MACHIDA FACES ROCKHOLD WHEN UFC RETURNS TO PRUDENTIAL CENTER ON APRIL 18

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Las Vegas, Nevada – The UFC® returns to Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Saturday, April 18 with an exciting main event pitting former UFC champ Lyoto Machida against former STRIKEFORCE® titleholder and fifth-ranked contender Luke Rockhold in a pivotal bout for the middleweight division.

Machida (22-5, fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif. by way of Belem, Brazil) returns to action following a “Fight of the Night” performance against Chris Weidman and a recent first round TKO victory over CB Dollaway that also netted him a “Performance of the Night” award. Currently ranked No. 3, the Karate expert has become a fan favorite known for his unique counterstriking and lightning-quick speed. Having won three of four bouts since dropping to middleweight, Machida looks at home in his new division and is hoping to become just the third fighter in UFC history to win titles in multiple weight classes.

Rockhold (13-2, fighting out of San Jose, Calif.) has long maintained that he is one of the elite fighters at 185 pounds and just needed the opportunity to prove it. After winning the STRIKEFORCE middleweight title from “Jacare” following a year and a half layoff from injury in 2011, Rockhold went on to pick up dominant victories over current top 15 fighters Tim Kennedy, Costas Philippou, Tim Boetsch and most recently, Michael Bisping. The AKA-based fighter who routinely trains alongside Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier hopes that in 2015, he’ll add UFC champion to his resume.

Winner of his last seven bouts dating back to his STRIKEFORCE tenure, second-ranked “Jacare” Souza (21-3, 1NC, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) has become one of the most feared men in the middleweight division. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who possesses knockout power, Souza has handily defeated Gegard Mousasi, Robbie Lawler, Kennedy, Francis Carmont and Yushin Okami throughout his recent career. The former STIRKEFORCE middleweight champ believes he’s the rightful owner of the next shot at UFC gold.

Standing in his way, is No. 6 contender and Cuban Olympic freestyle wrestling silver medalist, Yoel Romero (9-1, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.). Romero has been on a tear since entering the Octagon, defeating four of his opponents by devastating knockout and earning “Fight of the Night” on two occasions. With 2014 wins over Kennedy, Brad Tavares and Derek Brunson, Romero looks poised to take the next step in his already-impressive MMA career.

Also scheduled for the card:

· In a battle of top 10 women’s strawweights, The Ultimate Fighter® season 20 cast member Felice Herrig (10-5, fighting out of Crystal Lake, Ill.) squares off against 20-year-old prospect Paige VanZant (4-1, fighting out of Reno, Nev.) in a matchup sure to produce fireworks.

· Fifth-ranked contender Cub Swanson (21-6, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M. by way of Palm Springs, Calif.) takes on No. 13 Max Holloway (12-3, fighting out of Waianae, Hawaii) in an explosive battle of featherweight strikers.

· New Jersey’s own Jim Miller (24-5, 1NC, fighting out of Sparta, N.J.) puts his No. 11 ranking on the line against undefeated up-and-comer Paul Felder (10-0, fighting out of Philadelphia, Pa.) in an exciting lightweight bout.

· Bantamweights collide as Long Island’s Aljamain Sterling (10-0, fighting out of Uniondale, N.Y) looks to stay unbeaten against seventh-ranked Takeya Mizugaki (20-8-2, fighting out of Kanagawa, Japan).

· The Ultimate Fighter season 19 middleweight winner and Serra-Longo fighter Eddie Gordon (8-2, fighting out of Uniondale, N.Y.) faces wrestler Chris Dempsey (10-2, fighting out of Lower Burrell, Pa.)

· The Ultimate Fighter season 19 light heavyweight winner and Ricardo Almeida-trained prospect Corey Anderson (6-0, fighting out of Rockford, Ill.) squares off against Long Island’s Gian Villante (12-5, fighting out of Bellmore, N.Y.).

· Nick Catone (10-4, fighting out of Brick, N.J.) returns to action against Vitor Miranda (11-4, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) at middleweight.

· New Jersey native George Sullivan (16-3, 1NC, fighting out of Belmar, N.J.) vs. Kenny Robertson (15-3, fighting out of Washington, Ill.) in a battle of welterweights.

Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MACHIDA vs. ROCKHOLD go on sale Friday, February 20 at 10 a.m. ET and are priced at $225, $150, $100, $75, $50 and $40. Tickets will be available at all Ticketmaster locations. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets will be available at Prudential Center’s box office beginning Monday, February 23 at 11:00 a.m. ET. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.

UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, February 19 at 10 a.m. ET via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, February 20 starting at 10 am. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MACHIDA vs. ROCKHOLD will air live on FOX at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 18, with the prelims kicking off the evening on FOX at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

About Prudential Center

Prudential Center is a world-class sports and entertainment venue located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Opened in October 2007, the state-of-the-art arena is the home of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) three-time Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils, Seton Hall University’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball program, and over 200 concerts, family shows and special events each year. Prudential Center welcomes over two million guests annually and placed third on Venues Today’s 2013 ranking of national facilities and ninth worldwide. For more information about Prudential Center, visit www.PruCenter.com and Facebook, and follow @PruCenter on Twitter.