(PRESS RELEASE) -- Las Vegas, Nevada – UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones looks to extend his historic reign over the talented 205-pound division Saturday, Sept. 27 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas when he takes on bitter rival and No. 2 contender Daniel Cormier. Jones will look to make his record eighth light heavyweight title defense against the two-time U.S. Olympian Cormier.
In addition, Irish phenom Conor McGregor (15-2, fighting out of Dublin, Ireland) will meet sixth-ranked Dustin Poirier (16-3, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) in a featherweight showdown that could have major title implications. McGregor is coming off a first-round knockout of Diego Brandao and will be looking to stay unbeaten inside the Octagon® against Poirier, one of the most devastating finishers in the division who has won nine of his last eleven.
Also, undefeated No. 1-ranked women’s bantamweight contender Cat Zingano (8-0, fighting out of Broomfield, Colo.) will clash with Brazilian knockout artist and No. 8-ranked Amanda Nunes (9-3, fighting out of Miami, Fla.) in a bout that could determine the next challenger for Ronda Rousey’s crown.
Other bouts for UFC 178 include:
· No. 7-ranked Bobby Green (23-5, fighting out of Fontana, Calif.) vs. No. 14-ranked Jorge Masvidal (27-8, fighting out of Miami, Fla.) in a lightweight battle.
· Two top middleweights clash as No. 6-ranked Tim Kennedy (18-4, fighting out of Austin, Texas) faces No. 11-ranked Yoel Romero (8-1, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.).
· Former UFC bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz (19-1, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.) makes his long awaited return to the Octagon as he meets No. 5-ranked Takeya Mizugaki (20-7-2, fighting out of Kanagawa, Japan).
· Hard-hitting welterweight Patrick Cote (21-8, fighting out of Montreal, Quebec Canada) vs. electrifying kickboxer Stephen Thompson (9-1, fighting out of Simpsonville, S.C.).
· Welterweight striker John Howard (22-9, fighting out of Boston, Mass.) vs. gritty veteran Brian Ebersole (50-16-1, 1NC, fighting out of Phuket, Thailand).
· Lightweight rising star Jon Tuck (8-1, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.) vs. submission specialist Kevin Lee (8-1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.).
Tickets for UFC® 178: JONES vs. CORMIER, presented by MetroPCS, go on sale Friday,
August 8 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $800, $600, $400, $250, $125 and $75 (prices do not include applicable service charges). Tickets are available for purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000 and will be available at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.
Get your VIP package today! The UFC VIP Experience packages together your tickets with behind-the-scenes access to the official weigh-ins, backstage tours, meet and greet and autograph signings with top UFC stars, Q&A sessions, and photo opportunities, access to an in-arena VIP party room, a chance to hold the championship belt inside the Octagon® and more!
UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, August 6 at 10 a.m. PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, August 7 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
UFC®178: JONES vs. CORMIER will be available live on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, and in Canada on BellTV, Shaw Communications, Sasktel and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.99 US/$49.99 CAN for Standard Definition and $54.99 US/$59.99 CAN for High -Definition.
About the Ultimate Fighting Championship® Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT™ (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, Octagon™ branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.
About the MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar de la Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, U2, Lady Gaga, Sting, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena also is home to the annual Academy of Country Music Awards, annual Billboard Music Awards, annual iHeartRadio Music Festival and the Frozen Fury NHL pre-season game which features the Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche.