UFC Returns to Montreal for UFC 97: Silva vs. Leites

Live from the Bell Centre, Saturday April 18, 2009

The deafening cheers of the sold-out Montreal crowd still echo through the Bell Centre from UFC® 83. Now  the Gillett Entertainment Group is happy to announce that the Ultimate Fighting Championship® is heading back to Montreal with two more world-class matchups already inked.

Unstoppable UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will meet his toughest test to date when he faces submission specialist Thales Leites at UFC 97: Silva vs. Leites, live from the Bell Centre in Montreal Canada on Saturday, April 18. Also on the card, former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell will trade punches with another dangerous striker when he takes on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Tickets for UFC 97 will go on sale Saturday, February 14 at noon ET and will be priced at $550, $400, $225, $150, $100 and $50. Tickets are available at the Bell Centre box office, by phone at [phone] / 1-877-668-8269 or at www.geg.ca.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, February 11 at noon ET via the website ufc.com.  A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Friday, February 13 starting at noon ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through ufc.com.

UFC 97 will be available live on pay-per-view on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).

In the world of mixed martial arts there is not a more feared striker than Anderson Silva (fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil). While posting an amazing eight fight win streak in the UFC, the 33-year-old champion has stopped seven of those eight fights within two rounds, with only Patrick Cote seeing daylight in Round 3 before the champion earned the TKO victory at UFC 90.

With two impressive wins over former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin, one over Nate Marquardt and a submission victory against former Pride® champion Dan Henderson, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is riding high heading into his match with Thales Leites.

“I’m looking forward to fighting in Montreal,” Silva said. “I have a lot of Canadian fans. Thales is a very tough opponent, and it’s going to be a great fight.”

Winner of his last five UFC matches, 27-year-old Thales Leites (fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is truly hitting his stride in the world of mixed martial arts. With a split decision victory against Marquardt, submission victories over Ryan Jensen and Floyd Sword and most recently Drew McFedries, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt could be Silva’s greatest test on the ground to date.

“I feel great about this fight and I will be one hundred percent for sure.” Leites said. “I did my job to get recognized by the UFC, and this will be the fight of my life. I know Anderson Silva is a very, very tough guy, but I know that I can do it.”

There are a few names that are synonymous with the UFC and Chuck Liddell (fighting out of San Luis Obispo) is one of those. The former UFC light heavyweight champion is coming off a loss to the division’s present title holder Rashad Evans and is looking to recapture the magic that saw him win an amazing 14 of 15 UFC matches from 1999-2006. The 39-year-old is now focused on getting back on another winning streak.

“I’m very excited about fighting Shogun,” Liddell said. “It’s another step in getting back my title. I’m going to hit him hard and I plan on knocking him out. The Canadian fans have been great for years. They are some of the most exciting fans in the world.”

With an impressive resume overseas, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil) is starting to make a name for himself in the UFC. The 27-year-old is coming off a TKO victory against former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman at UFC 93 and is excited at the opportunity to fight a legend.

“It is an honor to fight Chuck Liddell, one of the greatest light heavyweights ever in the UFC,” Rua said. “I have a lot of respect for him, and I am very excited to fight him. I like to keep myself challenged, and this fight with Chuck is definitely a big fight for me and for UFC fans.”

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship® is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization and offers the premier series of MMA sports events. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed  through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN Entertainment, Bell ExpressVU, SaskTel Max™, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Viewers Choice, and WOWOW in Japan, and via the Internet worldwide on Yahoo! Sports, and commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. 

In addition to its North American distribution, UFC programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or ufcespanol.com.

About Gillett Entertainment Group

Gillett Entertainment Group is a leader in Canada’s entertainment industry having attained world-wide recognition. We do it all – promoting, producing, booking, ticketing, advertising, and marketing. We are ranked number 1 in Canada and in the top 10 with regard to top-grossing ticket sales in the world. GEG presents over 600 shows a year, from Hull to Saint-John’s, Newfoundland and Vermont, attracting over 1.5 million people per year. GEG promotes the world’s greatest international performers, family and sport shows.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa™, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC or other respective owners.