UFC CONFIRMS REMAINING BOUTS FOR UFC 91

[NWOWolfpack]

For Immediate Release:

November 5, 2008


ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® CONFIRMS REMAINING BOUTS FOR UFC 91: COUTURE VS. LESNAR


TAMDAN McCRORY vs. DUSTIN HAZELETT

AARON RILEY vs. JORGE GURGEL

RAFAEL DOS ANJOS vs. JEREMY STEPHENS

MARK BOCEK vs. ALVIN ROBINSON

RYAN THOMAS vs. MATT BROWN



SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2008
LIVE FROM MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization today announced the remaining fights for the upcoming UFC 91: COUTURE vs. LESNAR which features the return of legendary UFC® heavyweight champion Randy "The Natural" Couture against rising star Brock Lesnar. This championship bout, the biggest heavyweight title fight in years, will headline UFC 91: COUTURE vs. LESNAR, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008.

Just confirmed on the undercard are exciting match-ups between Tamdan McCrory vs. Dustin Hazelett; Aaron Riley vs. Jorge Gurgel; Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Jeremy Stephens; Mark Bocek vs. Alvin Robinson; and Ryan Thomas vs. Matt Brown.

Tickets for UFC 91: COUTURE vs. LESNAR are on sale now and are priced at $1000, $750, $500, $300, $150 and $75. 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 and all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s West at the Fashion Show Mall and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at http://www.ufc.com, http://www.mgmgrand.com or http://www.ticketmaster.com.

UFC 91: COUTURE vs. LESNAR will be available live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).

Tamdan “The Barncat” McCrory (11-1) 6’4”/170 lbs. took a leave of absence from the fight game in the first half of 2008 to earn his college degree. Shaking off the cage rust in August at UFC 87, the Cortland, NY native scored an impressive three round decision over Luke Cummo. Always looking to finish a fight early, McCrory has won all but one of his fights by TKO, KO, or submission. Next on his hit list is Dustin Hazelett (13-4) 6’1”/170 lbs., who he will meet in a bout that could end up as the fight of the night. Hazelett, fighting out of Cincinnati, Ohio, doesn’t look like your typical fighter. Yet his ability to pull off some incredible submission victories, including a recent win over Josh Burkman via armbar, proves his MMA pedigree. Hazelett may be looking to further test out his newly earned black belt by showing fight fans more spectacular jiu-jitsu with “The Barncat” as the unfortunate victim.

Aaron Riley (26-10) 5’8”/155 lbs. is an 11-year MMA veteran whose fights against Robbie Lawler and Yves Edwards are ones for the MMA record books. Fighting out of Victorville, Calif., Riley looks to make a victorious return to the UFC after two years away from the Octagon™. Known for his exciting fighting style, Riley hopes that scoring a win over equally energetic Jorge “JG” Gurgel (15-4) 5’9”/155 lbs. will help reintroduce himself to old fans while making some new ones. Gurgel, fighting out of Cincinnati, Ohio, has had an impressive six UFC fights with three wins under his belt since his debut in 2006. Known for his Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the black belt recently scored a three round win over John Halverson at UFC 82 and had a strong showing against Cole Miller. “JG” may look to test Riley’s cardio and go all three rounds as six of his last seven fights have gone the distance.

Rafael Dos Anjos (11-2) 5’7”/155 lbs. is a 24-year old Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion and protégé of former UFC contender Marcio Cruz. Unbeaten in his last nine fights, with six of those wins coming by way of submission, the Rio De Janeiro native comes to the UFC with the intention of making a statement that he is a fighter to watch in the coming years. His debut could be spoiled by Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens (15-3) 5’9”/155 lbs. Fighting out of Des Moines, Iowa, Stephens’ toughness in recent bouts lives up to his nickname as he put his heavy hands to good use with a TKO victory over Cole Miller earlier this year. After a tough loss via decision to Spencer Fisher in August, the hard-hitting “Lil Heathen” looks to end his 2008 campaign with a big win against Rafael dos Anjos.

Mark Bocek (5-2) 5’8”/155 lbs. is known for having one of the best ground games in MMA today. Fighting out of Woodbridge, Ontario, Bocek showcased great heart in his three round battle with Mac Danzig at UFC 83 in April. Although eventually submitted by Danzig, he has the jiu-jitsu skills and determination to be a contender in the lightweight division. First, he will need to get past Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt Alvin “Kid” Robinson (10-3) 5’8”/155 lbs. Fighting out of Denver, Colo., Robinson has faced the likes of Kenny Florian and Nate Diaz, and scored a unanimous decision victory over Jorge Gurgel, in the span of seven months. Emerging as an experienced and more dangerous fighter “Kid” looks to begin his march up the lightweight ranks but will first have to get through grappling ace Bocek.

Ryan “The Tank Engine” Thomas (13-2) 6’0”/170 lbs. was a former Division I wrestler at Eastern Illinois University who switched to MMA when the program was cut. He made his debut in the Octagon at UFC 87 where he was a late injury replacement against Ben Saunders. Although he lost that fight he more than held his own and now has had three months of training camp to prepare for his next battle against Cincinnati, Ohio based Matt “The Immortal” Brown (10-7) 6’0”/170 lbs. Brown went from season seven of The Ultimate Fighter reality show to UFC fighter with a second round TKO victory over Matt Arroyo at The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale in June. After a hard fought three round split decision loss to Dong Hyun Kim in September, the talented 27-year old looks to get back on the winning track with a victory against “The Tank Engine.”

All bouts live and subject to change. For further information on the UFC visit http://www.ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or ufcespanol.com.



About The Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship 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., UFC produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN Entertainment, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Bell ExpressVU, Viewers Choice, SaskTel Max™ and via the Internet worldwide on Yahoo! Sports, and commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. In addition to its North American distribution, UFC programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or ufcespanol.com.


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