Attached is the full press release from Zuffa talking about the 3 additional matches announced for UFC 44:ÿ Arlovski – Matyushenko, DeWees – Franklin, and Loiseau – Rivera.ÿ Click READ MORE to see all the details.
ARLOVSKI, MATYUSHENKO HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT WILL BE BATTLE OF BELARUS AT UFC 44: UNDISPUTED LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW, SEPT. 26
Franklin To Meet Dewees In Light Heavyweight Bout; Rivera-Loiseau In Middleweight Match On Ultimate Fighting Championship Card At Mandalay Bay
Ortiz-Couture To Unify Light Heavyweight Title in Main Event; Sylvia In First Heavyweight Defense Against McGee In Las Vegas Co-Main Event
Tickets Now On Sale at Mandalay Bay, Ticketmaster
LAS VEGAS, August 11, 2003.its rare when two fighters from the same country fight each other half way around the world. But, that will be the case Friday, September 26, when Heavyweights Andre Arlovski and Vladimir Matyushenko meet LIVE on pay-per-view in the “Battle of Belarus” at Ultimate Fighting Championship 44: Undisputed at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. In two additional featured fights, undefeated Light Heavyweight Rich Franklin of Cincinnati, Ohio, will take on Edwin Dewees of Phoenix, Ariz., and in a middleweight bout, Jorge Rivera of Framingham, Mass., will tangle with David Loiseau of Montreal, Canada.
In the main event it will be “Champion vs. Champion” as Light Heavyweight title holder Tito Ortiz makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon to defend his belt against interim Light Heavyweight Champ Randy Couture after Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia defends his title for the first time in a “Battle of Giants” against Gan McGee.
Tickets, $350, $250, $150, $75 and $35, are on sale now at the Mandalay Bay box office in Las Vegas, at all Ticketmaster locations, at www.ticketmaster.com and www.mandalaybay.com. Tickets also may be ordered by telephone at 1-877-632-7800 or 1-702-474-4000. Ticket purchases are subject to transaction fees. The UFC is returning to Mandalay Bay, the site of its first event in Nevada in September 2001 from where UFC 44: Undisputed will be available LIVE on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EDT on iNDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, TVN, Echostar, Bell ExpressVu and Viewers Choice Canada. The suggested retail price is $29.95.
Arlovski (6-3-0 in mixed martial arts) is from Minsk while Matyushenko (14-2-0) grew up in Retchisa. In 1989, at 18, Matyushenko left Belarus and moved to the U.S. to further his education. He now fights out of Los Angeles.
Had he stayed, most experts still say Matyushenko would have wrestled on the Russian Olympic team because he was a USSR national champion, a five-time Belarus national champion and a European freestyle champion. He has combined that world-class wrestling skill with excellent boxing and kickboxing to win his last two UFC fights, a first-round submission by strikes over powerhouse Travis Wiuff at UFC 40: Vendetta in Las Vegas and a unanimous decision over Brazilian top contender Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo at UFC 41: Onslaught in Atlantic City, N.J.
Arlovski, “The Pit Bull,” is a powerful grappler and striker who began his MMA career as a sambo fighter in Minsk. After only two years of training and competition, he won the World Sambo championships and now holds the rank of International Master of Sport. He followed his sambo triumphs by winning the European Mixed Fighting Championship. At UFC 40: Vendetta, Arlovski knocked out Ian Freeman, the United Kingdoms top heavyweight, at 1:25 of the first round.
The undefeated Franklin (14-0-0) is a fighter to watch in the light heavyweight division. He made an impressive debut at UFC 42: Sudden Impact, April 25, in Miami, Fla., with a first round technical knockout of highly regarded Evan Tanner. Utilizing his outstanding speed and striking skill, Franklin hit Tanner with a flurry of punches and Tanner couldnt fight back. Franklin, who earned a bachelors degree in mathematics and masters degree in education at the University of Cincinnati, says his best weapon is his intelligence and his best technique is “the one that wins the fight.”
Dewees (1-2-0 in MMA, 27-6 overall in mixed style events) is a well rounded fighter who utilizes Brazilian jiu jitsu, wrestling, kickboxing and Muay Thai skills to end fights quickly. “Twenty of my 27 wins have been by submission in the first round,” he reports. He will make his UFC debut against Franklin, whom he regards as an outstanding fighter and said he is “really looking forward to testing myself against someone of his caliber.”
Loiseau (9-2-0) returns to the Octagon after an impressive debut at UFC 42: Sudden Impact where he knocked out top ranked British middleweight Mark Weir in the first round. “Weir is really a talented fighter, so it was a significant victory. I know Jorge is a hard puncher who will give me a good fight,” he said.
Rivera (6-1-0) will be making his UFC debut. He is a strong, well-rounded fighter whose biggest weapon is his striking power. “When I first started training, the dream was to be successful in the UFC. This fight will be a dream come true,” he said.
Fight fans have been anticipating another Ortiz title defense since his victory last November over legend Ken Shamrock at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Due to motion picture commitments (he will portray Latin villain “Famine” in Warner Brothers latest Crow sequel, “The Crow: Wicked Prayer,” due out next spring), Ortiz (11-2-0) of Huntington Beach, Calif., could not fight for nine months. On June 6 in Las Vegas, Couture (8-4-0) of Portland, Ore., met number one contender Chuck Liddell for the interim light heavyweight title, which he claimed with an upset technical knockout in the third round. That set the stage for one of the most historic showdowns in UFC history as Ortiz and Couture seek to unify the title.
Mixed martial fans have wanted a Sylvia-McGee match up since Sylvia (17-0-0) of Davenport, Iowa, stunned the MMA world February 28 at UFC 41: Onslaught in Atlantic City, N.J., with a first-round knockout of Ricco Rodriguez. McGee (12-1-0) of San Luis Obispo, Calif., is coming off devastating knockouts in his last two UFC fights. At 6,8″, 265 and 6-10″, 265, Sylvia and McGee, respectively, will be the two biggest combatants ever to meet for a UFC title.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., is the worlds premier mixed martial arts sports association. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the UFC programs six live pay-per-view events yearly through cable and satellite providers. In addition to its U.S. distribution on iNDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, TVN, Echostar, Bell ExpressVu and Viewers Choice Canada, UFC events are distributed internationally through WOWOW, Inc. in Japan, Globosat in Brazil, Main Event Television in Australia and Sky Network Television in New Zealand. Zuffa, LLC licenses the distribution of UFC video games through Crave Entertainment and TDK Mediactive.
The UFCs next live PPV event will be UFC 44: Undisputed at 10 p.m. EDT on Friday, September 26, from Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev. Locate the UFC on the internet at www.ufc.tv.