UFC 203: MIOCIC VS OVEREEM ON-SALE

Las Vegas — UFC® heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic brought Cleveland its first world title since 1964 at UFC 198 with a first-round knockout over Fabricio Werdum in May. Now, Cleveland’s favorite son will get a home game for his first title defense when he meets world-class kickboxer Alistair Overeem at UFC® 203: MIOCIC vs. OVEREEM. Also scheduled for the UFC’s first trip to Cleveland is another heavyweight clash between top-ranked Fabricio Werdum and No. 5 Ben Rothwell. The action takes place Saturday, September 10 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
After shocking the world in enemy territory, Miocic (15-2, fighting out of Independence, Ohio) will find himself on his home turf when he collides with the heavy-handed Overeem (41-14, 1 NC, fighting out of Amsterdam, the Netherlands). Having finished 12 of his 15 career wins by knockout, Miocic looks to make a statement with a win over “The Reem,” who is a former kickboxing world champion with 20 knockouts to his name. When you add his 17 submission victories into the mix, Overeem possesses dynamic finishing power both on his feet and the ground. Yet, as a pair of strikers at heart, Miocic and Overeem will take any opportunity to get a knockout victory.

In addition, former heavyweight champion Werdum (20-6-1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif.) makes a quick return to the Octagon® after his first loss since returning to the UFC in 2012. There’s no doubt the Brazilian will look to win in impressive fashion, as he has hopes of another shot at the title in his immediate future. Standing in his way is the resurgent Rothwell (36-10, fighting out of Kenosha, Wisc.) who has won four of his last five bouts, with each victory ending before the final horn. With 27 career knockouts to go along with six submissions, “Big Ben” looks to make a statement that will result in a meeting with the winner of the main event for the UFC heavyweight world title. With 49 finishes between the two, fans won’t want to blink.

Additional bouts:
· A lightweight clash between veteran Nik Lentz (28-7-2, 1 NC) and Russian striker Mairbek Taisumov (25-5, fighting out of Vienna, Austria) who is coming off four-straight knockout victories

Tickets for UFC® 203: MIOCIC vs. OVEREEM go on sale Friday, June 24 at 10 a.m. ET and are priced at $303, $203, $128, $93, $78 and $53 (prices include applicable service charges and handling fees). Tickets are available for purchase online at www.theqarena.com and by phone at (888) 894-9424. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.

UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets Wednesday, June 22 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, June 23 starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC® 203: MIOCIC vs. OVEREEM will be available live on Pay-Per-View on Saturday, September 10 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Vubiquity, and in Canada on BellTV, Rogers, Shaw Communications, Sasktel, and Canal Indigo for a suggested retail price of $49.99 US/CAN for Standard Definition and $59.99 US/CAN for High-Definition.