UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira


Saturday, 8/29/2009 4:45 PM tickets 

Location: Rose Garden
Ticket Prices: $600, $400, $300, $200, $100, $50 ;
Stage:  Rose Garden - Center Stage
UFC 102 Auction

Bid now to win tickets in the first 3 rows of this exclusive UFC auction and the highest bidder will receive a backstage tour at UFC 102.  Two mixed martial arts legends make a run for the UFC title when Randy Couture faces Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the UFC Octagon.  Plus, 2 of the light heavyweight division’s heaviest hitters collide when Keith Jardine takes on Thiago Silva. UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira, Saturday, August 29 live from the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. Don’t miss it!

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) is headed to Portland for the first time ever and it’s bringing a couple of true heavyweight heroes. Mixed martial arts legends and former UFC champions Randy “The Natural” Couture and Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira will face off for the first time in their storied careers at UFC 102: COUTURE vs. NOGUEIRA, live from the Rose Garden on Saturday, August 29, 2009.

“We’re extremely excited to be heading to Portland,” UFC President Dana White said. “When you get two mixed martial arts legends that are all heart and have wanted to fight each other for years, plus the fact that Randy has roots in Oregon, that tells me that not only will the crowd be electric but it’s also a night where the fighters will be looking to cement their legacies.”

A UFC Hall-of-Famer and five-time UFC champion, Randy “The Natural” Couture (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) has a mixed martial arts resume that truly stands out from the rest. The Everett, Washington native has registered a series of wins over big names that include Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Tim Sylvia, Pedro Rizzo, Vitor Belfort and Gabriel Gonzaga. On August 29th, Couture returns to Oregon after coaching wrestling at Oregon State University, and the 45-year-old former three-time UFC heavyweight champion and two-time UFC light heavyweight champion will be looking to give his legion of fans yet another reason to cheer when he takes on Nogueira.
“Nogueira is the type of fighter that is dangerous everywhere,” Couture said. “He’s difficult to knock out and he’s a world class jiu-jitsu player. I will have to train very diligently and very specifically for him. Also, the fact that I’m fighting in Oregon makes me want to put on a great show and win for these fans.”
A Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo black belt and the only man to hold the PRIDE and UFC heavyweight championship belts, “Minotauro” Nogueira (fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) has the experience and the world-class talent to take out anyone who opposes him in the Octagon. With UFC wins over Heath Herring and Tim Sylvia in his first two UFC bouts, the revered Nogueira quickly made his presence felt in the ultra-competitive heavyweight division. Now the 6-foot-3, 240-pound former interim UFC heavyweight champion looks to get the gold back around his waist.

“I’m honored to face such a great fighter as Randy Couture,” Nogueira said. “I wanted to fight him for some time now and I know to become a legend you have to beat a legend.”

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, BellTV, SaskTel Max™, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Viewers Choice, and WOWOW in Japan, and Premiere Combate and SporTV in Brazil, 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.

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