ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP®
ANNOUNCES UFC 75 HEAVYWEIGHT FEATURE MIRKO “CRO
COP” vs. CHEICK KONGO LIVE FROM THE O2
ARENA IN LONDON SATURDAY, SEPT 8, 2007
For
Immediate Release
.
Las Vegas, NV (USA) – Ultimate Fighting
Championship® President Dana White today
announced that Croatian superstar Mirko “Cro
Cop” will return to the
Octagon™ in September and take on France’s
Cheick Kongo in a featured
heavyweight bout at UFC 75 in London’s
new O2 Arena. White delivered the
UFC 75 announcement today live from Las Vegas
via satellite on ESPN’s The
Hot List and discussed the upcoming bout with
host Scott Reiss.
“Mirko ‘Cro Cop’
is fighting Cheick Kongo from France,”
said White. “He’s
six foot four and a hundred and forty pounds
– he’s huge. They are both
strikers. Cheick Kongo is a very good striker
and he’s good with his feet,
knees and hands – it’s going to
be a very interesting matchup.”
White also commented on the
UFC’s continued dominance in sports and
his
mission to hold events in countries all over
the world.
“We’ve done so
well over here in the last six years in the
U.S., we have
this product…it translates all the cultural
barriers, language barriers and
we know this can work worldwide. We opened an
office in London and we will
have done three events in the UK this year,
and they will all have been
successful. Our plan is to move out into Europe
and next year go into
Italy, Spain, Germany, France, etc.”
ESPNEWS was the first to
deliver official news of Cro Cop’s Octagon-return
since his loss by knockout to Brazil’s
Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70 in
Manchester. The 2006 PRIDE Open Weight Grand
Prix Champion was expected by
many to defeat the Brazilian heavyweight and
face Randy Couture for a
heavyweight title fight at UFC 74. Instead,
Gonzaga caught Cro Cop with a
right leg kick to the head, sending him to the
canvas in a stunning upset
nine seconds before the end of the first round.
In a press conference held
in London, Cro Cop spoke about his condition,
his last fight and his desire to get back into
the Octagon. He also stated
his fight prediction and that he is already
training full-time in
preparation for UFC 75.
“I am one of the most
dangerous strikers in the world, but unfortunately,
I
did not prove that reputation in my last fight,”
said Cro Cop.
“It was a great shock
for me and I believe for all my fans and I was
very
disappointed. But I am a true professional and
fighting is my life so I’m
training harder than ever. And in the next fight
I will be better than
ever so I hope you will all be there to see
it. I am going to beat my
opponent. As I already told you, it was a shock
for me and many people ask
me if I am okay, if I am injured – it
didn’t look good – that my ankle
twisted, that my knee was looking bad, but it’s
okay now. I have started
running already, I started full training already
and I am dying for my next
fight.”
Cro Cop will take on Kongo,
who like himself, is a kickboxer turned mixed
martial artist. Not much was known of the 6’4”
240-pound Paris-native when
he made his UFC 61 debut in July of 2006 against
Gilbert Aldana. He had an
impressive record and a stellar reputation as
a fearsome kickboxer, but
many wondered if he could compete in the MMA
arena. He answered that
question quickly as he halted the rugged Aldana
in the first round. Kongo
then jumped back and scored another first round
stoppage at UFC 62, this
one over Christian Wellisch. At UFC 70, the
same night that Cro Cop was
taken down, Kongo triumphed with a majority
decision over popular Brazilian
heavyweight Assuerio Silva, scoring his third
win in the UFC.
Cro Cop vs. Kongo is the
third bout announced for UFC 75. Last week the
UFC announced the main event championship bout
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
vs. Dan “Hollywood” Henderson along
with the special attraction Michael
“The Count” Bisping in a light heavyweight
battle vs. his bitter rival Matt
“The Hammer” Hamill.
Tickets for UFC 75 are available
online at www.ticketmaster.co.uk starting
at £25. UFC 75 will be screened live in
the UK on Setanta PPV1 (Sky
channel 481) at 8:00pm BST on Saturday, September
8, available via remote
control through Sky Box Office or by calling
08708 500 005.
The remaining bouts for UFC
75 will be announced in the near future. All
bouts are subject to change. For more information
about UFC 75, or current
UFC fight news, visit www.ufc.com or uk.ufc.com.
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