UFC 115 Card Updates

[keithlewis]

Here is the card to date:

MAIN CARD

Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin
Patrick Barry vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic
Paulo Thiago vs. Martin Kampmann
Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel
Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald

UNDERCARD

Tyson Griffin vs. Evan Dunham
Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman
David Loiseau vs. Mario Miranda
James Wilks vs. Peter Sobotta
Claude Patrick vs. Ricardo Funch
Mike Pyle vs. Jesse Lennox

[NWOWolfpack]

The UFC organization, Canucks Sports and Entertainment and the City of Vancouver announced that UFC 115 will take place in the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at General Motors Place on Saturday, June 12.

"Our Canadian fans are among the most loyal and enthusiastic in the world, and we are thrilled to bring the UFC to Vancouver," said Dana White, UFC President. "We want to thank Mayor Gregor Robertson and our partners at Canucks Sports and Entertainment for helping to make UFC 115 become the first UFC event in British Columbia.”

“We are pleased to be the host venue for this first ever UFC event in Vancouver,” said Harvey Jones, Vice President and General Manager, Arena Operations, Canucks Sports and Entertainment. “We know the UFC is very popular in Canada and that UFC 115 will be an incredible event for the city, the venue, and all the sports fans here.”

"Vancouver fans will be thrilled that the UFC is coming here," said Mayor Gregor Robertson. "We've worked hard to bring it to Vancouver and I want to thank UFC and Canucks Sports and Entertainment for making the event possible. Vancouver has some of the most passionate UFC fans in the world, and I have no doubt that General Motors Place will be packed on June 12th."

More information about UFC 115 including ticket availability, the main event and the undercard will be announced in the near future.

[keithlewis]

After having successful surgery to repair a brain anomaly last week, Thiago "Pitbull" Alves will get back to action as quickly as he had hoped. The original opponent he had to scrap in March to instead face surgery is back in his sights. Alves will face Jon Fitch on June 12 at UFC 115 in Vancouver.

UFC president Dana White made the announcement late Sunday night via his Twitter account.

[NWOWolfpack]

SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 2010



MIRKO “CRO COP” vs. PAT BARRY

PAULO THIAGO vs. MARTIN KAMPMANN

BEN ROTHWELL vs. GILBERT YVEL

CARLOS CONDIT vs. RORY MACDONALD
TYSON GRIFFIN vs. EVAN DUNHAM
MAC DANZIG vs. MATT WIMAN
DAVID LOISEAU vs. MARIO MIRANDA
JAMES WILKS vs. PETER SOBOTTA
RICARDO FUNCH vs. CLAUDE PATRICK
MIKE PYLE vs. JESSE LENNOX

Live from General Motors Place – Vancouver, BC

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – On Saturday, June 12, at the sold-out General Motors Place in Vancouver, BC, Canada, legendary UFC® Hall of Famer Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell will step into the UFC Octagon™ against fellow superstar Rich “Ace” Franklin in a battle of former champions that headlines a stacked UFC 115 card destined to be one of the most memorable of 2010. In undercard bouts, the UFC announces the following matchups: Mirko “Cro Cop” vs. Pat Barry, Paulo Thiago vs. Martin Kampmann, Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel, Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald, Tyson Griffin vs. Evan Dunham, Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman, David Loiseau vs. Mario Miranda, James Wilks vs. Peter Sobotta, Ricardo Funch vs. Claude Patrick and Mike Pyle vs. Jesse Lennox.

Fighting legend Mirko Cro Cop (fighting out of Zagreb, Croatia/26-7-2, 1 NC) returns to the Octagon in hopes of adding Pat Barry (fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisc./5-1 record) to his long list of highlight reel knockouts. With wins over Wanderlei Silva, Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman, Cro Cop has faced and finished some of the biggest names in the sport. The dangerous Croatian kickboxer has won two out of his last three in the Octagon and faces a rising star in Pat Barry. The New Orleans native has won two out of three in the UFC and is coming off a big TKO win against Antoni Hardonk. Known for his willingness to stand and trade punches, Barry is an explosive athlete who also boasts ferocious leg kicks and will be gunning for the biggest victory of his young career.

Paulo Thiago (fighting out of Brasilia, Brazil/13-1 record) has taken the UFC’s welterweight division by storm, emerging from obscurity to defeat Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick and Jacob Volkmann. Now the heavy-handed Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt looks to continue his march toward the title when he faces UFC veteran Martin Kampmann (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev./16-3). Winner of three of his past four inside of the Octagon, including a thrilling victory over highly-regarded Carlos Condit, Kampmann looks to get his 17th win as a professional.

Always gunning for a knockout from start to finish, and with 30 KOs in his 36 wins, Gilbert Yvel (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev./36-14-1, 1 NC) gets his wish more often than not. On June 12, the Amsterdam-born slugger will once again be swinging for the fences against 6-foot-4, 265-pound Ben Rothwell (fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisc./30-7). Vastly experienced with more than three dozen pro fights under his belt, “Big Ben” has finished 28 of his opponents and holds notable victories over Ricco Rodriguez and Roy “Big Country” Nelson.

After narrowly losing an action-packed bout to Martin Kampmann in his UFC debut, Carlos Condit (fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M./24-5) rebounded with a spirited win over Jake Ellenberger. Condit is a former world champion of the WEC® and most of his recent bouts have been strong candidates for Fight of the Night. After being sidelined with an injury, the 26-year-old is ready to return and make unbeaten Rory MacDonald (fighting out of Kelowna B.C. Canada/10-0) his 25th victim. The baby-faced MacDonald, who at the tender age of 20 is the youngest fighter currently in the UFC, has publicly stated his intentions to someday become “the greatest fighter to ever live.” The pride of Kelowna is already 1-0 in the UFC and beating Condit would be a huge step toward fulfilling his monumental goals.

Having waged many memorable wars inside of the Octagon, the biggest moment in the career of Tyson Griffin (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev./14-2) came at UFC 103 when he knocked out former title challenger Hermes Franca in devastating fashion to cap a stellar 2009. The Fight of the Night master now turns his attention to teammate Evan Dunham (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev./10-0), an extremely dangerous prospect who owns a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, high-caliber wrestling skills and has yet to lose as a pro.

Winner of the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter®, Mac Danzig (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev./20-7-1) is coming off of a victory over Justin Buchholz and aims to do the same against Matt Wiman (fighting out of Dallas, TX/11-5). With wins over Buchholz, Thiago Tavares and Shane Nelson, Wiman is always down for a slugfest and will likely look to keep it standing against Danzig, who is quite crafty on the canvas.

Known as one of the best Canadian fighters in the world today, David Loiseau (fighting out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada/19-9) is looking to start his journey back to the top of the middleweight division. In order for him to make his run at the title, Loiseau must start by defeating Mario Miranda (fighting out of Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/11-1). Known for his strong wrestling ability, Miranda showed that he was more than a one-dimensional fighter when he decided to stand and trade punches during his first UFC bout against Gerald Harris.

Winner of season nine of The Ultimate Fighter, James Wilks (fighting out of Laguna Hills, Calif./7-3) wants to prove to everyone that his success inside of The Ultimate Fighter house wasn’t some kind of fluke. Believing that he can compete with the fighters in the division, Wilks knows that his dream of becoming a champion starts with a victory over Peter Sobotta (fighting out of Geislingen, Germany/8-2). Known for having a large base of fans in Europe, Sobotta wants to give his fans an excellent performance when he fights in Canada for the first time.

Ricardo Funch (fighting out of Ludlow, MA/7-1) earned respect from many fans when he battled Johny Hendricks in his first outing inside the Octagon. Although he came up short on the scorecards, Funch believes that his luck will be different when he faces off against Canadian Claude Patrick (fighting out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada/11-1). Known for his submission abilities, Patrick will undoubtedly be going for Submission of the Night honors come fight time.

Known for wanting to fight the best possible opponent each time he enters the Octagon, Mike Pyle (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev./18-7-1) is a dangerous submission fighter that turned heads in the UFC when he submitted Chris Wilson last September. The Dresden, Tennessee native is almost certain to be in the middle of another exciting fight when he squares off against Jesse Lennox (fighting out of Bettendorf, IA/15-2). Having allowed only two of his 17 professional fights to end up in the hands of the judges, it’s safe to say that a highlight-reel finish will happen for one of these fighters before the 15-minute mark.