THE UFC RETURNS TO CINCINNATI ON SATURDAY, MAY 10 WITH WELTERWEIGHT CLASH AS OHIO’S MATT BROWN TAKES ON ERICK SILVA

Las Vegas, Nevada – For the first time since UFC 77 in 2007, the Ultimate Fighting Championship^® is bringing the Octagon^® back to Cincinnati on Saturday, May 10 at U.S. Bank Arena. In the evening’s main event, Ohio’s own Matt Brown takes on Erick Silva in a five-round main event bout featuring two of the UFC’s most exciting welterweights.

Having won six consecutive bouts inside the Octagon, the seventh-ranked Matt “The Immortal” Brown (20-11, fighting out of Columbus, Ohio) is in the best form of his career and more focused than ever on making a run at the UFC welterweight title. At 33, the Xenia, Ohio native has defeated some of the division’s most dangerous athletes, including Mike Pyle and Mike Swick on his way towards a main event encounter with Silva.

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace who has trained alongside Anderson Silva and Jacare Souza, Erick Silva (16-4, 1NC, fighting out of Vila Velha, Espirito Santo, Brazil) has seen his share of highlight reel performances in the UFC. After defeating Charlie Brenneman, Jason High, and most recently Takenori Sato in a bout that earned him a “Performance of the Night” award, the 29-year-old Silva is looking to make his presence known in the welterweight division. With both fighters having a reputation for finishing fights, fans can expect an explosive showdown when these two take center stage.

In addition, former Golden Gloves boxer and current No. 10 ranked contender Costas Philippou (12-4, 1NC, fighting out of Long Island, N.Y.)  returns to action against the flashy Lorenz Larkin (14-2, 1NC, fighting out of Riverside, Calif.) in a clash of middleweight strikers.

The main card also features:

• Former featherweight title contender Erik Koch (14-3, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wis.) competing for the second time at lightweight in the UFC against “The Detroit Superstar” Daron Cruickshank (14-4, fighting out of Detroit, Mich.).
• The Ultimate Fighter^® Brazil season two standout William “Patolino” Macario (8-1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) taking on Neil Magny (9-4, fighting out of Denver, Colo.) at welterweight.
• An incredible heavyweight bout between the 6’4” Soa “The Hulk” Palelei (20-3, fighing out of Perth, Australia) and the debuting South African MMA champion Ruan Potts (8-1, fighting out of Cape Town, South Africa).
• A battle of flyweights as ninth-ranked Chris Cariaso (16-5, fighting out of Tucson, Ariz.) squares off against the undefeated Louis Smolka (7-0, fighting out of Kapolei, Hawaii).  

Also scheduled for the card:

• A battle between The Ultimate Fighter^® season three veteran and fan-favorite Ed Herman (21-9, 1NC, fighting out of Fort Collins, Colo.) and Rafael Natal (17-5-1, New York, N.Y.) at middleweight.
• Japanese striker Kyoji Horiguchi (12-1, fighting out of Tokyo, Japan) drops to flyweight to take on No. 14Darrell Montague (13-3, fighting out of Chino, Calif.).
• Undefeated Brazilian prospect Yan Cabral (11-0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) meets promotional newcomer Alexander Yakovlev (21-4-1, fighting out of Saint Petersburg, Russia) at welterweight.
• Current No. 4 contender and former title challenger Eddie Wineland (21-9-1, fighting out of Chesterton, Ind.) faces the returning Johnny Eduardo (26-9, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) in a bantamweight bout.
• Training partner of Ronda Rousey and The Ultimate Fighter^® season five competitor Manvel Gamburyan (16-9, Hollywood, Calif. by way of Leninakan, Armenia) takes on the always tough eighth-ranked Nik Lentz (26-6-2, 1NC, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. by way of Eden Prairie, Minn.) at featherweight.
• Justin Salas (11-5, fighting out of Denver, Colo.) meets Ben Wall (7-1-1, fighting out of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) at lightweight.
• Welterweights Anthony Lapsley (25-6, 2NC, fighting out of Indianapolis, Ind.) and Albert Tumenov (12-2, fighting out of Fairfield, N.J.) to square off.

Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT: BROWN vs. SILVA, go on sale Friday, March 21 at 10 a.m. ET and are priced at $175, $100, $75 and $50. Tickets are available for purchase at www.ticketmaster.com. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges. Tickets are also available at www.usbankarena.com and the U.S. Bank Arena box office.

UFC Fight Club^® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, March 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, March 20 starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT: BROWN vs. SILVA will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Saturday, May 10, with the prelims kicking off the evening on FOX Sports 2 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com.  All bouts live and subject to change.