Venue & Fights Announced For Next UFC Fight Night Event

Nicky Talent

The following is from UFC.com:

'The Pearl' to Hold UFC Fight Night April 5th

The Pearl to Hold the Venue’s First Ever UFC® Fight Night™ Live April 5

Main event will air on Spike TV featuring lightweights Joe “Daddy� Stevenson vs. Melvin “The Young Assassin� Guillard

Las Vegas, Nev. • February 16, 2007 • The first ever UFC® Fight Night™ live from The Pearl at The Palms Casino Resort is set to take place on April 5 and be telecast live to millions of fans on Spike TV. The UFC Fight Night series on Spike TV feature many of the biggest names in the world of mixed martial arts and this main event of the inaugural fight at The Pearl will be no exception featuring lightweights Joe “Daddy� Stevenson vs. Melvin “The Young Assassin� Guillard.

“Having The Pearl host the April 5 Fight Night shows the versatility of the theater for live entertainment. The first year of entertainment in The Pearl just keeps getting larger • to partner with a brand like the UFC is huge and we look forward to a lasting relationship,� said Palms owner George Maloof.

“We are pleased to be working with the Maloofs to bring the most exciting live combat sport in the world • the UFC • to The Palms in Las Vegas,� said UFC President Dana White. “I am very excited about this partnership, the property fits perfectly with the UFC demographic, and I look forward to holding a series of UFC events inside the state-of-the-art venue The Pearl.�

The UFC® Fight Night™ main event couples two extraordinary skillful fighters both hailing from The Ultimate Fighter® 2, Stevenson and Guillard. Fighting out of Las Vegas, Stevenson (31-7) is known for his overwhelming wrestling and ground and pound. Like Guillard, Stevenson fought his way through The Ultimate Fighter® 2 competition to the finals where he defeated Luke Cummo by unanimous decision in a classic fight to earn his claim as the welterweight winner. Since then, Stevenson scored a second round TKO over Yves Edwards at UFC 61, and recently won a first round submission over Dokonjonosuke Mishima at UFC 65. At the upcoming UFC® Fight Night™, Stevenson is planning a convincing victory over Guillard to show he will be the new favorite in the UFC lightweight division.

Fighting out of Baton Rouge, LA, Guillard (39-6-3) is an explosive fighter with good wrestling and striking skills. His brash personality made him stand out immediately on The Ultimate Fighter® 2, but with a decisive win over Marcus Davis in the finale, Guillard proved he has more than just attitude. After a setback against Josh Neer at welterweight, Melvin dropped down to the lightweight division at UFC 60 and destroyed Rick Davis quickly in the first round. Continuing as a lightweight, he followed that win with a second round TKO over Gabe Ruediger at UFC 63. Now Guillard is ready to take on Stevenson and prove his new-found dominance in the UFC’s 155-pound division.

Tickets for UFC® Fight Night™ are $150.00, $250.00 and $350.00, plus any additional box office or service fees, and go on-sale Thursday, February 22 at 10:00 am. Please visit any Ticketmaster location, call 702-474-4000 or visit Official Ticketmaster site. Tickets for Concerts, Sports, Arts, Theater, Family, Events, more to purchase tickets. Doors for UFC® Fight Night™ will open at 1:00 pm and the first bout begins at 2:00 pm.

Zar

Possibly the rest of the card as reported by the mmaweekly rumors section:

Main Card Bouts:
-Joe Stevenson vs. Melvin Guillard
-Kenny Florian vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima
-Antoni Hardonk vs. Frank Mir

Preliminary Bouts:
-Wander Braga vs. Kurt Pellegrino
-Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Jeff Joslin
-Wilson Gouveia vs. Hector Ramirez
-Naoyuki Kotani vs. Thiago Tavares
-Roan Carneiro vs. Anthony Torres

Nicky Talent

This looks really good for a fight night card. You have the former champ in Mir, you have the LW contender in Florian, and a rising star in Stevenson

Zar

And Hardonk is a HW that has shown promise, but I still have a shred of hope that we see the old Frank Mir come back and submit hte guy in 2 minutes.