(PRESS RELEASE) -- Las Vegas, Nevada – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) is bringing the third annual UFC International Fight Week™ to Las Vegas once again this July! The week-long fan celebration returns with UFC events and related activities including entertainment, arts, charitable events, shopping and more. Plus for the first time, the event will feature two huge fight cards in one weekend – UFC® 175: WEIDMAN vs. MACHIDA and The Ultimate Fighter® Finale: EDGAR vs. PENN.
Since making the decision to drop to his optimum weight of 185 pounds, (No. 3) Lyoto Machida (21-4, fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif.) has notched consecutive victories over top contenders Mark Munoz (Knockout of the Night) and Gegard Mousasi (Fight of the Night). The Brazilian now looks to avenge the loss of his teammate, Silva, by handing Weidman the first loss of his career and becoming the third man in UFC history to win titles in two weight classes. Since adding a second TKO exclamation point to his first knockout victory over Silva, Chris Weidman (11-0, fighting out of Mineola, N.Y.) looks to extend his unblemished reign with a decisive win over the dynamic striker.
In addition, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (9-0, fighting out of Venice, Calif.) returns to the Octagon® for the third time in eight months to face surging contender Alexis Davis. After earning her third title defense and first TKO victory over fellow Olympian Sara McMann, Rousey looks to remain unbeaten with a win over Davis. Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt (No. 2) Alexis Davis (16-5, fighting out of Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada) boasts an impressive five-fight win streak that includes victories over Shayna Baszler, Rosi Sexton, Liz Carmouche and Jessica Eye.
Also, fan favorite (No. 9) Chael Sonnen (29-14-1, fighting out of West Linn, Ore.) meets former PRIDE middleweight champion (No. 6) Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) in a grudge match years in the making.
If that wasn’t enough, the following night on Sunday, July 6, UFC fans will see the long-awaited finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Edgar vs Penn, live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center. In the main event, the season’s coaches, former lightweight champions (No. 2) Frankie Edgar (15-4-1, fighting out of Toms River, N.J.) and BJ Penn (16-9-2, fighting out of Hilo, Hawaii), will face each other in the Octagon for the third time — a meeting which marks their first in the featherweight division. The finalists from the show’s middleweight and light heavyweight divisions will also square off for a six-figure UFC contract and the chance to be crowned The Ultimate Fighter®.
Additional bouts for UFC®175: WEIDMAN vs. MACHIDA can be found at:
http://www.ufc.com/event/UFC175
Additional bouts for THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER FINALE: EDGAR vs. PENN can be found at: http://www.ufc.com/event/TUF19-Finale
Tickets for UFC®175: WEIDMAN vs. MACHIDA, presented by BUD LIGHT® go on sale Friday, May 23 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $1250, $850, $600, $400, $250 and $125 (prices do not include applicable service charges).
Tickets for THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER FINALE: EDGAR vs. PENN go on sale Friday, May 23 at 12 p.m. PT and are priced at $175, $125, $100, $75 and $50 (prices do not include applicable service charges).
Tickets for both events are available for purchase at www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at the Mandalay Bay box office.
Great VIP packages are also available! 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 UFC 175 on Wednesday, May 21 at 10 a.m. and The Ultimate Fighter Finale at 12 p.m. PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers for UFC 175 on Thursday, May 22 starting at 10 a.m. PT and for The Ultimate Fighter Finale at 12 p.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
UFC®175: WEIDMAN vs. MACHIDA 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.
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER FINALE: EDGAR vs. PENN will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT Sunday, July 6, with the prelims kicking off the evening on FOX Sports 2 at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.
About UFC International Fight Week™ UFC International Fight Week™ returns to the Fight Capital of the World July 1-6, 2014. The weeklong celebration includes something for everyone from entertainment and arts to charitable events, shopping and, of course, all things UFC. The event will also feature for the first-time ever, two huge fight cards in one weekend in the UFC’s hometown – UFC® 175 and The Ultimate Fighter® Finale. Other fan favorite activities will return including UFC Fan Expo, Official Pool Party with Octagon Girls®, a free concert, UFC Downtown with fighter meet-and-greets, “The Art of Fighting” art exhibit, ULTI-MAN 5k run, training sessions with fighters, viewing parties, weigh-ins and more! Tickets and event details are available at www.UFCFightWeek.com. UFC Fan Expo tickets are on sale now at www.UFCFanExpo.com. Stay connected with UFC International Fight Week news on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/UFCFightWeek), Twitter and Instagram (@UFCFightWeek).
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, Beijing, 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 over 145 countries to 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, best-selling DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit www.UFC.com and follow UFC at www.Facebook.com/UFC and on Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.