UFC® returns to Oklahoma City for the third time with a thrilling middleweight bout between No. 6 ranked contender Jack Hermansson and former middleweight champion Chris Weidman. In a pivotal strawweight bout, No. 6 ranked contender Claudia Gadelha squares off with undefeated No. 9 Marina Rodriguez.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT ON ESPN+®:
HERMANSSON vs. WEIDMAN will take place Saturday, May 2 at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The main card begins at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+ in English and Spanish. The prelims kick off at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN in English and the ESPN App in Spanish. Doors open at 5 p.m. ET.
Known for his devastating ground-and-pound attack, Hermansson (20-5, fighting out of Oslo, Norway) emerged as a middleweight contender following a four-fight win streak that saw him earn spectacular victories over “Jacare” Souza, David Branch, Gerald Meerschaert and former title challenger Thales Leites. Hermansson now aims to add a former UFC champion to his resume and further stake his claim as title threat in the stacked middleweight division.
Weidman (14-5, fighting out of Baldwin, N.Y.) etched his name in the history books by dethroning long-reigning UFC champion Anderson Silva in 2013. A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, he has also netted impressive wins against Kelvin Gastelum and Demian Maia, as well as former UFC champions Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida. Weidman now returns to middleweight and aims to re-assert himself as one of the best fighters at 185 pounds.
A former women’s strawweight title challenger, Gadelha (17-4, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) has fought the who’s who in the 115-pound division. Throughout her UFC run, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has earned exciting wins over Carla Esparza, Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Jessica Aguilar. Gadelha now hopes to be the first fighter to beat Rodriguez and take another step towards title contention.
A contract winner on Dana White’s Contender Series, Rodriguez (12-0-2, fighting out of Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil) has impressed since joining the UFC roster. During this time, she has netted emphatic victories against Tecia Torres and Jessica Aguilar. Rodriguez is now poised to continue her ascent up the strawweight rankings as she sets her sight on one of the toughest contenders in the division.
Additional bouts on the card include: No. 13 ranked featherweight contender Ryan Hall (8-1, Falls Church, Va.) goes for another show-stealing finish when he meets former title challenger Ricardo Lamas (19-8, fighting out of Chicago, Ill.) Bryce Mitchell (12-1, fighting out of Searcy, Ark.) takes on Charles Rosa (12-3, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla. by way of Peabody, Mass.) in a thrilling featherweight bout Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski (28-19 2NC, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. by way of Minsk, Belarus) faces debuting Philipe Lins (14-3, fighting out of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil) Dana White’s Contender Series contract winner Alonzo Menifield (10-0, fighting out of Dallas, Tex.) aims to remain undefeated when he rakes on Devin Clark (11-4, fighting out of Sioux Falls, S.D.) The Ultimate Fighter season three veteran Ed Herman (26-14 1NC, fighting out of Portland, Ore.) squares off with surging Da-un Jung (13-2, fighting out of Seoul, South Korea) Dana White’s Contender Series signee Sarah Alpar (9-4, fighting out of Edmond, Okla.) debuts against Vanessa Melo (10-7, fighting out of Taboao da Serra, Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Visit the UFC.com for information and content to support your UFC coverage. Please click here to apply for the event. Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT ON ESPN+®: HERMANSSON vs. WEIDMAN go on sale Friday, March 13 at 10 a.m. CT.
Tickets are available for purchase online at ticketmaster.com .
Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets Wednesday, March 11 at 10 a.m. CT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, March 12 starting at 10 a.m. CT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
About UFC® UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 318 million fans and 80 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to nearly one billion TV households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 65 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC was acquired in 2016 by global entertainment, sports and content company Endeavor, along with strategic investors Silver Lake Partners and KKR. UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram: @UFC. About Chesapeake Energy Arena Chesapeake Energy Arena is Oklahoma City’s premier entertainment facility and home to NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder. Located in downtown OKC, the facility can hold over 18,000 fans for basketball games and over 16,000 for concerts. Consistently listed on Pollstar’s Top Arenas Worldwide, the arena hosts numerous concerts, family shows, and sporting events creating memories for thousands of guests each year and consistently lands on Pollstar’s Top Arenas Worldwide list. Chesapeake Energy Arena is owned by the City of Oklahoma City and managed by ASM Global.
For more information and a full list of events, visit www.chesapeakearena.com.
About ESPN+ ESPN+ is the leading direct-to-consumer sports streaming service from Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown quickly to 7.6 million subscribers in less than two years, offering fans thousands of live events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, as well as premium editorial content. Programming on ESPN+ includes exclusive UFC and Top Rank boxing events, thousands of college sports events (including football and basketball) from more than a dozen sports at 20 conferences, hundreds of MLB and NHL games, top domestic and international soccer (Serie A, MLS, FA Cup, Bundesliga - beginning in 2020, EFL Championship and Carabao Cup, Eredivisie), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, exclusive ESPN+ Original series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) through the ESPN App, (on mobile and connected devices),
ESPN.com or ESPNplus.com. It is also available as part of a bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, Hulu (ad-supported), and ESPN+ — all for just $12.99/month.
About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment enterprise, features more than 50 assets – nine U.S. television networks, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN International, ESPN The Magazine and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.
Press Contact for UFC:
Dave Lockett
dlockett@ufc.com
Press Contact for Chesapeake Energy Arena:
Lucy Albers
lalbers@asm-okc.com
Press Contact for ESPN
Ardi Dwornik
ardi.r.dwornik@espn.com
Paul Melvin
Paul.Melvin@disney.com
03.10.2020
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