Press
Release


WORLD EXTREME CAGEFIGHTING®
CONFIRMS REMAINING BOUTS FOR
FIRST EVER WEC® EVENT IN
CHICAGO
WEC
BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
MIGUEL
ANGEL TORRES vs. TAKEYA MIZUGAKI
JEFF CURRAN vs. JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ
JAMEEL MASSOUH vs. RAPHAEL ASSUNCAO
BEN HENDERSON vs. SHANE ROLLER
AKITOSHI
TAMURA vs. MANNY TAPIA
RANI
YAHYA vs. EDDIE WINELAND
FREDSON
PAIXAO vs. WAGNNEY FABIANO
DIEGO
NUNES vs. CUB SWANSON
IVAN
LOPEZ vs. DOMINICK CRUZ
ANTHONY
PETTIS vs. ANTHONY NJOKUANI
COLE
PROVINCE vs. RAFAEL DIAS
Live From UIC Pavilion in Chicago,
Sunday, April 5 – Tickets on Sale Now
Las
Vegas, NV (USA) – World Extreme Cagefighting® proudly confirms the
remaining bouts for WEC: Torres vs. Mizugaki, live from the UIC Pavilion
in Chicago, Illinois on Sunday, April 5.
Tickets
for World Extreme Cagefighting are on sale now and priced at $45.00,
$75.00, $125.00 and $175.00. Tickets are available for purchase through the UIC
Pavilion, online at www.ticketmaster.com
or by calling Ticketmaster at 312-559-1212.
World
Extreme Cagefighting
will be televised live nationally on VERSUS beginning at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm
PT. All live WEC events are presented in Hi-Definition (HD) where available.
For more information and how to find VERSUS in your local viewing area, visit http://www.versus.com/findversus.
In
addition to the electric main event between WEC® bantamweight champion Miguel
Angel Torres (35-1) and Japanese striker Takeya Mizugaki (11-2-2), and the
135-pound co-feature clash between Joseph Benavidez (9-0) and Jeff Curran
(31-10-1), nine more exciting bouts fill out WEC’s inaugural trip to the Windy
City.
Before
the co-main events get underway, lightweights Ben Henderson (fighting
out of Glendale, AZ) and Shane Roller (fighting out of Las Vegas, NV)
lock horns in a battle between two accomplished wrestlers. After making his WEC
debut in January with a submission win over Anthony Njokuani, Henderson looks
to continue his rise in the 155-pound division by defeating Roller. Defeating
Roller will be no easy task though. The Tulsa, OK native is a three-time
Division I All-American wrestler and currently riding a five-fight winning
streak. Roller, undefeated in the WEC with wins over Todd Moore and Mike
Budnik, is rapidly climbing the lightweight ladder and looks to get one step
closer to the title with a win over Henderson.
Brazilian Raphael
Assuncao (fighting out of Marietta, GA) makes his long-awaited WEC debut
when he tackles the well-rounded Jameel Massouh (fighting out of
Milwaukee, WI). Touting a 12-1 record, Assuncao is a feared 145-pound competitor
whose arrival spells trouble for the featherweight elite. Known for his slick
ground work, Assuncao will have his hands full with former Pancrase star
Massouh. A winner of 21 of 25 bouts since launching his professional career in
2005, Massouh is a well-rounded fighter with a unique blend of knockout power
and submissions.
Undefeated
lightweight Anthony Pettis (fighting out of Milwaukee, WI) makes his WEC
debut against Nigerian-born striker Anthony Njokuani (fighting out of
Las Vegas, NV). Pettis, 6-0 in his two-year professional career, will face a
stern test in the Muay Thai savvy Njokuani. With a record of 22-0 as a
professional kickboxer, the 6’0” Njokuani is in search of his first WEC win and
hopes to use his potent leg kicks to derail Pettis.
With
three straight victories since losing to then-featherweight champion Urijah
Faber in 2007, the supremely-conditioned Dominick Cruz (fighting out of
San Diego, CA) hopes to entrench himself in the bantamweight division with a
win over newcomer Ivan Lopez (fighting out of San Diego, CA). Since
moving to the 135-pound weight class in 2008, Cruz has pounded out unanimous
decision wins over Charlie Valencia and Ian McCall. Undefeated at 9-0, Lopez
has taken the bantamweight scene by storm with superior kickboxing and
submission skills. Born in Tijuana, Mexico and now fighting out of the American
Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, CA, Lopez is looking to make a name for himself
in the WEC with a win over Cruz.
Cub
Swanson (fighting out of Orange County, CA) has stopped 10 opponents in 15
professional fights with an array of knockouts and submissions. The 25-year-old
looks to continue that impressive streak when he takes on the
precision-punching Diego Nunes (fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
Nunes, a former professional soccer player and Brazilian Muay Thai champion,
looks to extend a streak of his own, as the 26-year-old seeks score his second
consecutive WEC win in Chicago. Nunes earned a unanimous decision victory over
Cole Province in December.
Fighters
who have had the misfortune of going to the ground with decorated Brazilian jiu
jitsu artist Wagnney Fabiano (fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
have had a difficult time avoiding the black belt’s submission attempts. The
grappler has won six of his last seven bouts by submission, including a victory
over Akitoshi Tamura in December. The 33-year-old featherweight contender will
look to earn his eighth straight victory when he battles similarly gifted
grappler Fredson Paixao (fighting out of Las Vegas, NV). A fellow
Brazilian, Paixao is dangerous on the ground and has won eight of 10
professional bouts.
An
intriguing bantamweight bout pits local product Eddie Wineland (fighting
out of Highland, IN) against submission ace Rani Yahya (fighting out of
San Diego, CA). The 24-year-old Wineland is a former WEC bantamweight
titleholder who boasts competent wrestling and striking. Those skills will be
put on display against Yahya, who is coming off an impressive first round
submission victory over Yoshiro Maeda last November.
Rugged
135-pound contender Manny Tapia (fighting out of Chino, CA) looks to
rebound from a December loss to champion Miguel Torres when he takes on Osaka,
Japan’s Akitoshi Tamura. Tamura, who is coming off a hard-fought three rounder
with Wagnney Fabiano, is hungry to gain his first WEC win and will look to use
his submissions and kickboxing to stymie Tapia.
An
intelligent ground and pound specialist, featherweight Cole Province
(fighting out of Edmond, OK) hopes that his collegiate wrestling background
will allow him to outmuscle American Top Team product Rafael Dias (fighting
out of Coconut Creek, FL). Dias, a former law student who trains at one of the
top gyms in the country, will almost certainly match Province’s ground attack
with a solid grappling game of his own. With both fighters searching for their
first WEC wins, the Province-Dias clash has the potential to be a war.
All
bouts subject to change. For more information about current WEC fight news,
visit wec.tv.
About
World Extreme Cagefighting
The
WEC brand is recognized as one of the premier mixed martial arts organizations
in the United States. Founded in 2001, the WEC features many of the most
prominent athletes in the sport of mixed martial arts today. Owned and operated
by WEC Holdings LLC., and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., the WEC produces
live and taped events annually that are distributed through the Versus network.
In addition to its U.S distribution, WEC programming is shown on the TSN
network in Canada and Cadena Tres in Mexico. For more information and current
WEC fight news, visit wec.tv.
World Extreme Cagefighting® and WEC® are registered trademarks, trademarks,
trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by WEC Holdings, LLC in the
United States and other jurisdictions and are licensed to WEC Productions, LLC.
VERSUS celebrates real competition across all platforms
(VERSUS.com, VERSUS on Demand and VERSUS HD). Now in more than 74 million
homes, the network is the national cable home of the National Hockey League
(NHL), the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the IndyCar® Series as well as
best-in-class events such as The Tour de France, the Professional Bull Riders
(PBR), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Professional Boxing. The
network also offers collegiate sports featuring nationally-ranked teams from top
conferences such as the Pac-10, Big 12, Mountain West and Ivy League. VERSUS
features the best field sports programming on television and is a destination
for sports fans, athletes and sportsmen to find exclusive, competitive events
and original programs, such as Sports Soup and The Contender that audiences
can't find elsewhere. VERSUS, a wholly owned company of Comcast
Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK), is distributed via cable systems and
satellite operators throughout the United States.