UFC 104 Shogun vs Machida Updates, Videos & Card

[Keithlewis]

UFC 104 Press Conference - LIVE from the Staples Center in Los Angeles‏

[Keithlewis]

ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® CONFIRMS REMAINING BOUTS FOR UFC 104



JOSH NEER vs. GLEISON TIBAU
JOE STEVENSON vs. SPENCER FISHER
ANTHONY JOHNSON vs. YOSHIYUKI YOSHIDA
ANTONI HARDONK vs. PAT BARRY
YUSHIN OKAMI vs. CHAEL SONNEN
JORGE RIVERA vs. ROB KIMMONS
RYAN BADER vs. “RED” SCHAFER
KYLE KINGSBURY vs. RAZAK AL-HASSAN
STEFAN STRUVE vs. CHASE GORMLEY


LIVE FROM STAPLES CENTER – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2009

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – With undefeated Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida defending his Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) light heavyweight belt against the always dangerous Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and a showdown of heavyweight contenders Cain Velasquez and “Big” Ben Rothwell already signed, the UFC is bringing even more star power to Hollywood on Saturday, October 24th. Josh Neer vs. Gleison Tibau, Joe Stevenson vs. Spencer Fisher, Anthony Johnson vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida, Antoni Hardonk vs. Pat Barry, Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen, Jorge Rivera vs. Rob Kimmons, Ryan Bader vs. Eric Schafer, Kyle Kingsbury vs. Razak Al-Hassan and Stefan Struve vs. Chase Gormley round out a great night of fights for UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun, presented by TapouT and live from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 24th.

Tickets for UFC 104 are still on sale and are available online at ticketmaster.com, via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone lines at (800) 745-3000 and are also available at the STAPLES Center box office. Prices do not include service charges.

Coming off a back-and-forth battle with Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 101, Josh Neer (fighting out of Des Moines, Iowa) is no stranger to the Octagon™. At only 26 years old, the lightweight already has four UFC wins and 25 in his career. He will need all that experience when he takes on Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Gleison Tibau (fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.). Winner of two of his last three fights, including a submission victory over Rich Clementi and a unanimous decision win over the versatile Jeremy Stephens, the 25-year-old Brazilian looks for his 30th career win and sixth in the Octagon™.

A veteran of 45 professional fights and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under the highly-respected Robert Drysdale, Joe Stevenson (fighting out of Albuquerque, NM) has the experience and the skill to mix it up with anyone at 155 lbs. Coming off a huge unanimous decision victory over submission specialist Nate Diaz, the Torrance, Calif. native will look for his eighth UFC win when he faces MMA veteran Spencer Fisher (fighting out of Bettendorf, Iowa). The Cashiers, N.C. born fighter is coming off three consecutive wins, including a unanimous decision win against Japanese superstar Caol Uno.

Always looking for the finish, exciting welterweight Anthony Johnson (fighting out of San Jose, Calif.) has four UFC wins – with all four coming via knockout. The 25-year-old from Dublin, Ga. finished Kevin Burns last December before stopping Luigi Fioravanti in February. Now “Rumble” will have to face his toughest opponent to date in the experienced Yoshiyuki Yoshida (fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M. by way of Tokyo, Japan). The 35-year-old with an 11-3 record has won two of his three UFC matches via submission.

Another fighter always looking for the knockout, Dutch kickboxer Antoni Hardonk (fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif. by way of Amsterdam, Netherlands) has knockouts in all four of his UFC wins. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound heavyweight has won three of his last four fights and could be in for one of the most exciting standup battles of the year when he takes on another experienced kickboxer in Pat Barry (fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisc.). The New Orleans, La. native looks to repeat the performance he put on against Dan Evensen at UFC 92, which spawned a 2:36 knockout in the first round.

A fighter that has won an amazing seven out of eight of his UFC matches against fighters such as Mike Swick, Jason MacDonald and Alan Belcher, Yushin Okami (fighting out of Kanagawa, Japan) improved his pro record to 24-4 when the middleweight contender earned a unanimous decision victory against Dean Lister at UFC 92. Now the 28-year-old Japanese fighter looks to get closer to a title shot against seasoned mixed martial artist Chael Sonnen (fighting out of West Linn, Ore.). A two-time NCAA national champion wrestler for the University of Oregon and an Olympic-alternate, the 32-year-old Sonnen earned a unanimous decision win against Dan Miller at UFC 98 in May and now stares down one of the strongest fighters in the middleweight division today.

Jorge Rivera (fighting out of Milford, Mass.) made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 44 and earned his fifth win in the Octagon this past April with a split decision victory over Nissen Osterneck. Now the experienced striker will be mixing it up with a solid ground fighter in Rob Kimmons (fighting out of Liberty, Mo.). The 28-year-old middleweight holds a third-degree black belt in American jiu-jitsu and has won two of his last three matches by submission.

A two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at Arizona State University, Ryan Bader (fighting out of Tempe, Ariz.) is 2-0 in the UFC and a perfect 10-0 in his mixed martial arts career. The 26-year-old light heavyweight and winner of the eighth’s season of The Ultimate Fighter™ earned a unanimous decision win against veteran Carmelo Marrero in April and now faces another experienced grappler in “Red” Schafer (fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisc.). The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is on a four fight win streak with two of his three UFC wins coming via submission and his most recent coming via TKO against Antonio Mendes at UFC 93.

A former football player for Arizona State University, 6-foot-4 Kyle Kingsbury (fighting out of San Jose, Calif.) is an imposing fighter in the light heavyweight division. The American Kickboxing Academy trained fighter looks for his first UFC win when he faces Razak Al-Hassan (fighting out of Des Moines, Iowa). A brown belt in Tae Kwon Do, The 27-year-old brings a 7-1 professional record back into the Octagon. Al-Hassan now trains in Milwaukee with Duke Roufus and is in search of his first UFC win.

At 6-foot-11, it’s difficult to find a fighter that has a longer reach than Stefan Struve (fighting out of Beverwijk, Netherlands). The 21-year-old with a 21-3 pro record scored an impressive submission victory against Denis Stojnic at UFC 99 in June and will go for his second UFC win when he takes on newcomer Chase Gormley (fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif.). At 6-foot-3, 265 lbs. the 26-year-old Red Bluff, Calif. native looks to make a quick and lasting impression in the UFC heavyweight division.

[ArmyofDarkness]

I HOPE I GET TO SEE OKAMI V SONNEN

[broncofan]

[TheBrokenVow]

AHHHHHHHHH!!!! I can't fucking wait for SHOGUN!

[Keithlewis]

SPIKE TV TO AIR PRELIM BOUTS FROM UFC 104

Spike TV on Monday announced that it will telecast live undercard bouts from UFC 104 on Oct. 24 at 9:00pm ET/PT from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. The fights on Spike TV will include “The Ultimate Fighter 8” winner Ryan Bader, a rising star in the light heavyweight division, taking on Eric “Red” Schafer. The one-hour telecast will run commercial-free. The UFC 104 main card will run on pay-per-view at 10:00pm ET.

Spike TV telecast the prelims for UFC 103 on Sept. 19 drawing a robust 1.4 million viewers and placed No. 2 on cable with Men 18-34 in the timeslot.

A two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at Arizona State University, Ryan Bader, fighting out of Tempe, Ariz., is 2-0 in the UFC and a perfect 10-0 in his mixed martial arts career. The 26-year-old light heavyweight, winner of the eighth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” earned a unanimous decision win against veteran Carmelo Marrero in April. He now faces another experienced grappler in Eric “Red” Schafer. Fighting out of Milwaukee, Wis., Schafer is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and on a four-fight win streak, with two of his three UFC wins coming via submission. His most recent victory came via TKO against Antonio Mendes at UFC 93.

Also featured, Dutch kickboxer Antoni Hardonk, a native of Amsterdam, fighting out of Los Angeles, has knockouts in all four of his UFC wins. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound heavyweight has won three of his last four fights and is looking to continue his hot streak against veteran Pat Barry, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wis. A native of New Orleans, Barry looks to repeat the performance he put on against Dan Evensen at UFC 92, an impressive first round knockout.

Other bouts on the card might air on Spike TV, determined by the length of the fights.

[BreakingBacks]

[NWOWolfpack]