Sports fans will be seeing Cornhusker red this fall as UFC® heads to Omaha for the first ever UFC event in Nebraska with an action-packed card featuring former The Ultimate Fighter® champions Nate Diaz and Mac Danzig, and Omaha’s own UFC fighter Houston Alexander. UFC® Fight Night™” will take place live from the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska Wednesday, Sept.17.
ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® HOLDS FIRST EVENT IN NEBRASKA
UFC® FIGHT NIGHT™
NATE DIAZ vs. JOSH NEER
Also Featuring Omaha's Own Houston Alexander
LIVE FROM THE OMAHA CIVIC AUDITORIUM WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 17
Tickets On Sale Saturday, July 19 at 10am CT
Las Vegas, NV (USA) -- Sports fans will be seeing Cornhusker red this fall as UFC® heads to Omaha for the first ever UFC event in Nebraska with an action-packed card featuring former The Ultimate Fighter® champions Nate Diaz and Mac Danzig, and Omaha’s own UFC fighter Houston Alexander. UFC® Fight Night™” will take place live from the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska Wednesday, Sept.17.
"Nebraska is a big sports state, and we are bringing the most exciting live sports event there," said Dana White, UFC President. "We are so excited to bring the UFC to Omaha, so get ready, fight fans are in for an amazing night of UFC fights in yet another great state."
Tickets for UFC® Fight Night™ will go on sale Saturday, July 19 at 12 Noon CT and will be priced at $200, $125, $90, $50 and $35. Tickets for UFC® Fight Night™ will be available at Omaha Civic Auditorium Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets or online at ticketmaster.com.
UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, July 16 at 10am CT via the website www.ufc.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Friday, July 18 starting at 10am CT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through www.ufc.com.
Nate Diaz (9-2) rose to national prominence by defeating Manny Gamburyan in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 5 in June 2007. Since then, the 23 year-old mixed martial arts prodigy has won three straight bouts, all via submission, most recently against veteran Kurt Pellegrino in April. The Stockton, CA. resident trains with his brother, mixed martial arts fighter Nick Diaz, and the Cesar Gracie Fight Team. His opponent in the main event will be hard-hitting battler Josh Neer (24-6-1) of Des Moines, Iowa. Neer has an impressive UFC resume, with victories over Joe Stevenson, Melvin Guillard, and most recently, Din Thomas, this past April.
“The Dentist” will look to extract Nate Diaz from his winning ways, in a battle of lightweight contenders.
Mac Danzig (19-4-1), winner of The Ultimate Fighter 6, is a rising star in the UFC lightweight division. Danzig was a seasoned vet who had fought for the PRIDE organization before he gained national acclaim as a standout fighter on The Ultimate Fighter 6. His domination over Tommy Speer in the finale last December and subsequent victory over Mark Bocek at UFC 83 in April, has elevated Danzig to among the top contenders in the 155lb division. His opponent will be Illinois native Clay “The Carpenter” Guida (23-6), who is widely regarded as one of the most exciting fighters in the sport. Guida is coming off an impressive victory over Samy Schiavo this past April. However, it was his epic battle with Roger Huerta last December on Spike TV that earned Guida a place in UFC lore for his role in one of the greatest lightweight bouts of all-time.
Fighting in front of his hometown fans on September 17 is Houston “The Assassin” Alexander (8-3), the pride of Omaha and a man who claims to bleed Cornhusker red. He is eagerly awaiting the opportunity to move back up the light heavyweight ladder when he takes on Eric “The Red” Schafer (11-3-2). The 36-year-old Alexander burst onto the UFC scene in 2007 with shocking first round knockouts over Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara, and despite setbacks at the hands of Thiago Silva and James “The Sandman” Irvin, Alexander remains one of the most dangerous fighters in the sport today, and he will certainly be a local favorite, as the single father to his six children serves as a community activist and radio deejay in Omaha.
Schafer, a Milwaukee, WI resident, is one of the top submission artists in the light heavyweight division. Owner of a UFC win over Rob MacDonald, Schafer is currently sporting a two fight winning streak that he hopes to extend at the expense of hometown hero Alexander.
Lightweight Joe Lauzon (15-4) made an impressive debut in the UFC with a knockout over Jens Pulver at UFC 63 in September 2006. Lauzon, from suburban Boston, gained further acclaim as a standout fighter on “The Ultimate Fighter 5” and for his spirited effort against Kenny Florian earlier this year. Lauzon looks to get back on the winning track against up-and coming talent Kyle Bradley (13-5, 1 NC) of Baton Rouge, LA.
Also on the undercard, The Ultimate Fighter 3 finalist Ed Herman (16-5), who has won three out of his last four UFC fights, takes on Biloxi, Mississippi’s Alan Belcher (11-4).
About The Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization and offers the premier series of MMA sports events. 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, TVN Entertainment, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Bell ExpressVU, Viewers Choice, SaskTel Max™ and via the Internet worldwide on Yahoo! Sports, and commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. In addition to its North American distribution, UFC programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or ufcespanol.com.
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