MATT HUGHES vs. THIAGO ALVES TO HEADLINE UFC 85
Source: UFC
Apr 25, 2008 - 3:50:41 PM
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Las Vegas, NV (USA) – On Saturday, June 7th, welterweight legend Matt Hughes
begins his quest for an unprecedented third 170-pound UFC® crown when he battles
Brazilian banger Thiago “Pitbull” Alves in the main event of UFC 85, which will
be held at the O2 Arena in London, England.
“Obviously Chuck Liddell's
injury was a big blow, but as always our incredible fighters step up to give
fans the best possible replacement," said Dana White, UFC President. "Now we
will see an explosive matchup between top ten ranked contender Thiago “Pitbull”
Alves and two time former UFC World Champion Matt Hughes. Alves is an ATT
trained Muay Thai wrecking machine coming off of five straight wins and Hughes
is a powerhouse wrestler who was the most dominant welterweight champion in UFC
history. These are two of the best athletes in the sport and we are thrilled to
bring them to London for the UFC 85 main event.”
Also added to UFC 85,
which will pack 13 high-impact bouts onto one unforgettable card, is a
middleweight showdown between UK superstar Michael "The Count" Bisping and Chris
"The Crippler" Leben, and a light heavyweight contest featuring
"Sugar" Rashad Evans against knockout artist James "The Sandman"
Irvin.
Tickets for UFC 85 are on sale now priced at £45, £75, £125, £175,
£200 and £295. Tickets are available through www.ticketmaster.co.uk and the O2
Arena Box Office.
UFC 85 is available live on pay-per-view in the United
States at 3:00pm EST/Noon PST and on replay at 10:00pm EST/7:00pm 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 ($44.99 CAD) and
$54.95 for HD where available.
For Hughes, UFC 85 will mark his second
trip to fight in the UK, following his fourth round TKO of Carlos Newton in
defense of his welterweight title back in July of 2002. Alves, a Muay Thai
wrecking machine who is fresh off a second round TKO of highly-regarded Karo
Parisyan, knows that a win over the future Hall of Famer will move him right in
line for a shot at current welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. Hughes is
ready for what may be one of his stiffest tests.
“Thiago is coming off a
big win against Karo Parisyan, so honestly, I’ll probably look to take him down,
try to wear him out and get him a little slower because he’s got such quick
punches, knees, and kicks,” said Hughes. “I think strength will come into play,
me being bigger than he is, but I’m glad to fight Thiago. He’s a nice guy and I
really like American Top Team, so it’s kinda nice to fight somebody I like and
whose coaching staff is friendly.”
Alves shares this view with his
opponent.
“He has been the man for so many years and has defended it more
than any other champ so I'm excited for this opportunity to fight him,” said
Alves. “Thank you Joe Silva and Dana White.”
As for fighting in front of
the enthusiastic UK fans, both welterweight standouts are chomping at the bit to
cross the pond into England.
“I love England,” said Hughes. “I had a lot
of fun when I fought over there last time. The fans are very knowledgeable and
respectful, so I’m very happy to go over there. When Dana spoke to me about
fighting in England, the first thing I thought was ‘I’d love to go
back.’”
“I'm super excited to be fighting in England,” adds Alves. “I've
never fought there before and the crowds look like they really get into the
fights.”
Winner of 43 of 49 fights, Hillsboro, Illinois’ Matt Hughes
(43-6) needs no introduction to fight fans. Owner of the welterweight title
twice over the course of his decade long career, the 34-year old Hughes defended
his crown seven times over those two reigns, defeating the likes of St-Pierre,
BJ Penn, Sean Sherk, Frank Trigg,
and Royce Gracie. Following a successful nationwide tour for his recent
autobiography, Hughes was expecting a break from the Octagon™, but recently, the
itch to compete returned, and when he was contacted about fighting Alves and
replacing the scrapped UFC 85 main event between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans,
he jumped at the chance.
“Last Tuesday I was at practice and I did the
whole practice, I didn’t just coach,” said Hughes. “When my boys ran sprints, I
ran sprints, and everything I taught them, I did as well. So from there I kinda
got the itch to where I said ‘hey, I’m not in bad shape,’ and my plan was to
start getting ready to return. Then Dana called and I didn’t hesitate to take
the fight.”
One of mixed martial arts’ most exciting young
stars, Thiago "Pitbull" Alves (20-4) has evolved from a reckless striker into a
well-rounded combatant who is dangerous wherever a fight may take him. Just 24
years old, the Fortaleza, Brazil native is currently riding a five fight winning
streak that has seen him score early wins over Tony DeSouza, Kuniyoshi Hironaka,
Chris Lytle, and most recently, Parisyan. On June 7th, he gets his chance to
shine in front of an international audience.
The winner of the third
season of The Ultimate Fighter®, Manchester, England’s Michael "The
Count" Bisping (16-1) has proven to be more than just a reality show product
thus far in his UFC career. Winner of five out of six UFC fights, with the only
loss a razor-thin decision to Rashad Evans, Bisping dropped to the middleweight
division in April and his emphatic first round win over Charles McCarthy proved
that he is a force to be reckoned with at 185 pounds.
A charismatic force
in the middleweight division who refuses to be in a boring fight, Chris “The
Crippler” Leben (18-4) goes in only one direction in the Octagon – forward.
Known for his granite chin and concussive power, Leben is coming off back to
back stoppage wins over Alessio Sakara and Terry
Martin,
and he would like nothing better than to make Bisping his next
victim.
Undefeated in 17 pro fights, "Sugar" Rashad Evans (16-0-1) has
used a mix of wrestling ability, strong standup, athleticism, and determination
to sail to the upper reaches of the light heavyweight division. Winner of the
The Ultimate Fighter’s second season, Evans has since pounded out wins over
Stephen Bonnar, Jason Lambert, and Michael Bisping. Originally scheduled to
fight Chuck Liddell on June 7th, Evans has nonetheless readjusted his training
regimen and is looking forward to putting on a spectacular performance for
British fans against James Irvin.
“I think it’s a very good fight,” said
Evans. “I’m not fighting Chuck Liddell, but Irvin is definitely on the top
level. He’s got big punching power and he’s proven himself time and time again,
so I’m definitely happy to fight a top tier opponent. Liddell and Irvin have
similar fighting styles, and you have to go out there and fight them. You can’t
go in there and hopefully get a takedown on them. You’ve got to go in there and
fight these guys straight up.”
Perhaps the hardest puncher in the light
heavyweight division today, James "The Sandman" Irvin (14-4, 1 no contest)
returns to the Octagon just two months after his eight second destruction of
Houston Alexander on April 2nd. That’s just fine with the Sacramento product,
whose only loss in his last five bouts came when he injured his knee early in a
fight with Thiago Silva last May. On June 7th, he gets the chance to move up
another rung on the 205-pound ladder.
The remaining bouts for UFC 85 will
be announced in the near future. All bouts are live and subject to change. For
further information on the UFC visit www.ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or
www.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 www.ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or www.ufcespanol.com.
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