The UFC returns to Northern California for the first time since September 2007 with "UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen" on Aug. 7 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.
Headlining the event is a long-rumored middleweight title fight between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and challenger Chael Sonnen.
Tickets for the event, which will range from $50 to $400, are scheduled to go on sale to the public on Friday, June 11, while UFC Fight Club members will have first shot at seats on Wednesday, June 9.
All three bouts were previously reported by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
"When we offered Chael Sonnen this shot at the title, he promised us one thing: that he was going to make this a fight," UFC president Dana White stated in today's release. "I know he means it, and after beating three legit contenders in Nate Marquardt, Yushin Okami and Dan Miller, he's definitely going to bring the best out of Anderson Silva on Aug. 7.
"And as far as Anderson is concerned, he wants to remind everybody why he's considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world."
Sonnen (24-10-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC) earned his shot at the middleweight title with a February win over fellow contender Nate Marquardt. Due to injuries suffered in the contest, Sonnen was unavailable to face Silva at UFC 112 in April, so Demian Maia took the fight, instead.
Sonnen actually lost to Maia at UFC 95 in February 2009, but he has since rattled off three-straight wins over Marquardt, Okami and Miller.
Meanwhile, Silva (26-4 MMA, 11-0 UFC) pushed his UFC record to 11-0 with a lackluster unanimous-decision win over Maia. While Silva has soured some fans with his inability to finish some of his recent opponents, he's still widely regarded as the best fighter in mixed martial arts.
While Sonnen has earned mixed results during his seven-year career, the Oregonian said pedigree has little to do with what will happen in the contest. Instead, he insists what is essentially a striker vs. grappler affair will come down to a test of will.
The Almeida-Hughes fight, which will serve as the evening's co-main event, is actually a rematch of sorts. Hughes defeated Almeida in 2000 during an ADCC grappling match.
Almeida (12-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who looks to avenge his mentor's loss, goes for his fourth consecutive win in the UFC. After a four-year break from the sport, the former PRIDE and Pancarase fighter went 1-1 with a submission win over Rob Yundt and a close split-decision defeat to Patrick Cote in 2008. Then, after another yearlong layoff, he returned to post decision wins over Matt Horwich and Kendall Grove and the submission victory over Brown in March.
Hughes (44-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC), who was inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame this past weekend, quietly has moved back into title contention. After losing his long-held welterweight title during a tough 1-3 stretch, he's since rebounded for a close decision win over Matt Serra and the TKO victory over Gracie.
Guida (26-11 MMA, 6-5 UFC), a crowd-pleasing lightweight who's been involved in some of the UFC's most legendary scraps, recently snapped a two-fight skid with a second-round submission victory over Shannon Gugerty. The 28-year-old posted a three-fight win streak (the second-longest of his career) with wins over Sam Schiavo, Mac Danzig and Nate Diaz before a very close split-decision defeat to Diego Sanchez and a submission defeat to Kenny Florian.
His opponent, 25-year-old dos Anjos (14-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC), opened his UFC career with a knockout loss to Jeremy Stephens and a decision defeat to Tyson Griffin. Although the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt surprisingly got a third fight with the organization, he made the most of it and scored a unanimous-decision win over Rob Emerson. He then posted two more wins with a decision victory over Kyle Bradley and a second-round submission win over fellow contender Terry Etim at UFC 112 in April to extend his current win streak to three.
The UFC visits Oakland for the first time, and the promotion hasn't held an event in Northern California since "UFC 76: Knockout" in September 2007.
Headlining the event is a long-rumored middleweight title fight between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and challenger Chael Sonnen.
Tickets for the event, which will range from $50 to $400, are scheduled to go on sale to the public on Friday, June 11, while UFC Fight Club members will have first shot at seats on Wednesday, June 9.
All three bouts were previously reported by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
"When we offered Chael Sonnen this shot at the title, he promised us one thing: that he was going to make this a fight," UFC president Dana White stated in today's release. "I know he means it, and after beating three legit contenders in Nate Marquardt, Yushin Okami and Dan Miller, he's definitely going to bring the best out of Anderson Silva on Aug. 7.
"And as far as Anderson is concerned, he wants to remind everybody why he's considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world."
Sonnen (24-10-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC) earned his shot at the middleweight title with a February win over fellow contender Nate Marquardt. Due to injuries suffered in the contest, Sonnen was unavailable to face Silva at UFC 112 in April, so Demian Maia took the fight, instead.
Sonnen actually lost to Maia at UFC 95 in February 2009, but he has since rattled off three-straight wins over Marquardt, Okami and Miller.
Meanwhile, Silva (26-4 MMA, 11-0 UFC) pushed his UFC record to 11-0 with a lackluster unanimous-decision win over Maia. While Silva has soured some fans with his inability to finish some of his recent opponents, he's still widely regarded as the best fighter in mixed martial arts.
While Sonnen has earned mixed results during his seven-year career, the Oregonian said pedigree has little to do with what will happen in the contest. Instead, he insists what is essentially a striker vs. grappler affair will come down to a test of will.
The Almeida-Hughes fight, which will serve as the evening's co-main event, is actually a rematch of sorts. Hughes defeated Almeida in 2000 during an ADCC grappling match.
Almeida (12-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who looks to avenge his mentor's loss, goes for his fourth consecutive win in the UFC. After a four-year break from the sport, the former PRIDE and Pancarase fighter went 1-1 with a submission win over Rob Yundt and a close split-decision defeat to Patrick Cote in 2008. Then, after another yearlong layoff, he returned to post decision wins over Matt Horwich and Kendall Grove and the submission victory over Brown in March.
Hughes (44-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC), who was inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame this past weekend, quietly has moved back into title contention. After losing his long-held welterweight title during a tough 1-3 stretch, he's since rebounded for a close decision win over Matt Serra and the TKO victory over Gracie.
Guida (26-11 MMA, 6-5 UFC), a crowd-pleasing lightweight who's been involved in some of the UFC's most legendary scraps, recently snapped a two-fight skid with a second-round submission victory over Shannon Gugerty. The 28-year-old posted a three-fight win streak (the second-longest of his career) with wins over Sam Schiavo, Mac Danzig and Nate Diaz before a very close split-decision defeat to Diego Sanchez and a submission defeat to Kenny Florian.
His opponent, 25-year-old dos Anjos (14-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC), opened his UFC career with a knockout loss to Jeremy Stephens and a decision defeat to Tyson Griffin. Although the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt surprisingly got a third fight with the organization, he made the most of it and scored a unanimous-decision win over Rob Emerson. He then posted two more wins with a decision victory over Kyle Bradley and a second-round submission win over fellow contender Terry Etim at UFC 112 in April to extend his current win streak to three.
The UFC visits Oakland for the first time, and the promotion hasn't held an event in Northern California since "UFC 76: Knockout" in September 2007.
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UFC117 it will be SILVA Vs SONNEN UFC 117 live streaming is an upcoming fight to be held on August 7, 2010 at the Oracle Arena UFC117 Live/Results
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