UFC 79 Fight Card Finalized

This press release is about the bottom end of the card (preliminary bouts) that most likely will not be televised. The televised card is stacked:

Main Card televised Bouts
Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Hughes
Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Lyoto Machida
Melvin Guillard vs. Rich Clementi
Eddie Sanchez vs. Soa Palalei

From our friends at UFC.com

ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® ANNOUNCES FINAL BOUTS FOR UFC 79: NEMESIS


LUIS CANE vs. JAMES IRVIN

NATE MOHR vs. MANNY GAMBURYAN

JORDAN RADEV vs. DEAN LISTER

ROAN CARNEIRO vs. TONY DeSOUZA

MARK BOCEK vs. DOUG EVANS

LIVE FROM THE MANDALAY EVENTS CENTER IN LAS VEGAS

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2007

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) organization today announced the remaining lineup of fights for the upcoming UFC 79: NEMESIS which features Georges St-Pierre battling Matt Hughes for the interim UFC Welterweight Championship. Also on the card are exciting match-ups between Luis Cane vs. James Irvin; Nate Mohr vs. Manny Gamburyan; Jordan Radev vs. Dean Lister; Roan Carneiro vs. Tony DeSouza; and Mark Bocek vs. Doug Evans. The UFC presents UFC 79: NEMESIS Saturday, December 29, live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Tickets for UFC 79: NEMESIS are on sale now and are priced at $1,000, $750, $500, $300, $200 and $100. Tickets are available through any Mandalay Bay box office and all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s West at the Fashion Show Mall and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call the Mandalay Bay box office at (702) 632-7580 or Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.ufc.com, www.mandalaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

UFC 79: NEMESIS is available live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $39.95 ($39.99 CAD) and $49.95 for HD where available.

Luis “Banha” Cane (7-0-0) 6’2”/205lbs., fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, comes to the UFC with a reputation as a fast starter and an even faster finisher. All seven of his victories have come by way of knockout, TKO, or submission. That’s music to the ears of fight fans looking for excitement, but bad news for opponents who will be forced to deal with the 26-year old’s intense attack. Cane, a protégé of Ryan Gracie, looks to carry on the tradition of Brazilian warriors in the UFC by scoring a victory over veteran banger James “Sandman” Irvin. Fighting out of Sacramento, Calif., the “Sandman” (12-4-1) 6’2”/205 lbs., is owner of some of the heaviest hands and most devastating knees in the light heavyweight division. Irvin tries to live up to his nickname of ‘The Sandman’ with every trip to the Octagon™. It’s worked for him against knockout victims Terry Martin and Hector Ramirez, but in a highly-anticipated battle against Thiago Silva in May, a knee injury suffered by Irvin ended the bout before it got a chance to heat up. Before 2007 ticks away though, Irvin is eager to get back on track and into the win column, which is bad news for his opponent Cane.

Nate Mohr (6-4-0) 5’9”/155 lbs., fighting out of Crystal Lake, IL., is a hard-hitting fighter who bounced back from a slow start to his mixed martial arts career by winning five of his last six bouts, four by TKO. Most impressive in this run for the 24-year old was a three round unanimous decision win over Luke Caudillo in June in which he put on a standup fighting clinic for UFC fans in Florida. Mohr, a two-time Golden Gloves and kickboxing champion, will be put to the test again by Armenian tank Manny “Pitbull” Gamburyan. What started as a dream run to the finals of The Ultimate Fighter’s® fifth season for Gamburyan (5-2-0) 5’5”/155 lb., soon turned into a nightmare when a severe shoulder injury forced him to submit in the second round of his final bout against Nate Diaz. Living up to his nickname of “Pitbull,” Gamburyan rehabbed the injury, got back in the gym, and requested a return to the Octagon as soon as possible. Now, at UFC 79 the fighting pride of Leninakan, Armenia makes his proper UFC debut against Mohr.

Jordan Radev (16-1-0) 5’7”/185 lbs., fighting out of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, made his UFC debut against knockout artist Drew McFedries in June, and he didn’t expect to come out with an upset defeat. Like a true warrior, Radev got back in the gym, eager for another shot in the Octagon. The former member of the Bulgarian Olympic Wrestling team gets his chance for redemption against seasoned veteran Dean “The Boogeyman” Lister. If Radev has his way, he will be the one laying the hurt down when the bell rings. Lister (9-5-0) 6’1”/185 lbs., fighting out of San Diego, Calif., is a true wizard on the mat who can make anyone a fan of ground fighting. “The Boogeyman” has the technique to give any middleweight in the world a tough night. But all the technique in the world can’t help you when you’re injured, and Lister has been through a tough year in 2007 that has only seen him fight once. Now, Lister makes his return against a tough Radev, and with a win he can start on the road back to the upper reaches of the 185-pound weight class.

Roan “Jucao” Carneiro (11-5-0) 5’9”/170 lbs., fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a veteran master of the Anaconda choke. Carneiro entered the UFC in 2007 after a stint fighting in Japan and in his home country of Brazil. “Jucao” steps into the Octagon with a 1-1 UFC slate after a win over Rich Clementi and a hard-fought loss to Jon Fitch. He has since moved to Florida to train with the renowned American Top Team and build on his already impressive Jiu-Jitsu game. A strong finish to the year
is definitely on the mind of the 29-year old Brazilian as he takes on Peruvian Tony DeSouza (9-3-0) 6’1”/170 lbs. After a year-long layoff where he refocused his energies and lent his expertise to up and coming fighters as an assistant coach on season five of The Ultimate Fighter, longtime UFC standout De Souza returns to the Octagon to battle it out with Brazil’s Carneiro. For 33-year old DeSouza, it’s an opportunity to once again show the form that saw him score wins over Steve Berger, Paul Rodriguez, and Dustin Hazelett, and begin an assault on the top names at 170 pounds.

Mark Bocek (4-1-0) 5’8”/155 lbs., fighting out of Woodbridge, Ontario, is a lightweight that has gained a worldwide reputation as one of the premier Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners on the planet, and has an endless list of accolades to prove it. After reaching the top in the grappling world, Bocek has his sights set on repeating his success in the world-famous Octagon. With four wins in his first five fights, this Canadian fighter is off to a good start, but he’ll need a win over Doug Evans (6-1-0) 5’9”/155 lbs. to keep the momentum going. Few people outside of his Anchorage hometown knew who Evans was before his UFC debut against Roger Huerta in June. Then after his spirited effort against the highly-touted “El Matador,” fans clamored to see the seven-time State champion wrestler back in the Octagon. Evans will face another stern test in seasoned grappler Bocek, but the ground and pound king from Alaska sees holes in his opponent’s game that he hopes he can exploit in order to earn his first UFC victory.

For more information about UFC 79 or any upcoming UFC event, visit www.ufc.com or uk.ufc.com. All bouts are live and subject to change.

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship® brand 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., the UFC® organization produces approximately twelve to fourteen live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed through cable and satellite providers. In addition to its U.S. distribution, UFC fight programs are distributed throughout the world including broadcast on MAIN EVENT in Australia, Globosat in Brazil and Bravo and Setanta PPV in the United Kingdom. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit www.ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or www.ufcespanol.com.

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, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC or other respective owners.