UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs Jacare - Fight Card Updates

[keithlewis]

The Ultimate Fighting Championship heads to Foxwoods Resort Casino on Friday, Sept. 5 with an action-packed night of fights. The event marks the UFC’s first event in Connecticut since 2005. Bouts for the card will be announced shortly and tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, July 11. The card will be broadcast nationally on FOX Sports 1.

[keithlewis]

Two of the UFC's top submission specialists will meet up at Foxwoods in Conencticut on September 5th, as New England's own Joe Lauzon faces TUF 15 winner Michael Chiesa at UFC Fight Night. Tied with Anderson Silva for the most post-fight bonus awards in UFC history, Massachusetts' Lauzon will return to the Octagon for the first time since his December 2013 win over Mac Danzig. Washington's Chiesa is 3-1 since winning the TUF 15 crown in 2012, with his most recent win a hard-fought decision victory over Francisco Trinaldo in May.

www.ufc.com

[keithlewis]

The Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut will be the host for one of the biggest UFC Fight Night events of the year, as the co-main event of the postponed UFC 176 card between middleweight contenders Gegard Mousasi and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza is now the main event on September 5. A rematch of their 2008 bout, Mousasi knocked Souza out the first time around. Since then, both have gone on to win Strikeforce titles and become UFC contenders. In their most recent bouts, Mousasi submitted Mark Munoz in the first round in May, and Souza decisioned Francis Carmont in February.

Plus, two other matchups have been verbally agreed to for the card, and the heavyweight division is likely to get a shake up as Alistair Overeem battles Ben Rothwell, and Matt Mitrione takes on Derrick "The Black Beast" Lewis.


UFC Fight Night Connecticut
September 5, 2014
Foxwoods Resort Casino
Ledyard, Connecticut


Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (20-3) vs. Gegard Mousasi (35-4-2)
Joe Lauzon (23-9) vs. Michael Chiesa (11-1)
Alistair Overeem (37-13, 1 NC) vs. Ben Rothwell (33-9)
Andre Fili (13-2) vs. Sean Soriano (8-1)
Matt Mitrione (7-3) vs. Derrick Lewis (11-2)
Nik Lentz (25-6-2-1) vs. Charles Oliveira (18-4-1)

[keithlewis]

Two recent post-fight award winners will meet in a UFC Fight Night bout on September 5 at Foxwoods in Ledyard, Connecticut, as The Ultimate Fighter 18's Chris Beal takes on local favorite Rob Font. Beal made a spectacular debut at UFC 172 in April with a flying knee knockout of Patrick Williams. Font was just as impressive in his first Octagon bout as he knocked out George Roop at UFC 175 last weekend.

www.ufc.com

[keithlewis]

On September 5th, at the UFC Fight Night event in Ledyard, Connecticut fans will see Long Island lightweight Al Iaquinta face off with Brazilian veteran Rodrigo Damm.


UFC Fight Night 50 - Fight Card:

Gegard Mousasi vs. Ronaldo Souza
Alistair Overeem vs. Ben Rothwell
Derrick Lewis vs. Matt Mitrione
Michael Chiesa vs. Joe Lauzon
Andre Fili vs. Sean Soriano
Nik Lentz vs. Charles Oliveira
Chris Beal vs. Rob Font
Chris Camozzi vs. Rafael Natal
Rodrigo Damm vs. Al Iaquinta

[keithlewis]

The UFC returns to Connecticut for the first time in nearly a decade on Friday, September 5 at Foxwoods® Casino Resort in Mashantucket, Conn. with a five-round main event pitting two of the best middleweights against one another as fourth-ranked Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza takes on seventh-ranked Gegard Mousasi in a bout that could determine the division’s next title contender. The UFC’s last visit to the state saw Andrei Arlovski knock out Paul Buentello in just fifteen seconds of the very first round to defend the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 55 on October 7, 2005.

Currently riding a six-fight win streak, and undefeated inside the Octagon, (No. 4) “Jacare” (20-3, 1 NC, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) will look to continue his climb toward a UFC title shot with a victory in September. A former STRIKEFORCE middleweight champ with victories over Robbie Lawler, Tim Kennedy and Francis Carmont, “Jacare” is also looking to avenge a previous loss to Mousasi and solidify his spot as a title contender. A long-time dominant light heavyweight and former STRIKEFORCE champ, Mousasi (35-4-2, fighting out of Leiden, Holland, The Netherlands) has won five of his last six bouts and boasts career wins over Mark Munoz, Mark Hunt, Ovince Saint Preux, as well as a KO victory in the 2008 meeting against Souza. The winner of the bout could potentially set themselves up as the frontrunner in the wide open 185-pound division against current champ Chris Weidman.

In addition, a heavyweight slugfest will feature (No. 7) Alistair Overeem (37-13, 1NC, fighting out of Amsterdam, The Netherlands) colliding with Ben Rothwell (33-9, fighting out of Kenosha, Wis.). With an astonishing 64 finishes between the two giants, fans won’t want to blink, as this bout has “Fight of the Night” written all over it.

Also in the heavyweight division, former pro football defensive tackle Matt Mitrione (7-3, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla.), who is coming off a “Performance of the Night” knockout victory over Shawn Jordan, will look to continue his winning ways when he meets surging contender Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis (11-2, 1NC fighting out of Houston, Texas.) who is also fresh off of a first-round knockout victory.


Other bouts for UFC Fight Night include:

*Local fan-favorite Joe Lauzon (23-10, fighting out of Bridgewater, Mass.) against The Ultimate Fighter: Live winner, Michael Chiesa (11-1, fighting out of Spokane Valley, Wash.) in the lightweight division.

*Providence, R.I’s own Sean Soriano (8-1, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla.) vs. featherweight knockout artist Andre Fili (13-2, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.).

*No. 9-ranked featherweight contender Nik Lentz (27-6-2, 1NC, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) vs. submission specialist and No. 14-ranked Charles Oliveira (18-4, 1NC, fighting out of Houston, Texas) in a highly-anticipated rematch.

*Devastating finisher and New England-based Rob Font (11-1, fighting out of North Reading, Mass.) vs. undefeated bantamweight Chris Beal (9-0, fighting out of Ventura, Calif.).

*Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Rafael Natal (17-6-1, fighting out of New York, N.Y.) vs. well-rounded middleweight Chris Camozzi (19-8, fighting out of Lakewood, Colo.).

*New York-based lightweight Al Iaquinta (8-3-1, fighting out of Garden City, N.Y.) vs. seven-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Rodrigo Damm (12-7, fighting out of Vila Velha, Espirito Santo Brazil).

[keithlewis]

A pair of intriguing bantamweight battles have been added to the September schedule, as Hawaii's Dustin Kimura faces fellow submission specialist Ian Entwistle at UFC Fight Night in Connecticut on September 5, and longtime lightweight and featherweight standout Manny Gamburyan makes his 135-pound debut against Cody Gibson at UFC 178 in Las Vegas on September 27.

Both bouts have been verbally agreed to.

2-2 in the Octagon with finishes of Chico Camus and Jon De Los Reyes, Kimura will seek a return to the win column after a decision loss to George Roop in April against British leg lock specialist Entwistle, who gave a strong effort against Daniel Hooker in his June UFC debut before getting stopped. Across the country in Las Vegas, UFC 178 will see Gamburyan try out his third UFC weight class against hungry prospect Gibson, who knows that a win over "The Anvil" would be a significant notch in his belt as he moves up the ranks.

www.ufc.com

[keithlewis]

The opening main card bout on the September 5 UFC Fight Night card in Ledyard, Connecticut will see exciting flyweight contenders Justin Scoggins and John Moraga square off in the Octagon.

This bout was verbally agreed to Saturday.

Winner of two of his three UFC bouts, Scoggins is coming off a tough split decision loss to Dustin Ortiz in July. In Moraga, he faces a former world title challenger with three Octagon wins to his name.

www.ufc.com