Chuck Liddell fought Randy Couture in 2005, this was the biggest non-boxing sports pay-per-view event in history. The first 30:00 saw Shamrock on top, holding Gracie down and doing nothing. At the time, there were no referee-mandated stand-ups. They went into an overtime, where Shamrock decked Gracie with a punch before they went to the ground, opening up his left eye. Shamrock spent the next six minutes on top, head-butting the cut (which was legal under the rules at the time). But at 36:06, it was stopped due to television time running out. In those days there were also no judges. Had there been, Shamrock would have won the decision, but it was a called a draw. Gracie pulled out of the UFC after the fight, claiming time limits in fights were unfair to the smaller guy. Shamrock spent the next decade-plus pursuing a rematch, but Gracie never accepted.

3. Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir, Las Vegas, July 11, 2009: In Lesnar’s UFC debut, Mir won in 1:30 with a kneebar. But there was a controversial stand-up during the fight by referee Steve Mazzagatti, as Lesnar, in a dominant position, was docked a point for punches to the head. By the time of the rematch, Lesnar had become UFC heavyweight champion, and Mir had upset Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to become the interim champion. The trash talk was off the hook, but make no mistake about it, both legitimately hated the other by match time. Mir taunted Lesnar’s pro-wrestling background, infuriating Lesnar fans. Mir fans, meanwhile, were infuriated by the fact a former WWE wrestler was the UFC champion. The match, the biggest in UFC history, ended with the larger Lesnar dominating and winning via second-round stoppage.

2. Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock (three fights: Nov. 22, 2002 in Las Vegas; July 8, 2006, in Las Vegas; Oct. 10, 2006, in Hollywood, Fla.): Without question the most historically important UFC grudge. It started in 1999 when Ortiz beat Jerry Bohlander and Guy Mezger, two of Shamrock’s top fighters in his gym. After beating Mezger he flipped off Shamrock’s corner and put on an obscene T-shirt that taunted Mezger. Shamrock tried to go after Ortiz until John McCarthy settled him down. When the match was finally made more than three years later, Ortiz gave Shamrock a beating over three rounds before Shamrock told McCarthy he had enough. At the time, UFC was bleeding red ink and showing little sign of any life. The first million-dollar gate, first Las Vegas big show sellout and the biggest MMA pay-per-view buys in years showed that, at least with the right match, there was a future in this business. Shamrock fought the fight with a torn ACL and brought that up in asking for a rematch. Dana White came up with the idea in 2006 to make Ortiz and Shamrock opposing coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter.” Ortiz won the rematch quickly, but there was a controversy over whether Herb Dean stopped it early. A third match saw Ortiz win again with elbows on the ground, taking slightly more time. While the series was one-sided in the cage, the second and third fights set business records, both of which were very important in the long-term growth of the sport.

1. Kazushi Sakuraba vs. The Gracies (four fights: Nov. 21, 1999, in Tokyo; May 1, 2000, in Tokyo; Aug. 27, 2000, in Tokorazawa, Japan; Dec. 23, 2000, in Saitama, Japan): This grudge series was largely responsible for the beginning of MMA’s mainstream popularity in Japan. The first fight saw Sakuraba, who weighed 185, facing 145-pound Royler Gracie. The Gracies, on the eve of the fight, demanded special rules, no judges decisions if it went 30:00 and the referee couldn’t stop the match. The match was one-sided, but Sakuraba couldn’t finish Royler. At the 28:30 mark, with Sakuraba holding a shoulderlock, the referee stopped it, which was clearly against the agreement. The second fight saw the Gracies insist on no time limit, and Sakuraba and Royce Gracie went 90 minutes before Gracie was unable to continue after his leg was destroyed by kicks. The third fight saw Sakuraba beat Renzo Gracie with a standing Kimura, although Gracie didn’t tap even though his elbow was dislocated by the move. The final fight saw Ryan Gracie, the street fighter of the family, get handled by Sakuraba for a decision loss. The final three fights all drew in excess of 26,000 fans and kicked off the glory period of the PRIDE promotion.

*(Credit: Dave Meltzer - Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

UFC 113 - 8th May 2010

Results

Alan Belcher d. Patrick Cote via choke in the second round

First round: Belcher opens with several body kicks. Cote keeps trying to punch but can't get past the kicks. Cote takes down Belcher and works for a Kimura but Belcher escapes. Belcher ends the round with some punches. Close round, I'd give it to Cote.

Second round: They trade punches before Belcher pins Cote against the fence. Cote takes Belcher down. Belcher gets back up, picks up Cote and drops him in a face-first piledriver. That gets the crowd fired up. Belcher then chokes Cote out.

Matt Matrione d. Kimbo Slice via TKO, second round

First round: Kimbo rocks Mitrione with a right. Kimblo slams him down and gets on top, but Mitrione almost locks in a triangle. Slice escapes and both men are back up. Kimbo takes him down again, but lets Mitrion back up after another triangle attempt. Mitrione gives Kimbo a couple of body kicks and tries to slap on an anaconda choke when the round ends. Round to Mitrione.

Second round: Kimbo looks gassed already and the round just started. Mitrione sends Kimbo reeling with a punch. Kimbo looks ready to quit. Two body kicks by Mitrione. More punches and knees by Mitrione. Mitrione with several unanswered blows until the ref finally stops it. That should be more than enough to kill off any remaining mystique surrounding Kimbo Slice.

Jeremy Stephens d. Sam Stout by split decision

First round: Stephens takes Stout down with a punch. Looks like Stephens might end it early, but Stout rallies with some hard, low kicks. A hard left to the nose has Stout bleeding. Stephens lands a hook. Stout ends the round with a late flurry, but it's clearly Stephens' round.

Second round: Stephens knocks Stout down with a series of punches. Stout back up and lands some low kicks. A lot of blood coming out of Stout's nose. Another round for Stephens.

Third round: Stout kicks Stephens in the groin. and the fight is interrupted to give Stephens time to recover. Stephens and Stout trade punches. Great fight. Stout lands a series of body kicks, knocking Stephens down. Elbows from the top by Stout. Round to Stout, but Stephens should win the fight.

30-27, 29-28, 28-29 split decision for Stephens.

Josh Koscheck d. Paul Daley via unanimous decision

First round: Koscheck takes Daley down and throws some punches. Koscheck works for the choke but Daley escapes. Daley gets up and kicks Koscheck in the head when Koscheck is still down. End of the round. Slow fight. Round to Koscheck.

Second round: Koscheck takes Daley down again but doesn't really do much with him. Very slow round as Koscheck keeps trying to get past Daley's defense and can't. Round to Koscheck.

Third round: Daley opens with some punches, but Koscheck keeps circling around, as if he is trying to just run out the clock. Koscheck takes Daley down and throws some punches. Now some knees. And the fight is over. Daley sucker punches Koscheck after the fight. Now Dana White is screaming at Daley. Bye bye Daley.

Scores are 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 Koscheck.

Shogun Rua d. Lyoto Machida via TKO in first round to win the light-heavyweight title

First round: Both men trade kicks. More kicks and punches from Shogun. Machida takes him down but Shogun escapes and pops right back up. More knees by Shogun. Shogun rocks Machida with a punch, knocks him down and lands several unanswered blows before the ref stops it.

UFC 113 BetUS News

UFC 113 will be quickly upon us this weekend May 8th, 2010. I thought I’d send out a quick reminder and an highlight some of the matches. I’m not sure about you, but I seem to have to constantly reminded of these dates or these events will just pass me by. Anyways, the last event for WEC 48 was really cool and featured some great bouts. I hope UFC 113 will do the same.

The big fight of the night is the re-match Machida vs. Rua for the Light Heavyweight Championship belt. I see things going a little better this time around for Machida. Last fight he got beat up a bit but retained the belt on a split decision. This time he knows he’ll have to be the aggressor and Rua will get caught with his chin out. My pick Machida KO 3rd round.

The fight between Koscheck vs. Daley should be fight of the night and all stand up. Koscheck the more experienced and superior wrestler has indicated he’ll stand and bang with Daley. The brash, cocky Daley has secured a staggering 78% of his 23 wins by knockout. "If he wants to stand-up, that's easy", says Daley. "If you're gonna stand up with me, you're gonna get knocked out--I've said it time and time again." These guys don’t like each other now and Koscheck is going to hate him later after he get’s KO’d. My pick Daley KO 2rd round.

Another potential KO bout is the Kimbo vs Mitrione. Kimbo should be vastly improved skill wise from his showing against Houston Alexander over 6 months ago. He’s got the right work ethic and training now and should be a force at this weight class. Mitrione was one of the better athletes on the TUF 10 season and should be as he did play in the NFL. He only got one of two fights under him so I don’t give him much of a chance. My pick Kimbo KO 2rd round.

One last bout which could also vie for fight of the night is the Stout vs. Stephens one. Stout is one of the fiercest brawlers in the UFC and among all the Canadian fighters on this card he’s the one with the most skill. Stout made his pro debut at the age of 19 and has since racked up a slew of victories.
Stout will surely be a crowd favorite as he defends his home turf against human pitbull Jeremy "Lil' Heathen" Stevens at UFC 113 in Montreal. If both fighters' past performances are any indication, then this fight could be worth the price of admission all by itself!

UFC 113 match-ups

Main Card

Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua
Welterweight bout: Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Daley
Lightweight bout: Sam Stout vs. Jeremy Stephens
Heavyweight bout: Kimbo Slice vs. Matt Mitrione
Middleweight bout: Patrick Côté vs. Alan Belcher

Preliminary Card

Middleweight bout: Joe Doerksen vs. Tom Lawlor
Welterweight bout: Marcus Davis vs. Jonathan Goulet
Welterweight bout: TJ Grant vs. Johny Hendricks
Heavyweight bout: Tim Hague vs. Joey Beltran
Welterweight bout: Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. Mike Guymon
Middleweight bout: Jason MacDonald vs. John Salter

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UFC 111

UFC 111: St-Pierre vs Hardy fight is this Saturday, March 27, 2010.

This event will held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. UFC 111 has 3 bouts I can’t wait to see; GSP vs Hardy is an obvious one, Mir vs Carwin should be a blood bath and Finch vs Alves could be career fight for the winner.

The title fight between GSP vs Hardy could likely go the distance. Hardy’s got a solid stand up game, ground game and pure ego should keep him from tapping. GSP does have his work cut out for him here but will score well and take the decision in 5 rounds of brutal ground and pound action.

In the Mir vs Carwin I think somebody’s going to get knocked out here. As much as I like Frank Mir this fight could be a re-take from his last bout vs Brock Lesnar. Lesnar and Carwin are similar in size and strength but I agree with Mir’s own words when he says: “Carwin is a bit more dangerous.”

Frank Mir was referring to Carwin being more dangerous (than Brock Lesnar) and more like him in being an accurate knock out puncher.

“Lesnar is strong but he's not a one-punch knockout artist. He's knocked people over because he clubs you with his hands but he's not really a knockout artist. Where Carwin has actually knocked people out."

The prelims and Spike fights aren’t looking to bad either. There are a few UFC new comers who will be trying to establish themselves from what I’ve read about Greg Soto (7-0 MMA) should welcome his opportunity to fill Ricardo Funch shoes in fighting Matt Riddle (3-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC). Soto currently resides and trains with Kurt Pellegrino who’s also fighting in UFC 111 against Fabricio Camoes.

Main Card
Welterweight Championship bout: Georges St. Pierre vs. Dan Hardy
Interim Heavyweight Championship bout: Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin
Welterweight bout: Ben Saunders vs. Jake Ellenberger
Welterweight bout: Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves
Lightweight bout: Jim Miller vs. Mark Bocek

Spike TV Card
Welterweight bout: Nate Diaz vs. Rory Markham
Welterweight bout: Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Brown

Preliminary Card
Lightweight bout: Kurt Pellegrino vs. Fabricio Camoes
Light Heavyweight bout: Rodney Wallace vs. Jared Hamman
Middleweight bout: Rousimar Palhares vs. Tomasz Drwal
Welterweight bout: Matthew Riddle vs. Greg Soto

Recap from my UFC 110 predictions: I had a perfect card going 8 for 8.
**Green represents the winner and yellow highlights my other selections.**

Main Card
Heavyweight Bout: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
Middleweight Bout: Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping
Lightweight Bout: Joe Stevenson vs. George Sotiropoulos
Light Heavyweight Bout: Keith Jardine vs. Ryan Bader
Heavyweight Bout: Mirko Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell Cro Cop won but fought Anthony Perosh instead

Preliminary Card
Light Heavyweight Bout: Elvis Sinosic vs. Chris Haseman Fight didn’t happen
Light Heavyweight Bout: Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
Welterweight Bout: Chris Lytle vs. Brian Foster
Middleweight Bout: C.B. Dollaway vs. Goran Reljic
Light Heavyweight Bout: James Te-Huna vs. Igor Pokrajac

UFC 104

News

UFC 104: Machida vs. Rua Card Finalized

The UFC’s return to Southern California is complete as the UFC has officially confirmed the 9 remaining bouts on the card.

UFC 104 will feature a light heavyweight title bout between undefeated champion Lyoto Machida and former Pride middleweight Grand Prix champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Heavyweights Cain Valasquez will also be taking on former IFL standout Ben Rothwell in the co-main event.

The remaining bouts that have been made official by the UFC are:

Josh Neer vs. Gleison Tibau
Joe Stevenson vs. Spencer Fisher
Anthony Johnson vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Antoni Hardonk vs. Pat Berry
Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen
Jorge Rivera vs. Rob Kimmons
Ryan Bader vs. Eric “Red” Schafer
Kyle Kingsbury vs. Razak Al-Hassan
Stefan Struve vs. Chase Gormley

UFC 104 will take place in the home of the 2008-2009 world champion Los Angeles Lakers, STAPLES Center, on October 24th.

UFC 103

UFC 103 Results

Vitor Belfort defeated Rich Franklin by KO at 3:02, R1.

Junior dos Santos defeated Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic by verbal submission at 2:00, R3.

Paul Daley defeated Martin Kampmann by TKO at 2:31, R1.

Josh Koscheck defeated Frank Trigg by TKO at 1:25, R1.

Tyson Griffin defeated Hermes Franca by TKO at 3:26, R2.

Efrain Escudero defeated Cole Miller by KO at 3:36, R1.

Tomasz Drwal defeated Drew McFedries by submission (rear naked choke) at 1:03, R2

Jim Miller defeated Steve Lopez by TKO (injury) at :48 or R2.

Nik Lentz defeated Rafaello Oliveira by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Rick Story defeated Brian Foster by submission (arm triangle choke) at 1:09 of R2

Eliot Marshall defeated Jason Brilz by split decision (30-27, 27-30, 30-27).

Vladimir Matyushenko defeated Igor Pokrajac by unanimous decision (30-27 on all scorecards).

Rafael Dos Anjos defeated Robert Emerson by unanimous decision (30-27 on all scorecards).

UFC 104

UFC 102 News

UFC Lock Alert - Krzysztof Soszynski WILL Bust Up Brandon Vera

Heavyweight Legends - Couture vs. Nogueira at UFC 102

UFC 102 Vera vs. Soszynski - It’s Put Up or Shut Up for "The Truth"

UFC 102 Preview - Just How Good is Maia’s Striking?

Main Event Preview - Couture is going to Evict Nogueira from the UFC

Leben vs. Rosholt - Take the Underdog at UFC 102

UFC 102 Fight of the Night - Jardine vs. Silva will be a WAR

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Profile

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization, currently recognized as the largest MMA promotion in the world. The UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and is owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC.

The UFC was started as a tournament to find the world's best fighters irrespective of their style, and was based upon Brazilian vale tudo fighting. Although there was a limited number of rules, the UFC was initially known as no holds barred fighting and contests were often violent and brutal. Early UFC fights were less sport than spectacle, which led to accusations of brutality and "human cock fighting" by opponents. Political pressures eventually led the UFC into the underground, as pay-per-view providers nixed UFC programming, nearly extinguishing the UFC's public visibility.

As political pressure mounted, the UFC reformed itself, slowly embracing stricter rules, becoming sanctioned by state athletic commissions, and marketing itself as a legitimate sporting event. Dropping the no holds barred label and carrying the banner of mixed martial arts, the UFC has emerged from its political isolation to become more socially acceptable, regaining its position in pay-per-view television.

With a cable television deal and expansion into new markets within the United States and Europe, the UFC is currently undergoing a remarkable surge in popularity, along with greater mainstream media coverage. UFC programming can now be seen on Spike TV in the United States, as well as in 35 other countries worldwide. (Credit: Wikipedia).

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News

Lesnar stops Mir, St. Pierre wins at UFC 100 - 11th July 2009

Brock Lesnar defended his heavyweight title in his uniquely brutish style at UFC 100 Saturday night, capping the sport's landmark weekend with a second-round stoppage of Frank Mir.

Georges St. Pierre defended his welterweight title with a showcase of his inimitably well-rounded mixed martial arts skills in an unanimous decision over Thiago Alves, while Dan Henderson knocked out Michael Bisping with a single punch in a middleweight upset as the UFC rolled its odometer into triple digits on a celebratory night for the proliferating sport.

Lesnar (4-1) ended the main event with a relentless series of right hands into the face of Mir, who handed Lesnar his only loss nearly 18 months ago.

Lesnar, a hulking former pro wrestler with a mercurial temperament, then taunted his opponent while Mir was rising from the ground. He added a two-handed obscene gesture to the booing sellout crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, putting an entertaining but unflattering end on the highest-profile show in the sport's history.

There were no theatrics or poor sportsmanship from St. Pierre, the classy Canadian star considered the UFC's pound-for-pound best. He was the superior fighter from the start, winning every round on every scorecard while steadily punishing his Brazilian opponent with punches, kicks and repeated takedowns in his third title defense.

Nearly 16 years after MMA pioneer Royce Gracie won three fights in one night to triumph at UFC 1 in Denver, the sport reached a centennial of sorts before a frenzied sellout crowd in the UFC's hometown. The arena was packed well before the main bouts, including some fans who apparently paid more than $40,000 online for resold tickets.

The league has grown from a bit player in a fringe pastime to an estimated $1 billion company, and the weekend's festivities reflected its success despite the widespread skepticism it still faces from other sports fans and some states' lawmakers.

The 100th showcase was broadcast live in 75 countries, and thousands of fans without tickets for the event packed into closed-circuit shows all along the Strip. Tens of thousands attended the first UFC Fan Expo, immersing themselves in the lifestyle built around the sport.

Lesnar, who turns 32 on Sunday, again moved upward in the eclectic trajectory of a former college wrestler who performed in the WWE and briefly suited up for the Minnesota Vikings before embarking on an MMA career just over three years ago.
Mir (12-4) beat Lesnar with a knee bar at UFC 81, forcing Lesnar to tap out 90 seconds into his second UFC fight. Lesnar, whose name recognition and menacing approach earned him lightning-quick shots at the sport's biggest prizes, recovered by beating Heath Herring and then stopping Randy Couture last November to claim the heavyweight belt.

Lesnar used his 265 pounds to take position on top of Mir early, and Lesnar stayed on top throughout a dull first round, throwing punches that mostly did little. Mir made a bit of headway in the second, but was trapped against the octagon by Lesnar, who kept throwing right hands until Mir's defense wilted.

"Keep booing! Keep booing!" Lesnar yelled to the largely unsympathetic crowd.
After dominating the first 14 minutes with several takedowns, St. Pierre (19-2) knocked Alves onto his back with a punch late in the third. But St. Pierre also injured his groin in the third, and Alves (22-5) managed to gain position for the only time in the fight.

St. Pierre escaped and nearly finished it with a rear naked choke on Alves, who lost for the first time in eight fights.

"When I was on my back, he pushed my leg down," St. Pierre said. "It could have been a very bad night for me."

In the undercard showdown between the veteran fighters who served as coaches on the past season of the UFC's popular television show, Henderson (25-7) flattened Bisping with a spectacular right hand in the second round.

Henderson, a Californian who traded verbal barbs with Manchester native Bisping over the past several months, pursued Bisping (18-2) around the octagon during a largely stand-up fight until Bisping's defense slipped. Henderson then landed another heavy right hand while Bisping was senseless and defenseless on his back before the referee tackled him.

"What happened?" Bisping asked Wolfslair Academy training mate Rampage Jackson as they walked to the locker room afterward.

2007

UFC to be shown on Australian television via Foxtel - Main Event TV

Press Releases

Ultimate Fighting Championship® Events Launch in 2007 Australia on MAIN EVENT

Zuffa, LLC and MAIN EVENT Television today announced that the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization's live pay-per-view events will return to Australian televisions and will betelecast throughout the country on the MAIN EVENT channel in 2007, commencing with UFC 67: All OR NOTHING at 2.00pm EDT on Sunday, February 4, 2007.

The highly popular UFC events, featuring the world's most recognizable mixed martial arts fighters, are taking the world by storm with sell-out crowds and incredible pay-per-view telecasts.

Based in Las Vegas, Nev (USA) the UFC is entering its fourteenth year of operation as a professional mixed martial arts organization, and is currently expanding to the United Kingdom and Europe.

Available to FOXTEL, AUSTAR and OPTUS residential subscribers, MAIN EVENT is the place for pay-per-view events. The addition of the Ultimate Fighting Championship events brings subscribers the best combat sports events available.

"We are pleased to bring the world's most exciting live sports event - the UFC - back to fight fans throughout Australia," said (UFC President Dana White. "Through MAIN EVENT all of our pay-per-view events will now be available to all of our fans in Australia. We look forward to bringing them all the best fights as they happen, as well as new and exciting ways that they can experience the UFC."

"We are delighted to have secured the Ultimate Fighting Championship events for MAIN EVENT - they are a fantastic addition to the wide range of pay-per-view programming offered by the channel to our subscribers," MAIN EVENT Channel Manager David Spencer said.

UFC 67: ALL OR NOTHING features the UFC Middleweight title bout between Anderson "The Spider" Silva and Travis Lutter, as well as the UFC debuts of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Marvin Eastman and Mirko "Cro Cop" vs. Eddie Sanchez.

Silva (17-4), fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil, defeated Rich Franklin by first round KO at UFC 64 to become the new UFC Middleweight Champion. He is an extremely well-rounded fighter with phenomenal striking skills and is looking to make Lutter his first successful title defense. Lutter (12-3) has fought all over the world including Brazil, Denmark, Japan and England. He made his UFC debut with a victory over Marvin Eastman at UFC 50 in October 2004. During The Ultimate Fighter 4, Lutter used his world class Jiu- Jitsu skills to dominate all three rounds against Team Mojo's Pete "Drago" Sell and punch his ticket to the finals in Las Vegas. There, he submitted Canadian Patrick Cote by armlock at 2:18 of the first round.

Mirko "Cro Cop" is considered worldwide as one of the top heavyweights in mixed martial arts today. Notorious for his devastating striking skills - especially his high kicks -- which he used to knockout Aleksander Emelianenko and most recently Vanderlei Silva, Mirko "Cro Cop" storms into the UFC ready to battle anyone who dares to oppose him. Eddie Sanchez is a freestyle fighter with heavy hands who always comes to bang. Undefeated with a 8-0 mixed martial arts record, Sanchez is confident that if he lands his right hand the fight will be over and he will have a marquis win over Mirko "Cro Cop" on his record.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is known and respected for his raw strength, power slams and equal striking ability. He marches into the UFC with a motive and a plan to capture the UFC light heavyweight crown. He is prepared to wipe out all the top 205-pounders the UFC puts before him, and blaze a path to a much desired title shot. Marvin Eastman is a mixed martial arts veteran who is recognized for pushing the pace and for using his striking power to score ferocious knockouts. He will step into the OctagonT ready to do battle with Jackson and establish his name as a top fighter in the UFC.

UFC 67: ALL OR NOTHING will take place live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV (USA) on Saturday, February 3, 2006. Each month commencing in February, 2007 MAIN EVENT will broadcast UFC PPV Events Live from the USA commencing at 2.00pm EDT with a full replay at 6.30pm EDT.

Dates and full details on each UFC PPV Event can be found at www.mainevent.com.au

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship® brand 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., the UFC® organization produces approximately eight live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed through cable and satellite providers. In addition to its U.S. distribution, UFC fight programs are distributed throughout the world including broadcast on WOWOW, Inc. in Japan, Globosat in Brazil and Bravo in the United Kingdom. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit www.ufc.com

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, UFC® Fight ClubT, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, ZuffaT, The OctagonT 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.

Media Man Australia does not represent Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)