UFC announces fights for UFC 92

By Andy Samuelson

Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008 | 3 p.m.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced today three big bouts for the final card of 2008 at UFC 92 on Dec. 27 at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Two titles will be on the line as Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans will fight for the light heavyweight championship and Frank Mir meets interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. A grudge match between MMA legend Wanderlei Silva and former light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson completes the stacked event.

“We are ending 2008 with a fight card like no other,” UFC President Dana White said. “One for every fight fan out there.”

Tickets for the event will go on sale Saturday, Oct. 25 at 10 a.m. PST at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Box Office and will be priced at $800, $600, $400, $250, $150 and $75. UFC Fight Club members have the opportunity to purchase tickets on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 10 a.m. PST and UFC newsletter subscribers can buy pre-sale tickets on Friday, Oct. 24 at 10 a.m. PST. Users must be registered through ufc.com. Tickets will also be available at all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, Charge-By-Phone at (702) 474-4000 or online at ticketmaster.com.

UFC 92 will be shown live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95.

The main event will answer the question of who is the greatest fighter to come off UFC's reality show The Ultimate Fighter. Griffin (16-4) has won three straight, while Evans (17-0-1) is coming off a big knockout of UFC legend Chuck Liddell.

“Forrest fights from the heart just like me, and everyone underestimates Forrest until they get in there with him, like me,” said Evans. “I think he and I are going to be like Ali vs. Frazier – this will be the first time we meet, but it won’t be the last, so I want to set the precedent. Fighting Forrest for the title is a dream come true; it’s crazy to think about how far I’ve come, but I’m going to treat this like every other fight. And like I’ve shown time and time again in my fights, opportunity is all I need.”

The humble Griffin also said he's looking forward to the match-up and thinks that UFC 92 will go down as one of the top events of all-time.

“I’m happy that the winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 gets to fight the winner of Season 2,” Griffin said. “I think that’s great for a couple of reality show guys. Rashad has a great wrestling background, he has a lot of power and explosiveness, and he doesn’t just knock guys out, he knocks them out for quite a while. But I know a lot of people will be watching this fight. This is a great fight card, I’m honored to be on it, and I’m definitely not going to let anything slide.”

The two coaches from the current The Ultimate Fighter will square off to not only settle the score of the show, but decide who deserves to be heavyweight champion. Mir (11-3) takes on the only fighter to hold both the PRIDE and UFC heavyweight titles in Nogueira (31-4-1).

“I’m excited to get back in the Octagon December 27th and finish off what was started on The Ultimate Fighter Season 8,” Nogueira said. “I’m the Interim Champion, I’m fired up to fight Frank Mir. He’s one of the best ground guys in America and I’m looking forward to testing my skills against him.”

There appears to be no love lost between Silva (32-8-1) and Jackson (28-7).

“I’m not fighting him for money – I’m fighting him for pure pleasure,” said Silva, who has beaten Jackson twice before. “He talks bad about me on the Internet, yet he won’t talk bad to my face. I don’t like him and I can’t wait to beat him down at UFC 92.”