UFC Fight Night Returns to New Orleans June 6

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Las Vegas – UFC® returns to the Bayou State with a light heavyweight showdown between Lafayette’s Daniel Cormier and fifth-ranked Ryan Bader on Saturday, June 6 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. This marks the first UFC event in New Orleans since 2011.

Born and raised in the heart of Cajun Country, third-ranked UFC light heavyweight Cormier (15-1, fighting out of San Jose, Calif.), comes home to face rising contender Bader in hopes of getting another shot at the 205-pound world title. The former two-time U.S. Olympian makes his return to the Octagon® after challenging UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones at UFC 182 in January. Fueled by another chance at the world title, “DC” looks to put on an impressive performance against Bader to cement his place at the top of the division’s contenders.

Since winning The Ultimate Fighter® Season eight, Bader (20-4, fighting out of Tempe, Ariz.) has made a steady climb through the 205-pound rankings by besting top-ranked opponents Phil Davis, Ovince Saint Preux, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rampage Jackson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. After rattling off four consecutive wins, the former two-time Division I All-American wrestler at Arizona State University has earned a shot against one of the UFC’s elite in Cormier. With a win over DC, a title shot for Bader will undoubtedly soon follow.

In addition to Cormier’s homecoming, UFC FIGHT NIGHT® showcases Louisiana’s best as former LSU fullback and member of the 2007 NCAA Division I National Football Championship team Shawn Jordan (17-6, fighting out of Baton Rouge, La.) meets New Orleans-born Derrick Lewis (12-3, 1NC, fighting out of Houston, Texas), whose resume includes 11 knockout victories. Plus, after making an impressive UFC lightweight debut against Diego Ferreira at UFC FIGHT NIGHT: MENDES vs. LAMAS, surging lightweight contender Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier (17-4, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) makes a quick return to the Octagon to fight in his home state of Louisiana.

Additional bouts include:

· Knockout artist and No. 9 heavyweight Ben Rothwell (34-9, fighting out of Kenosha, Wis.) will meet (No. 13) Matt Mitrione (9-3, fighting out of Indianapolis, Ind.), the owner of three consecutive first-round knockout wins.

· 13th-ranked middleweight Tim Boetsch (18-8, fighting out of Sunbury, PA by way of Lincolnville, Maine) goes head-to-head with former STRIKEFORCE and PRIDE champion Dan Henderson (30-13, fighting out of Temecula, Calif.) in a 185-pound showdown.

· MMA veteran Brian Ebersole (51-16-1, 1NC, fighting out of Phuket, Thailand) takes on heavy-hitting Omari Akhmedov (14-2, fighting out of Makhachkala, Russia), an owner of 10 first-round finishes.

· The Ultimate Fighter®: Brazil contestant Daniel Sarafian (10-5, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil) meets Ricardo Abreu (5-1, fighting out of Las Vegas) at 185 pounds.

· The Ultimate Fighter Season 15 standout Joe Proctor (10-3, fighting out of Bridgewater, Mass.) meets TUF® Season 13 cast member Justin Edwards (9-4, fighting out of Bellefontaine, Ohio) in a lightweight bout.

· Former bantamweight title challenger Joe Soto (15-3, fighting out of Porterville, Calif.) makes his second UFC appearance against Anthony Birchak (11-2, fighting out of Tucson, Ariz.).

For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

Previous UFC events held in the state of Louisiana: UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: SHIELDS vs. ELLENBERGER (9/17/2011, New Orleans), UFC 37: High Impact (05/10/2002, Bossier City), UFC 27: Ultimate Bad Boyz (09/22/2000, New Orleans), UFC 24: First Defense (03/10/2000, Lake Charles), UFC 22: Only One Can Be Champion (09/24/1999, Lake Charles), UFC 18: The Road to the Heavyweight Title (01/8/1999, New Orleans), and UFC 16: Battle in the Bayou (3/13/1998, New Orleans).

Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: CORMIER vs. BADER go on sale Friday, April at 10 a.m. CT and are priced at $175, $125, $90, $75 and $50 (plus applicable service charges). Tickets are available for purchase at all Ticketmaster outlets including the Smoothie King Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com or via Phonecharge at (800) 745-3000. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: CORMIER vs. BADER will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT on Saturday, June 6, with the prelims kicking off on FOX Sports 2 at 8 p.m. ET/5 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 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®, 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.