UFC® BRINGS THE HEAT TO SALT LAKE CITY AS DYNAMIC STRIKER YAIR RODRIGUEZ COLLIDES WITH SUBMISSION ACE ALEX CACERES
IN UTAH DEBUT
Plus:
(#6) CUB SWANSON vs. (#14) TATSUYA KAWAJIRI
(#12) THALES LEITES vs. CHRIS CAMOZZI
COURT McGEE vs. DOMINIQUE STEELE
TICKETS FOR UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: RODRIGUEZ vs. CACERES
AT VIVINT SMART HOME ARENA ON SALE JUNE 30
Las Vegas – Two of the most exciting athletes in UFC® take center stage on Saturday, August 6, when the Octagon® touches down in Utah for the first time. One of the brightest prospects in mixed martial arts today, Yair Rodriguez mixes quickness and athleticism every time he steps inside the Octagon. He’ll put his perfect UFC record on the line against the always entertaining and unpredictable Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres in the main event of UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: RODRIGUEZ vs. CACERES in Salt Lake City.
With both men on the verge of stardom, No. 13 Rodriguez (8-1, fighting out of Chicago, Ill.) and Caceres (12-8, 1NC, fighting out of Glendale, AZ) will be looking to put on an action-packed show to prove they belong with the 145-pound elite. Rodriguez is on a six-fight win streak and began his UFC career by winning season one of The Ultimate Fighter®: Latin America. Coming off a highlight reel head-kick knockout over Andre Fili, the 23-year-old hopes an impressive win in Utah will land him in the top-10 of the division and cement his place as the face of Mexican MMA. Squaring off against him will be Caceres, whose ever present smile masks his dangerous fighting abilities and slick jiu-jitsu attack. Known for his resiliency inside the Octagon and keeping a ferocious pace that wears opponents down, Caceres looks to make his presence known in one of the most talent-rich divisions in the sport.
Also, two veterans clash when No. 6 Cub Swanson (22-7, fighting out of Palm Springs, Cal.) meets No. 14Tatsuya Kawajiri (35-9-2, fighting out of Ibaraki, Japan). As a winner of seven of his last nine fights, Swanson has been steadily climbing the featherweight rankings over the last four years. Swanson’s fighting style is multi-faceted, as he holds a black belt in jiu-jitsu and is also one of the hardest-hitters in the 145-pound division with 11 of his 22 victories coming by knockout. Standing across from him will be another well-rounded fighter in Kawajiri, who owns 12 wins by knockout and 10 wins by submission. Similar to Swanson, Kawajiri has been on a hot streak with eight wins in his last 10 fights. With 37 finishes between them, this is an early contender for a Performance of the Night bonus.
Utah’s own Court McGee (18-5, fighting out of Orem, Utah) has a chance to make the Salt Lake state proud when he gets home field advantage against the powerful Dominique Steele (14-7, fighting out of Cincinnati, Ohio). McGee started his MMA career in 2007 in his home state and compiled an impressive record of 10-1. He followed that up by winning season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter in 2010 and has proven himself as a versatile athlete inside the Octagon. Facing him is Steele, one of the hardest-hitters in the welterweight division. While McGee relies on stamina to outlast opponents, Steele will be looking to end the fight with a knockout. Seven of Steele’s 14 wins have come by KO, but McGee will look to power through Steele to get a win on his home turf.
Additional bouts:
· No. 9 featherweight Dennis Bermudez (16-5, fighting out of Lindenhurst, N.Y.) faces jiu-jitsu and kickboxing black belt Rony Jason (16-5, fighting out of Quixada, Ceara Brazil)
· Dangerous first-round finisher Santiago Ponzinibbio (23-3, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) takes on dynamic Zak Cummings (19-4, fighting out of Kansas City, Mo.) in a welterweight bout.
· Two European fighters collide in a heavyweight showdown when the Czech Republic’s Viktor Pesta(10-2, fighting out of Prague, Czech Republic) meets Poland’s Marcin Tybura (13-4, fighting out of Warszawa, Poland)
· Submission specialist and No. 12 middleweight Thales Leites (25-6, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) battles the versatile Chris Camozzi (24-10, fighting out of Lakewood, Colo.)
For the latest information on additional bouts for this event, please visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
Visit the UFC® Press Portal for information and content to support your UFC coverage.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: RODRIGUEZ vs. CACERES will air live on FS1 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Saturday, August 6, with the prelims kicking off the evening on FS1 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and on UFC FIGHT PASS® at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: RODRIGUEZ vs. CACERES go on sale Thursday, June 30 at 10 a.m. MTand are priced at $150, $125, $90, $75 and $50 (prices do not include applicable service charges and handling fees). Tickets and event info available at www.vivintarena.com, Vivint Smart Home Arena box office, by phone at 801-325-7528 plus all Smith’s Tix outlets, online at www.SmithsTix.com and by phone at (801) 355-SEAT. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.
UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets Wednesday, June 29 at 9 a.m. MT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Wednesday, June 29 starting at 10 a.m. MT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
CLEVELAND’S WORLD CHAMPION STIPE MIOCIC COMES HOME FOR HIS FIRST TITLE DEFENSE AGAINST STRIKING SENSATION ALISTAIR OVEREEM
Plus:
(#1) FABRICIO WERDUM vs. (#5) BEN ROTHWELL
TICKETS FOR UFC® 203: MIOCIC vs. OVEREEM
AT QUICKEN LOANS ARENA IN CLEVELAND
ON SALE FRIDAY, JUNE 24
Las Vegas — UFC® heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic brought Cleveland its first world title since 1964 at UFC 198 with a first-round knockout over Fabricio Werdum in May. Now, Cleveland’s favorite son will get a home game for his first title defense when he meets world-class kickboxer Alistair Overeem at UFC® 203: MIOCIC vs. OVEREEM. Also scheduled for the UFC’s first trip to Cleveland is another heavyweight clash between top-ranked Fabricio Werdum and No. 5 Ben Rothwell. The action takes place Saturday, September 10at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
After shocking the world in enemy territory, Miocic (15-2, fighting out of Independence, Ohio) will find himself on his home turf when he collides with the heavy-handed Overeem (41-14, 1 NC, fighting out of Amsterdam, the Netherlands). Having finished 12 of his 15 career wins by knockout, Miocic looks to make a statement with a win over “The Reem,” who is a former kickboxing world champion with 20 knockouts to his name. When you add his 17 submission victories into the mix, Overeem possesses dynamic finishing power both on his feet and the ground. Yet, as a pair of strikers at heart, Miocic and Overeem will take any opportunity to get a knockout victory.
In addition, former heavyweight champion Werdum (20-6-1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif.) makes a quick return to the Octagon® after his first loss since returning to the UFC in 2012. There’s no doubt the Brazilian will look to win in impressive fashion, as he has hopes of another shot at the title in his immediate future. Standing in his way is the resurgent Rothwell (36-10, fighting out of Kenosha, Wisc.) who has won four of his last five bouts, with each victory ending before the final horn. With 27 career knockouts to go along with six submissions, “Big Ben” looks to make a statement that will result in a meeting with the winner of the main event for the UFC heavyweight world title. With 49 finishes between the two, fans won’t want to blink.
Additional bouts:
· A lightweight clash between veteran Nik Lentz (28-7-2, 1 NC) and Russian striker Mairbek Taisumov(25-5, fighting out of Vienna, Austria) who is coming off four-straight knockout victories
Tickets for UFC® 203: MIOCIC vs. OVEREEM go on sale Friday, June 24 at 10 a.m. ET and are priced at $303, $203, $128, $93, $78 and $53 (prices include applicable service charges and handling fees). Tickets are available for purchase online at www.theqarena.com and by phone at (888) 894-9424. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.
UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets Wednesday, June 22 at 10 a.m. ET via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, June 23 starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
UFC® 203: MIOCIC vs. OVEREEM will be available live on Pay-Per-View on Saturday, September 10 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Vubiquity, and in Canada on BellTV, Rogers, Shaw Communications, Sasktel, and Canal Indigo for a suggested retail price of $49.99 US/CAN for Standard Definition and $59.99 US/CAN for High-Definition.
