20.05.06 – Las Vegas, NV – Rounding out the fight card for the first Ultimate Fighting Championship(r) (UFC(r)) organization event in Los Angeles are five more exciting undercard bouts. Announced today are matchups between Chael Sonnen and Jeremy Horn, Dean Lister and Alessio Sakara, Matt Wiman and Spencer Fisher, Fabiano Scherner and Gabriel Gonzaga, and Rick Davis and Melvin Guillard.. All the action takes place live at UFC 60: HUGHES vs. GRACIE at the famed STAPLES Center Saturday, May 27, 2006.
Tickets for UFC 60: HUGHES vs. GRACIE are available now priced at $1,000, $800, $600, $400, $200, $100 and $50 (additional service charges may apply). Tickets are available online at ticketmaster.com, via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone lines at (213) 480-3232, (714) 740-2000 or (702) 474-4000 (Las Vegas) and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers including Robinsons-May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations. Tickets are also available at the STAPLES Center box office. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.ufc.com
UFC 60: HUGHES vs. GRACIE is also 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 Canadian).
Chael Sonnen (16-7-1) 6’1″/185 lbs., fighting out of West Linn, Oreg., is an excellent wrestler known for his speed and tenacity. An NCAA All-American and US Olympic Team Alternate, Sonnen trains with the world class athletes of Team Quest. In his last fight, Sonnen got revenge against the man who had beaten him twice before, Trevor Prangley. Sonnen now looks to keep the revenge streak alive against Jeremy Horn, another fighter who has defeated him in the past. Jeremy Horn (86-14-5) 6’2″/185 lbs., fighting out of Salt Lake City,
Utah is one of the most experienced fighters ever to compete in mixed martial arts. With over one hundred fights to his credit, Horn has fought around the world taking on the best fighters in the middleweight, light heavyweight, and even heavyweight divisions. Horn was the first man to ever defeat the “Iceman” Chuck Liddell and even though Liddell avenged that loss at UFC 54, Horn showed the heart of a warrior, constantly coming forward even when he was hurt. The veteran Horn hopes
to add another victory to his impressive record at UFC 60.
Dean “The Boogeyman” Lister (7-4-0) 6’1″/205 lbs., fighting out of San Diego, Calif., is one of the premiere grappling competitors in the world. A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, he has won titles in Jiu-Jitsu, Sambo, and Submission Grappling competitions. In 2005, he won the prestigious Abu Dhabi Superfight Championship and was one of Tito Ortiz’s assistant coaches for season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter.(r). With a 7-4 MMA record, Lister is ready to make his UFC debut. Alessio
Sakara (14-3, 1 No contest) 6’0″/205 lbs., fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is an Italian boxer who recently held the IBF junior world championship. Though Sakara is deadly with his hands, he has trained extensively in wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to become a complete fighter. Sakara was looking impressive in his debut against Ron Faircloth until the fight had to be stopped in the second round when Faircloth landed a devastating low blow that Sakara could not recover from, causing a no-contest. Sakara returned with a dominating decision win over crafty veteran Elvis Sinosic and feels confident that he is
ready for whoever is put in front of him.
Fabiano “Pegaleve” Scherner (5-2) 6’3″/245 lbs., fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and World champion who favors armbars and guillotine chokes. The American Top Team heavyweight lost a tough battle to Brandon Vera in his UFC debut, but is focused on scoring his first UFC victory at UFC 60. Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga (5-1) 6’2″/242 lbs., fighting out of Ludlow, Mass., is a champion Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt who favors submissions. At UFC 56 Gonzaga defeated Kevin Jordan by knockout at 4:39 of the third round, and is now looking for another win over Scherner.
“Handsome” Matt Wiman (6-2) 5’10″/155 lbs., fighting out of Jupiter, Fla., is a blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu with an excellent standup game. He will be making his UFC debut against Spencer “The King” Fisher (18-2) 5’7″/155 lbs., fighting out of Bettendorf, Iowa. Fisher is an excellent striker who is always looking for the knockout. Even though he prefers a stand up war, opponents have found that he is skilled in submission, especially with the triangle choke as he showed in his UFC debut against Thiago Alves.
Rick Davis (3-0-1) 5’9″/155 lbs., fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev., is an undefeated lightweight who is a third degree black belt in Chinese Kenpo, a full contact Karate champion, and a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Sergio Pena. Davis has a reputation as an exciting fighter who can be effective with flashy moves like spinning backfists. He will take on Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard (37-6-3) 5’9″/155 lbs., fighting out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Guillard is an explosive
fighter with good wrestling and striking skills. His brash personality made him stand out immediately on The Ultimate Fighter 2, but he showed he had more than just attitude with a decisive win over Marcus Davis at the The Ultimate Fighter 2 finale. After facing a setback against Josh Neer, Melvin drops down to lightweight for this fight and looks to get back on the winning track.
In the main event for UFC 60, Royce Gracie will amaze the fight world when he returns to the Octagon(tm) to take on UFC Champion Matt Hughes and prove, once and for all, that he is the master in the sport of mixed martial arts.
Matt Hughes, with an incredible 40-4-0 record, is considered the greatest welterweight champion in the history of the UFC. He started fighting in 1999, at UFC 22, and spent two years climbing his way up the division. Finally, at UFC 34 (11/02/01)he won the UFC Welterweight Championship by defeating Carlos Newton by KO. From there, he won five consecutive fights, holding the title for three years before losing it to BJ Penn at UFC 46 (1/31/04), succumbing to a rear naked choke at 4:39
of the first round. Matt regained the vacant welterweight crown at UFC 50 (10/22/04) by stopping Georges St. Pierre with an arm bar at 4:59 of the first round, and defended his title at UFC 52 (4/16/06) against Frank Trigg, winning by a rear naked choke. Recently, he fought Joe Riggs at UFC 56 (11/19/05) in a non-championship bout and submitted him by Kimura at 3:28 of the first round.
Gracie, 39, compiled an amazing 11 wins, no losses, 1 draw and 1 no-contest in the UFC during his two-year stay in the organization, defeating fellow hall of famers Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn along the way. Even more impressive were Gracie’s three tournament wins in UFC 1, UFC 2, and UFC 4, when he defeated three, four, and three opponents, respectively, in the same night, a record that will never be touched. Returning to active competition in 2000 after a five-year absence, Gracie has recently thrilled fight fans in Japan, but in May, he returns to the Octagon to take on Matt Hughes.
About The Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship(r) 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(r) organization produces approximately eight 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 WOWOW, Inc. in Japan, Globosat in Brazil and Bravo in the United Kingdom. Zuffa, LLC licenses the distribution of its fight show DVDs through Studioworks Entertainment, a Ventura Distribution company. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit www.ufc.com.
Ultimate Fighting Championship(r), Ultimate Fighting(r), UFC(r), The Ultimate Fighter(r), Submission(r), As Real As It Gets(r), The Octagon(tm) 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.