Modern Fighting

Lightweight contender Joe Lauzon, along with fellow UFC standouts Heath Herring and Jorge Rivera, recently returned from a nearly two week long goodwill trip to the Middle East, visiting servicemen and women in Iraq and Kuwait.And while the impact of the trip on the troops was immense, it was just as memorable for Lauzon.

“It was a long, busy 12 days,” said Lauzon. “But I’d definitely do it again. It’s something that I’ll never forget. I’m glad I did it.”

Lauzon and company spent time signing autographs, taking pictures, playing cards, and working out with the troops during the trip, and also got in some time on the firing range while being transported via Black Hawk helicopters.

“It was awesome,” said Lauzon, who is coming off an impressive second round TKO of Kyle Bradley in September. “It was one of the happiest 12 days of my life. They kept us real busy going from one camp to another. We visited 14 camps in Iraq and Kuwait. The first hour we’d give demonstrations and the second we signed autographs and posed for pictures with them. I was thrilled to see all of them over there, away from their friends and family, but helping all of us back home. It was cool to see how excited and appreciative they were to see us. There are a lot of MMA fans over there, too.”

Las Vegas, NV (USA) - The Ultimate Fighting Championship® and Spike TV have launched an exclusive auction to make tickets available to the public for UFC® Fight For The Troops^TM. This special live UFC event will raise funds to build a hospital for traumatic brain injuries for the brave men and women in the United States Armed Forces. Thousands of soldiers from nearby Fort Bragg, the proud home of the U.S. Airborne and Special Operations Forces, will be in attendance, but now 30 members of the public also have an opportunity to watch the fight live.This exclusive auction is being held through Ticketmaster.com and is ongoing now through Dec. 1st. Only 30 tickets will be available to the public, with bidding starting at $200 per ticket.

UFC Fight For The Troops will air live on Spike TV Wednesday, December 10 starting at 9:00 PM, ET. More information about the facility, including ways to donate, can be found online at http://www.fallenheroesfund.org or by calling 1-800-340 HERO

Josh Koscheck vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida headlines the event, with Mike Swick taking on Jonathan Goulet in the co-main event matchup. The event also showcases five current UFC fighters who are all U.S. military veterans including Luigi Fioravanti, Tim Credeur, Dale Hartt, Brandon Wolff, and Steve Bruno.

“The Ultimate Fighter 1″ standout Koscheck (13-3) has won seven of his last nine decisions, and is one of the premier 170-pound fighters in the world. His opponent, Tokyo native Yoshiyuki “Zenko” Yoshida (10-2), has won nine straight pro mixed martial arts fights including his UFC debut last May at UFC 84 with a victory via submission over Jon Koppenhaver.

Swick (12-2), fighting out of San Jose, CA, has won seven of his last eight bouts in the Octagon, including a three round decision over Marcus Davis this past June at UFC 85. To continue his quest for a title shot, he must defeat fellow welterweight contender, Jonathon Goulet (22-9). The hard-hitting 29-year old Canadian recently scored a TKO victory at UFC 83 over Kuniyoshi Hironaka that was awarded Fight of The Night honors.

“The Ultimate Fighter 5″ standout Matt Wiman (10-3), a resident of Dallas, Texas, has won four straight contests in the Octagon, including an impressive 2nd round knockout of Thiago Tavares at UFC 85 in June. “Handsome” Matt will face his toughest test yet against the pride of Toms River, NJ, Frankie Edgar. A rising star in the lightweight division, Edgar (9-1) is coming off the biggest win of his professional career, a three-round decision over the dangerous Hermes Franca this past July at “UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin” on Spike TV.

On the undercard, two promising fighters make their UFC Octagon® debut as Steve Cantwell battles Razak Al- Hassan. The 22 year-old Cantwell, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada, held the WEC light heavyweight belt and has won six of his seven pro mixed martial arts fights. His most recent victory, a 2nd round TKO victory over Brian Stann in August, was the biggest of his career and netted him the WEC belt. In the opposite corner will be the unbeaten Al-Hassan of Des Moines, IA, who possesses a 6-0 professional MMA record, and a reputation as one of the Midwest’s top 205-pound prospects.

The undercard also includes former U.S. Marine Luigi Fioravanti vs. Brodie Farber; U.S. Navy veteran Dale Hartt vs. Corey Hill from “The Ultimate Fighter 5;” Ben Saunders from “The Ultimate Fighter 5″ vs. former Navy SEAL Brandon Wolff; “The Ultimate Fighter 7″ semi-finalist and U.S. Navy veteran Tim Credeur vs. Nate Loughran; Johnny Rees vs. U.S. Navy veteran Steve Bruno; and Justin McCully vs Eddie Sanchez.

Footage of recent fights

NEW YORK, NY, November 17, 2008 - After a controversial ending to their first bout, UFC welterweights Kevin Burns and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson will meet in the Octagon once again in December. The two will settle the score at the live finale for “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir”, emanating from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV LIVE on December 13 at 9:00 PM ET.Tickets for The Ultimate Fighter® Team Nogueira vs Team Mir Finale are on sale now at $350, $250 and $150, plus any additional box office or service fees. Please visit any Ticketmaster location, call 702-474-4000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.

A Georgia native fighting out of Los Angeles, Johnson (5-2), one of the welterweight division’s most explosive athletes, and Burns (8-1), a promising newcomer from Des Moines, IA, first met this past July at UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Irvin. Towards the end of three highly competitive rounds, it seemed that Johnson was on his way to a hard fought decision win when Burns inadvertently poked him in the eye while throwing an uppercut. The strike escaped the view of referee Steve Mazzagatti, and when Johnson was felled by the blow, Burns pounced and won by TKO. Both fighters have lobbied for a rematch, and their wish will be granted on December 13 in Las Vegas.

Also on the card, Edmonton’s Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald (22-10) will square off against Fortaleza, Brazil’s Wilson Gouveia in middleweight action. MacDonald last fought at UFC 88 in September, where he defeated Jason Lambert in impressive fashion. The Canadian will look to vault himself into title contention in the middleweight division with a victory over a stern test in Gouveia. Wilson Gouveia (11-5) made his middleweight debut at Ultimate Fight Night 15 this past September after compiling a 4-2 record as a light heavyweight in the UFC. The drop in weight did not have any ill effects on his performance, with Gouveia submitting his opponent Ryan Jensen via armbar in the second round. The American Top Team product will look to notch his sixth UFC victory when he takes on MacDonald.

Las Vegas, NV (USA) - World Extreme Cagefighting® today announced three more thrilling fights for WEC®: Torres vs. Tapia, live from The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Wednesday, December 3. Leading up to what is sure to be an instant classic between WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres and No. 1 contender Manny Tapia are three high-energy bouts, featuring Brian Bowles vs. Will Ribeiro, Wagnney Fabiano vs. Akitoshi Tamura and Joseph Benavidez vs. Danny Martinez.World Extreme Cagefighting will be televised live nationally on VERSUS beginning at 8:00 pm ET/ 5:00 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.

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Las Vegas, NV (USA) – Toronto and Honolulu get ready, UFC® President Dana White is coming to town along with UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre and UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn to formally announce UFC 94: ST-PIERRE vs. PENN 2 – the incredible rematch that fans have been waiting for. UFC 94, the battle for the World Welterweight Championship, will take place Saturday, January 31, 2009 live from MGM Grand Garden Arena.

On Tuesday, November 18, St-Pierre, Penn and White will head to downtown Toronto for a public press conference and autograph signing at the Scotiabank Theatre Toronto (formerly Paramount Theatre). Doors will open at 9am ET and the press conference will start at 10am ET. Fans in attendance will receive UFC T-shirts, and immediately following the press conference, St-Pierre and Penn will sign autographs from 11am to 1pm ET. (Seating is limited; first come, first served).

On Friday, November 21, the trio will land on the Big Island and hit Honolulu for a public press conference and free viewing party at the Waikiki Shell. Doors will open at 4pm HT, with a live musical performance by J-Boog and Fiji talking place from 5 to 6pm HT. The press conference will begin at 6:15pm, followed by a free large-screen viewing from the Shell of classic St-Pierre and Penn fights. UFC T-shirts will be given free to the first 2,000 fans in attendance.

In March 2006, top welterweights Georges St-Pierre and BJ Penn fought for the division’s No. 1 contender spot. St-Pierre earned a razor-thin split decision and a shot at the Ultimate Fighting Championship® welterweight title. Now the two are about to do it again. But this time, there’s much more at stake.

UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn looks to become the first fighter in history to hold two UFC championships at the same time when he faces Georges St-Pierre for the UFC welterweight championship at UFC 94: ST-PIERRE VS. PENN 2.

Tickets for UFC 94: ST-PIERRE VS. PENN 2 priced at $750, $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50, are on sale now. Tickets are available at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office, all Ticketmaster locations, and by telephone at 800-929-1111 or 702-891-7777. Tickets also are available for purchase at ufc.com, www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.