The Ultimate Fighting Championship organisation has announced
it will return to Australia with UFC Sydney Alves vs Kampmann
to be held at Sydney’s Allphones Arena on Saturday, March 3,
2012. Following two sell-out shows in this country, this highly
anticipated event pits two of the UFC’s most explosive welterweights
against each other and also sees the debut of the flyweight
division with a two-bout tournament to decide the top contenders
at 125-pounds (56.7kg).
Tickets for UFC® Sydney Alves vs Kampmann will be available
to UFC Fight Club members from 10am Monday December 19 and to
UFC Newsletter subscribers from 10am Tuesday December 20, before
going on general release through Ticketek on Wednesday December
21 at 10am (times are AEDT). Tickets are priced from $75 to
$425.
Marshall Zelaznik, Managing Director of UFC’s International
Development, said: “The UFC is thrilled to return to Sydney
for its third live event in three years. We’ve had tremendous
success with our two previous events, with last year’s UFC 127
remaining the equal fastest sell-out in the organisation’s history.
I’ve got no doubt that our Aussie fans will be just as excited
about our March event, especially as they’ll witness UFC history
with the introduction of the flyweight division. The 125-pound
contenders will absolutely put everything on the line is Sydney,
knowing that the winners of those two bouts will then have a
shot at the inaugural flyweight title. It’s going to be a great
show!”
Commenting on the card’s main event, Zelaznik said: “Thiago
Alves and Martin Kampmann are two seasoned mixed martial artists
who are sure to go to war in the Octagon. Both athletes are
coming off recent wins and will be looking to continue their
streak to climb the welterweight ladder.”
Fresh from his first round annihilation of UFC debutant Papy
Abedi at UFC 139, Thiago ‘Pitbull’ Alves (24-7) has returned
to vintage form that has previously seen him cruise through
the welterweight division with wins over UFC greats such as
Matt Hughes, Josh Koschek and Chris Lytle before challenging
for the welterweight title in July 2009.
Martin ‘The Hitman’ Kampmann (18-5) will look to back-up his
unanimous decision win at UFC 139 over up-and-coming welterweight
Rick ‘The Horror’ Story when he meets Alves in the Octagon on
March 3. The Dane has incredible knock-out power and an underrated
ground game that has seen him win nine of his 12 fights in the
Octagon, including victories over Carlos Condit, Jorge Rivera
and Paulo Thiago.
In the flyweight division, former No.1 WEC bantamweight contender
Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson (14-2) will face the recently
crowned Tachi Palace Fights flyweight champion, Ian ‘Uncle Creepy’
McCall (11-2), while Joseph Benavidez (15-2) will face Japanese
fighter and Shooto champion Yasuhiro Urushitani (19-4-6) in
the weight division’s two semi-finals.
Broadcast information and details regarding the full card for
UFC Sydney Alves vs Kampmann will be announced in the coming
weeks.
