UFC 51 - Full Card Announced
Jan 9, 2005
LAS VEGAS – Middleweight David
Terrell returns to the Octagon Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay
Resort & Casino Events Center to fight veteran Evan Tanner for the Ultimate
Fighting Championship® World Middleweight title at UFC® 51: Super
Saturday.
Tickets for the all-star, nine-fight card, $350, $250, $150, $75 and $35, are now on sale at the Mandalay Bay Box Office (877-632-7400) in Las Vegas, at all Ticketmaster locations, and on the internet at www.ticketmaster.com and www.mandalaybay.com. To order tickets by telephone call 877-880-0880 or 702-891-7777. Ticket purchases are subject to transaction fees.
UFC® 51: Super Saturday will be available LIVE on pay-per-view at
10 p.m. EST on iNDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu
and Viewers Choice Canada. The suggested retail price is
$29.95.
Terrell, called by many the greatest American submission grappler, was impressive his last time in the Octagon Aug. 21 – perhaps too impressive. The Santa Rosa, Ca. fighter (5-1-0 in mixed martial arts) worked so fast in UFC 49: Payback! , he knocked out veteran Matt Lindland in 25 seconds of the first round. Some critics still believe he was more lucky than good. Terrell is out to prove to those remaining critics that he is the best by winning the UFC World Middleweight Championship.
Six under card fights for UFC 51: Super Saturday also were announced today: Lawler (8-3-0) from Davenport, Iowa, will take on Long Island, NY, native Baroni (5-4-0), who now lives in Las Vegas, Nev., in a middleweight bout.
David “The Crow” Loiseau (11-4-0) from Montreal, Canada, and Joe Riggs (25-4-0) from Phoenix, AZ, will meet in another middleweight bout. It will be Loiseau’s third UFC fight, while Riggs will step into the Octagon for the second time.
In heavyweight action, James Irvin (7-0-0) from Sacramento, CA, will make his UFC debut against Mike Kyle (10-3-0) from San Jose, CA, while Justin Eilers (9-2-1) from Davenport, Iowa, who stunned UFC fans in his debut at UFC 49: Unfinished Business with a TKO of Kyle, returns to the Octagon with a plan to do the same to Paul Buentello (16-7-0) from Amarillo, Tx.
Nick Diaz (9-3-0) from Stockton, CA, and Drew Fickett (24-2-0) from Tuscon, AZ, will meet in a preliminary welterweight bout. It marks Diaz’s fourth UFC fight. Despite his impressive won-loss MMA record, this will be Fickett’s UFC debut.
Karo Parisyan (20-3-0) from North Hollywood, Ca., and Chris Lytle (30-10-4) from Indianapolis, Ind., will meet in a preliminary welterweight bout.
The main event will be a fight that UFC fans have been waiting more than three years to see. Tito “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz will square off with Brazilian star Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort. Also on the card is the “Interim” Heavyweight Championship bout between Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski.
Ortiz (12-4-0) from Huntington Beach, Ca., will meet Belfort (12-4-0) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in a bout that should have taken place on Sept. 28, 2001 as the main event of UFC 33: Victory in Vegas. But that fight had to be canceled when Belfort sustained a serious right elbow injury while training. Vladimir Matyushenko, a tough competitor, stepped in on short notice to replace Belfort, but Ortiz was too strong and retained the UFC World Light Heavyweight Championship by unanimous decision.
Sylvia (19-1-0) from Davenport, Iowa is determined to defeat Arlovski (8-3-0) from Minsk, Belarus, to recapture the championship he lost to Frank Mir his last time in the Octagon at UFC 48: Payback! The fight ended 50 seconds into the first round when Mir broke Sylvia’s forearm. Being the warrior he is, Sylvia demanded the fight continue. But TV replays left no doubt that Mir deserved the title.
Mir subsequently suffered a broken leg in a motorcycle accident in September 2004 and will not be able to defend his title for several more months. Mir says he is recovering well and believes his doctors will allow him to start training again soon.
Meanwhile, Sylvia and Arlovski are ready to fight for the “interim” title, with the winner eager for an opportunity to face a healthy Mir.
Middleweight David Terrell returns to the Octagon Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Events Center to fight veteran Evan Tanner for the Ultimate Fighting Championship® World Middleweight title at UFC® 51: Super Saturday.
Tito Ortiz vs. Vitor Belfort
Tim Sylvia vs. Andre Arlovski
Evan Tanner vs. David Terrell
Robbie Lawler vs. Phil Baroni
David Loiseau vs. Joe Riggs
James Irvin vs. Mike Kyle
Justin Eilers vs. Paul Buentello
Nick Diaz vs. Drew Fickett
Karo Parisyan vs. Chris Lytle
Tickets for the all-star, nine-fight card, $350, $250, $150, $75 and $35, are now on sale at the Mandalay Bay Box Office (877-632-7400) in Las Vegas, at all Ticketmaster locations, and on the internet at www.ticketmaster.com and www.mandalaybay.com. To order tickets by telephone call 877-880-0880 or 702-891-7777. Ticket purchases are subject to transaction fees.
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Terrell, called by many the greatest American submission grappler, was impressive his last time in the Octagon Aug. 21 – perhaps too impressive. The Santa Rosa, Ca. fighter (5-1-0 in mixed martial arts) worked so fast in UFC 49: Payback! , he knocked out veteran Matt Lindland in 25 seconds of the first round. Some critics still believe he was more lucky than good. Terrell is out to prove to those remaining critics that he is the best by winning the UFC World Middleweight Championship.
But Tanner, from Gresham, Ore., will have plenty to say about who
wins the title. He is a veteran of 11 UFC fights, 36 MMA matches
and owns an impressive 32-4 record. Tanner is on a winning streak.
He defeated rising UFC star Robbie Lawler at UFC 50: War of
04! in Atlantic City, NJ, with a triangle choke tap out at 2:10 of
the second round and won a unanimous decision over always tough
Phil Baroni at UFC 48:
Payback in Las Vegas.
Six under card fights for UFC 51: Super Saturday also were announced today: Lawler (8-3-0) from Davenport, Iowa, will take on Long Island, NY, native Baroni (5-4-0), who now lives in Las Vegas, Nev., in a middleweight bout.
David “The Crow” Loiseau (11-4-0) from Montreal, Canada, and Joe Riggs (25-4-0) from Phoenix, AZ, will meet in another middleweight bout. It will be Loiseau’s third UFC fight, while Riggs will step into the Octagon for the second time.
In heavyweight action, James Irvin (7-0-0) from Sacramento, CA, will make his UFC debut against Mike Kyle (10-3-0) from San Jose, CA, while Justin Eilers (9-2-1) from Davenport, Iowa, who stunned UFC fans in his debut at UFC 49: Unfinished Business with a TKO of Kyle, returns to the Octagon with a plan to do the same to Paul Buentello (16-7-0) from Amarillo, Tx.
Nick Diaz (9-3-0) from Stockton, CA, and Drew Fickett (24-2-0) from Tuscon, AZ, will meet in a preliminary welterweight bout. It marks Diaz’s fourth UFC fight. Despite his impressive won-loss MMA record, this will be Fickett’s UFC debut.
Karo Parisyan (20-3-0) from North Hollywood, Ca., and Chris Lytle (30-10-4) from Indianapolis, Ind., will meet in a preliminary welterweight bout.
The main event will be a fight that UFC fans have been waiting more than three years to see. Tito “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz will square off with Brazilian star Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort. Also on the card is the “Interim” Heavyweight Championship bout between Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski.
Ortiz (12-4-0) from Huntington Beach, Ca., will meet Belfort (12-4-0) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in a bout that should have taken place on Sept. 28, 2001 as the main event of UFC 33: Victory in Vegas. But that fight had to be canceled when Belfort sustained a serious right elbow injury while training. Vladimir Matyushenko, a tough competitor, stepped in on short notice to replace Belfort, but Ortiz was too strong and retained the UFC World Light Heavyweight Championship by unanimous decision.
Sylvia (19-1-0) from Davenport, Iowa is determined to defeat Arlovski (8-3-0) from Minsk, Belarus, to recapture the championship he lost to Frank Mir his last time in the Octagon at UFC 48: Payback! The fight ended 50 seconds into the first round when Mir broke Sylvia’s forearm. Being the warrior he is, Sylvia demanded the fight continue. But TV replays left no doubt that Mir deserved the title.
Mir subsequently suffered a broken leg in a motorcycle accident in September 2004 and will not be able to defend his title for several more months. Mir says he is recovering well and believes his doctors will allow him to start training again soon.
Meanwhile, Sylvia and Arlovski are ready to fight for the “interim” title, with the winner eager for an opportunity to face a healthy Mir.
Middleweight David Terrell returns to the Octagon Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Events Center to fight veteran Evan Tanner for the Ultimate Fighting Championship® World Middleweight title at UFC® 51: Super Saturday.
Tito Ortiz vs. Vitor Belfort
Tim Sylvia vs. Andre Arlovski
Evan Tanner vs. David Terrell
Robbie Lawler vs. Phil Baroni
David Loiseau vs. Joe Riggs
James Irvin vs. Mike Kyle
Justin Eilers vs. Paul Buentello
Nick Diaz vs. Drew Fickett
Karo Parisyan vs. Chris Lytle
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