THE ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® TO UNLEASH ‘FIGHT FEVER’ IN THE MIDDLE EAST
8 April 2010, Sydney, Australia - Having taken Australia by storm, the Ultimate Fighting
Championship® organisation is set to unleash ‘fight fever’ in the Middle East on April 10th
when it holds its first ever event in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Some of the world’s greatest mixed martial artists will appear in the historic open-air UFC
112 event at the Concert Arena, Ferrari World, Yas Island.
UFC President Dana White said, “UFC 112 is our first outdoor event, making it one of the
biggest and most significant nights in the history of the UFC.”
The stacked card for UFC 112 includes two UFC title fights. In the lightweight division BJ
Penn (15-5-1) looks to continue his dominant reign when he takes on Frankie Edgar (11-1-0).
As these two exceptional mixed martial artists square-off in The Octagon™, Australia’s
George Sotiropoulos will be watching on intently from his base camp in Washington, USA,
with his sights set firmly on the belt.
Sotiropoulos (12-2-0), who is coming off a career high following his win over Joe “Daddy”
Stevenson at UFC 110 in Sydney, says he has no doubt he’ll be able to compete with the
best the UFC has to offer.
“I watch every UFC event because I love the sport but I’m paying even closer attention these
days. I know that I’ve got a way to go but I’m getting to a stage in my career where I may
potentially have a title shot and I want to be ready. I’m going to give myself every chance of
success,” said Sotiropoulos.
Penn, the reigning lightweight champion, believes Sotiropoulos could have what it takes to
be in the running for a chance at the title.
“I was really impressed with George’s performance at UFC 110. He was very well prepared
for that fight; he looked like he had a strategy and I admit I was a little surprised at how
good he was. He had a much better game plan than Joe Daddy. That’s why we fight, to
prove we are better on the night.
“George has got great technique on the ground, great grappling. I was actually excited to
see a new, tough contender emerge for my belt. Based on his performance in Sydney, I can
see George standing across me in the Octagon soon… maybe in the next year,” said Penn.
When White guaranteed the UFC would be returning Down Under following the success of
UFC 110, he also hinted that a title fight for Sotiropoulos could be on the card.
Considering his career progression, Sotiropoulos said, “I’m not thinking about a title fight
just yet. My plan is to keep working hard and improving as I always have. But the Sydney
fight was such an unbelievable experience, I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be
like to fight for a UFC title on home soil. Making this dream a reality is all the motivation I
need.”
Responding to Sotiropoulos’s comments, Penn says he’d be more than happy to fight the
Aussie on his home turf. “Y’know, I am the world champion. Not the champion of the USA
or Las Vegas. I have fought all over the world. As UFC Champion, I won this title in England
and this weekend I’ll defend it in the Middle East. Being a World Champion means you have
to fight the best in the world, anywhere in the world.
“I am always looking for challenges, and fighting so far away from home, in an opponent’s
hometown, is a challenge which interests me. If George keeps on winning like he is doing,
maybe I could defend my title against him in Sydney or Melbourne.”
In the main event at UFC 112 and fighting for the middleweight title, is current champion
Anderson “The Spider” Silva who is looking to add to his middleweight title defense record
when he puts his belt on the line for the sixth time against submission expert, Demian Maia.
As UFC vets will know, 34 year old Silva (25-4-0) is a mixed martial arts legend. Fighting out
of Curitiba, Brazil, Silva currently holds the record for most consecutive wins at 10 and is
tied with Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz with five consecutive successful title defenses. During
that time, he has not only risen to the top of his division but also to the top of the sport in
pound-for-pound terms.
A 32-year old native of Sao Paulo, Brazil who, like Silva, has a black belt in jiu-jitsu, Maia (12-
1) has won six of his seven UFC bouts, including five by submission, four of which earned
him Submission of the Night honours. He also holds a 2009 submission win over number
one middleweight contender Chael Sonnen. In his most recent bout, at UFC 109 on
February 6th, Maia went three rounds with talented New Jersey native Dan Miller and
earned a near shutout unanimous decision.
UFC 112 is available in Australia on Main Event pay-per-view. Check local listings for details
or visit ufc.com for further information.
About The Ultimate Fighting Championship®
UFC is the largest live pay-per-view event content provider in the world and the fastest
growing main stream sports organization in history. Owned and operated by Zuffa™, LLC,
and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over twelve live pay-per-view events
annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite
providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN
Entertainment, BellTV, SaskTel Max™, Shaw Pay-Per-View, and Viewers Choice.
International distributors include WOWOW in Japan, Rede TV and Globosat’s Combate
Channel and SporTV in Brazil, ESPN in United Kingdom, Televisa in Mexico and throughout
Central America, with worldwide distribution via the Internet on UFC.com and Yahoo!
Sports. UFC content is distributed commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S.
and Canadastar in Canada. UFC programming is distributed in 132 countries, territories and
jurisdictions, reaching 430 million homes worldwide, in 20 different languages.
Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®,
Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa® , The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition
mat and cage design are registered trademarks, registered service marks, trademarks, trade
dress and/or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC and licensed to its affiliated
entities and other licensees in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks
referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC, its affiliates or other respective
owners.
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