(PRESS RELEASE) – Las Vegas – The UFC® returns to Pittsburgh for the first time in five years as one of the sport’s most successful and popular fighters makes his debut in a new weight division. Fresh off competing for the lightweight title, Donald Cerrone will fight at welterweight for the first time in his UFC career when he takes on Tim Means, Feb. 21 at CONSOL Energy Center. The event will air on FS1.
Will Cowboy be able to continue his success competing against bigger fighters? That will be the question that is answered when he goes up against the veteran Means. Also a native of Albuquerque, albeit a different gym, Means (25-7-1) has won four of his last five bouts, including an impressive second-round TKO of John Howard that earned him a Performance of the Night bonus. At 6’2”, Means will be taller and have a longer reach than most of Cowboy’s past opponents, and his tremendous cardio and precise technique will make for an intriguing matchup against Cowboy’s outstanding Muay Thai and submission skills.
Two hard-hitting middleweights will set the table for the main event when #12 Derek Brunson (14-3; fighting out of Wilmington, North Carolina) squares off against #14 Roan Carneiro (20-9; fighting out of Atlanta, Georgia). Brunson is riding a three-fight winning streak and has won five of his last six bouts, with his last three victories coming over highly touted opponents Sam Alvey, Ed Herman and Lorenz Larkin. An impressive victory could propel Brunson into the top 10.
At 37, Carneiro is also focused on making a run for a top-10 ranking, coming off an impressive first-round submission win over Mark Munoz. Born in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Carneiro has nine career first-round finishes, and a resume that includes three wins by knockout and nine by submission. A second consecutive victory could earn Carneiro a shot against a top-10 opponent.
Additional bouts include:
· No. 11 bantamweight John Lineker (26-7; Paranagua, Parana, Brazil) takes on undefeated Cody Garbrandt (7-0; Sacramento, Calif.), who launched his professional MMA career while living in Pittsburgh
· No. 8 featherweight Dennis Bermudez (15-5; Lindenhurst, New York) vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (35-8-2; Ibaraki, Japan)
· Brandon Thatch (11-3; Denver, Colo.) vs. Siyar Bahadurzada (21-6-1; Boca Raton, Fla.)
· A lightweight bout featuring James Krause (22-7; Lee’s Summit, Missouri) vs. Shane Campbell (12-3; Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada)
· Alex Garcia (13-2; Montreal, Quebec, Canada) vs. Sean Strickland (16-1; Corona, Calif.)
· Women’s bantamweights Marion Reneau (6-2; Visalia, Calif) vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith (3-1; Laguna Hills, Calif.)
· Chris Camozzi (22-10; Lakewood, Colo.) vs. Joe Riggs (41-16, 1 NC; Glendale, Ariz.)
· Middleweight Daniel Sarafian (10-5; Sao Paulo, Brazil) vs. Oluwale Bamgbose (5-1; New York, NY)
· Trevor Smith (13-6; Tukwila, Wash.) vs. Leonardo Augusto Guimaraes (11-1; Salvador, Bahia, Brazil)
· A women’s bantamweight bout between Sarah Moras (4-3; Kelowna, BC, Canada) and Lauren Murphy (8-2; Glendale, Ariz.)
· Anthony Hamilton (14-4; Albuquerque, N.M.) vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov (15-3; Dagestan, Russia)
· Bryan Barberena (10-2; Glendale, Ariz.) vs. Jonavin Webb (8-0; Marlton, New Jersey)
For the latest information on additional bouts for this event, please visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: COWBOY vs. MEANS will air live on FS1 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Sunday, Feb. 21, with the prelims kicking off the evening on FS1 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and on UFC FIGHT PASS® at 5:15 p.m. ET/2:15 p.m. PT.
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Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: COWBOY vs. MEANS go on sale Friday, Jan. 22 at 10 a.m. ET and are priced at $185, $125, $90, $75 and $50. Tickets 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 are also available at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Box Office at CONSOL Energy Center. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.
UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 10 a.m. ET via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, Jan. 21 starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
About UFC®
UFC® is a premium global sports brand and the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Sao Paulo and Singapore, 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 150 countries and territories to more than one billion TV households worldwide in 21 different languages. UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service, delivers exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content to fans around the world. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.