(PRESS RELEASE) -- Las Vegas – UFC’s December to remember will be highlighted by an unprecedented three-event fight week featuring some of the sport’s biggest stars. The action begins Thursday, December 10 as No. 6 strawweight contender Paige VanZant battles No. 8 Joanne Calderwood on UFC FIGHT PASS® in the main event of UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: VanZANT vs. CALDERWOOD. The following night No. 2 featherweight contender Frankie Edgar and No. 3 Chad Mendes serve as the marquee bout of The Ultimate Fighter®: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber Finale. Both events will take place at The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Former lightweight champion Edgar (18-4-1, fighting out of Toms River, N.J.) looks to secure a shot at the title with a win in the five-round main event of The Ultimate Fighter Finale. “The Answer” is riding a four-fight win streak that includes wins over Mendes’ teammate Urijah Faber, Cub Swanson, UFC legend B.J. Penn and Charles Oliveira. A win here would solidify his place as the No. 1 contender in the stacked 145-pound division. Mendes (17-3, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) looks to get back in the win column after a short notice loss to McGregor in July. With a full camp behind him, the Team Alpha Male standout is confident the result will be different and that he will leave the Octagon® in line for another shot at championship gold.
Setting the stage for Edgar and Mendes will be the much anticipated return of third-ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0, fighting out of Dagestan, Russia), who looks to keep his perfect record intact when he meets No. 9 Tony Ferguson (20-3, fighting out of Ventura, Calif.). Ferguson is coming off back-to-back Performance of the Night victories, and he hopes to climb into the top five of the division by handing Nurmagomedov the first loss of his career.
To headline the first UFC FIGHT PASS card on American soil, VanZant (6-1, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) meets Scottish sensation Calderwood (10-1, fighting out of Glasgow, Scotland). VanZant, who is one of mixed martial arts fastest rising stars, will need to use her relentless attack to counter Calderwood’s dangerous striking in hopes of staying undefeated inside the Octagon and take one step closer to a shot at the title. With four wins by knockout – three in the first round, the Scot is the most dangerous opponent to date for the Team Alpha Male prodigy.
For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
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Tickets for THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER® FINALE: TEAM McGREGOR vs. TEAM FABER go on sale Friday, September 25 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $350, $250 and $150. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com or through www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call (888) 929-7849. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.
UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, September 23 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, September 24 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: VanZANT vs. CALDERWOOD go on sale Friday, September 25 at 12 p.m. PT and are priced at $225, $125 and $75. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com or through www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call (888) 929-7849. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.
UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, September 23 at 12 p.m. PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, September 24 starting at 12 p.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER® FINALE: TEAM McGREGOR vs. TEAM FABER airs live on FOX Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Friday, December 11, with the prelims kicking off the evening on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: VanZANT vs. CALDERWOOD will air live on UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT with the main card airing at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
About UFC®
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 134 countries and territories to over 700 million TV households worldwide in 21 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®, UFC 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.