(PRESS RELEASE) -- Toronto, Canada – UFC® light heavyweight champion Jon Jones returns to Air Canada Centre® in Toronto on Saturday, September 21 to defend his title against Swedish contender Alexander Gustafsson. The Ultimate Fighting Championship® announced today that tickets for this five-round championship bout will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, July 11 at 10 a.m. EST.
Gustafsson, 26, enters the bout with a near spotless record, having won six straight while holding a 15-1 all-time record (7-1 in the UFC). Injury forced him off an April card in his native Sweden however his previous bout saw him earn a unanimous decision over former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua in December 2012.
“Jon Jones is re-writing the record book for the light heavyweight division,” UFC President Dana White said. “He is one of the pound-for-pound best in the world with a record-tying five straight title defenses by age 25. This bout with Gustafsson is an awesome fight. Alex is a big man plus he’s mean and hungry – and excited for the opportunity to fight Jones.”
Jones and Gustafsson will join Tom Wright, UFC Director of Canadian Operations, at a public press conference at Real Sports Bar & Grill® (15 York St., Toronto) on Tuesday, July 9 at 12p.m. EST. Media interested in attending the event should RSVP by email to Carolyn Blakely (cblakely@ufc.com) by July 8.
In addition to the Jones-Gustafsson showdown, Toronto will also see another UFC belt on the line as interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao (32-1, 1 NC, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) will look for his second straight title defense against No.4 ranked contender Eddie Wineland (20-8-1, fighting out of Chesterton, Indiana). The pair were to meet at UFC 161 in June but injury forced Barao off the card as he now brings his impressive unbeaten streak (30 victories, 1 no-contest) against the former WEC bantamweight champion.
Other bouts for UFC 165 include two heavyweights making their Octagon® debut and four Canadians in action:
Heavyweights Daniel Omielanczuk (15-3-1, 1 NC, fighting out of Warsaw, Poland) vs. Nandor Guelmino (11-4-1, fighting out of Vienna, Austria)
Welterweights Stephen Thompson (7-1, fighting out of Simpsonville, South Carolina) vs. London, Ontario’s Chris Clements (11-4-0, 1 NC)
Brazilian lightweight Michel Prazeres (16-1) vs. Woodbridge, Ontario’s Mark Bocek (11-5)
Lightweight Myles Jury(12-0, fighting out of San Diego, California) vs. Montreal’s Mike Ricci (9-3)
Japan’s Norifumi Yamamoto (18-6, 1 NC) vs. Montreal’s Ivan Menjivar (25-10) in a bantamweight contest
Tickets for UFC® 165: JONES vs. GUSTAFSSON go on sale Thursday, July 11 at 10 a.m. EST and are priced at $450, $300, $200, $150, $95 and $75. Tickets will be available at the Air Canada Centre® box office, by calling Ticketmaster at 1-855-985-5000 or online at www.ticketmaster.ca. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.
UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Tuesday, July 9 at 10 a.m. EST via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Wednesday, July 10, starting at 10 a.m. EST. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
UFC 165, presented by Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag…In stores October 29th, will be available live on Pay-Per-View on September 21 at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on UFC.TV®, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, and in Canada on Shaw Communications, Bell TV, Sasktel, Viewer’s Choice Canada and Indigo (French) 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.
For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
About the Ultimate Fighting Championship® Universally recognized for its action-packed, can’t-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. In 2012, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, moving to FOX Sports 1 in September 2013.
In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 145 countries, to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide, in 28 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and Australia via Main Event and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website, UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with nearly 2.4 million followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best-selling DVDs and video games, UFC FIT™, an in-home fitness and nutrition program, an internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TV® offering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, a new franchise in development with EA, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club® Affinity Program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel and trading cards.