Attached is the announcement for 2 more matches added to UFC 41: Onslaught.ÿ Vladimir Matyushenko will be taking on Pedro Rizzo, and Gan McGee will be facing Alexandre “Cafe” Dantas.ÿ Click on READ MORE to see the full official press announcement.
RIZZO-MATYUSHENKO, MCGEE-DANTAS ADD HEAVYWEIGHT ACTION
TO UFC: 41 ONSLAUGHTÿ LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW, FEBRUARY 28
ÿ
8 Fights At Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City To Feature Rodriguez, Sylvia For
Heavyweight Title; Tank Abbot’s Return; Penn, Uno Lightweight Championship
ÿ
LIVE EVENT TICKETS NOW ON SALE!
ÿ
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ LAS VEGAS, January 23, 2003…The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)ÿ is adding more heavyweight action to its Friday, February 28, eight-fight card that will be live on pay-per-view from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic, City, N.J.ÿ Veterans Pedro Rizzo and Vladimir Matyushenko will clash in one feature match while exciting battlers Gan McGee and Alexandre Dantas will meet in another heavyweight fight.
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ With Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez defending his belt for the first time against Tim Sylvia in the main event and legendary heavyweight Tank Abbott returning to fight Frank Mir, the Octagon will be exploding with plenty of power punches.ÿ Not to be missed among the heavyweights is the co-main event, the long-awaited meeting of BJ Penn and Caol Uno for the lightweight championship.
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ Live event tickets, $300, $200, $100, $60 and $30, continue on sale at the Boardwalk Hall box office in Atlantic City, at all Ticketmaster locations and at www.ticketmaster.com.ÿ Tickets also may be ordered by telephone at 1-800-736-1420.ÿ Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino, Trump Marina and Trump Taj Mahal are the host of the event.
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ UFC 41: Onslaught will be available live on pay-per-view on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, Dish Network, Bell ExpressVu and Viewers Choice Canada.ÿ The suggested retail price is $29.95.ÿÿ
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ Rizzo (11-4-0 in mixed martial arts) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Matyushenko (13-2-0) a native of Retchisa, Belarus, who now fights out of Los Angeles, are both cagey veterans looking for an eventual shot at Rodriguez’ belt.ÿ The winner will definitely be in the picture.ÿ Rizzo, “The Rock,” is a kickboxer known for his takedown defense and punching power, who has defeated many of the UFC’s top heavyweights, including Tank by knockout in his UFC debut at Ultimate Brazil in October 1998.ÿ Former UFC champions who have fallen to Rizzo’s excellent stand up, brutal leg kicks and outstanding takedown defense include Mark Coleman, Dan Severn and Josh Barnett (his only MMA loss).ÿ Top contenders Tra Telligman, Tsuyoshi Kosaka and Andre Arlovski also have been stopped by his punching power.
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ Matyushenko, “The Janitor,” is a world class wrestler with outstanding punching power and a very tough chin.ÿ He began his UFC career in the light heavyweight division, but moved up to heavyweight at UFC 40: Vendetta, November 22 in Las Vegas, where he defeated powerhouse Travis Wiuff by submission due to strikes in the first round.ÿ But one of the best performances of his MMA career came at UFC 33: Victory In Vegas in October 2001.ÿ With just two weeks to prepare (due to injury to Vitor Belfort), Matyushenko met Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz for the title.ÿ Although he lost the fight by decision, Matyushenko went the full five rounds with Ortiz and served notice he was a force to be reckoned with in the UFC.
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ McGee (11-1-0) of San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Dantas (3-1-0), from Rio de Janeiro, both have the talent to rise to the top of the heavyweight division.ÿ McGee, “The Giant,” at 6’10”, 265 pounds, is currently the biggest UFC heavyweight.ÿ Although he is a tremendous puncher, he readily acknowledges that his real strength is wrestling and ground and pound.ÿ The only blemish on his record is an early career loss to former champ Barnett and he is coming off a first round victory over Rizzo at UFC 39: Warriors Return when he broke “The Rock’s” nose with one punch.
Just 23, “Caf‚” Dantas is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and a masterful submission artist who is both a Brazilian national champion and a World champion.ÿ He has been mainly competing in jiu-jitsu tournaments and finished second in the 2001 World BJJ Tournament and won every tournament he entered in 2002.ÿ He said he knows McGee is a “big guy who can hit hard.ÿ But, I’m 6’2”, 238 pounds and also have a long reach.ÿ I will have some secrets ready for him.”ÿ His unique nickname means “coffee” in Portuguese.ÿ In Brazil when fighters start in the jiu-jitsu academy those who are easy to defeat are called “milky coffee.”ÿ Because he started beating everyone, they named him “Caf‚.”
ÿRodriguez (10-1-0), a Staten Island, N.Y. native, who now fights out of Las Vegas, has won 10 straight fights and captured the heavyweight crown from two-time former champ Randy Couture September 27 at the Mohegan Sun.ÿ Sylvia (16-0-0), a native of Ellsworth, Maine, who fights out of Davenport, Iowa, is 6’8”, 260-pounds and his height and reach advantage helped him win a second round technical knockout September 27 over “Cabbage” Correira at the Mohegan Sun.
Tank (8-7-0) from Huntington Beach, Calif., is returning to re-claim a top spot in the heavyweight division.ÿ In Mir (4-1-0) of Las Vegas, he will be facing one of the UFC’s most promising young heavyweights.ÿ Penn (6-1-0) from Hilo, Hawaii, and Uno (13-4-2) of Kanagawa, Japan, earned the right to meet for the lightweight title with unanimous decision victories over Matt Serra and Din Thomas respectively September 27 at the Mohegan Sun.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship, headquartered in Las Vegas, is the world’s leading mixed martial arts sports association.ÿ Owned and operated by Zuffa LLC, the UFC programs six live pay-per-view events yearly through cable and satellite providers.ÿ In addition to its U.S. distribution on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, Dish Network and TVN, UFC events are distributed internationally through British Sky Broadcasting, WOWOW, Inc. in Japan, Globosat in Brazil, Modern Sports and Entertainment in Scandinavia and Main Event Television in Australia.ÿ UFC licenses video games for all major playing platforms through Crave Entertainment.
The UFC’s current pay-per-view event is Ultimate Knockouts 2, which premiered Friday, January 17, and is available until February 6 on DIRECTV.ÿ It re-captures the UFC’s most memorable knockouts.ÿ Viewers should consult local listings.ÿ The suggested retail price is $9.95.ÿ The UFC’s next live PPV event is UFC 41: Onslaught at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST Friday, February 28, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.ÿ Locate Ultimate Fighting Championship on the internet at www.ufc.tv.