UFC® ANNOUNCES FIRST EVENT EVER IN MINNESOTA UFC 87: SEEK AND DESTROYKENNY FLORIAN vs. ROGER HUERTA
BROCK LESNAR vs. Heath Herring

SATURDAY, AUGUST 9

Las Vegas, NV (USA) — In what many are calling the best lightweight matchup of 2008, Kenny “KenFlo” Florian will square off against Roger “El Matador” Huerta in a battle that will move the winner one step closer to a 155-pound title shot. Huerta will take on Florian this summer when the Ultimate Fighting Championship presents UFC 87: SEEK AND DESTROY live from Target Center in Minneapolis Saturday, August 9, 2008.

“Roger Huerta versus Kenny Florian has the potential to be one of the most action packed fights of the year, both have won Fight of the Night awards and they are known for delivering nonstop action,” said Dana White, UFC President. “Kenny has established himself as one of the best in the world at 155 and he wants another shot at the title. Roger sports a 20-1 record and is undefeated in 6 UFC fights. That is an amazing accomplishment in one of MMA’s most competitive divisions.”

Tickets for UFC 87: SEEK AND DESTROY will go on sale Sunday, May 25 at 12 Noon CT and will be priced at $600, $400, $250, $125, $75 and $50. Tickets for UFC 87 will be available at Target Center’s Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com or by calling 651.989.5151.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Thursday, May 22 at 10am CT via the website www.ufc.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Saturday, May 24 starting at 10am CT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through www.ufc.com.

UFC 87: SEEK AND DESTROY is available 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 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).

Kenny Florian (10-3) made his UFC debut on Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter®, advancing to the finals before losing to Diego Sanchez. Since then, Florian has dropped just one fight in the UFC, a classic five-round battle against Sean Sherk for the vacant UFC lightweight title in October 2006. Vying for a second title shot, Florian has proved himself worthy by racking up victories over the best fighters in the division, including Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Alvin Robinson, Din Thomas and most recently Joe Lauzon. Florian’s plan is to move Huerta out of his way at UFC 87 and put himself right in line for another shot at the crown.

“I’m really excited to be fighting Roger Huerta; this is the fight I wanted because he’s the other big lightweight in the UFC, and he is definitely at the top of the division,” said Florian. “I’ve never fought a guy in his hometown, so this is going to be different for me, but no matter where we fight it’s going to be a back and forth non-stop war. We are both aggressive and Huerta is always in great shape; he’s one of those guys who just hangs in there, so when you have the chance, you have to finish him, and that’s what I’m gonna do.”

Hailing from Minneapolis, MN, Huerta (21-1-1) made his UFC debut in September 2006 at UFC 63, where he scored a unanimous decision victory against Jason Dent. The 25 year-old has since tallied five straight wins in the Octagon™ against lightweight contenders John Halverson, Leonard Garcia, Doug Evans, Alberto Crane and Clay Guida, running his perfect record in the UFC to 6-0. The first fighter ever to fight five times in one year, Huerta is on a vision quest to become the UFC lightweight champion, and he will let no one, including Florian, stand in his way.

“This is going to be a really great fight, it will distinguish who will be the number one contender,” said Huerta. “I’m looking forward to fighting Florian, he is a technical fighter and comes in with a great game plan, but I have a game plan too, so I think this is going to be a chess match, one where we both use all our MMA skills to stay in there. I’m really excited to fight in Minneapolis, the support I get here is amazing, this city has adopted me, this is where I train for all of my fights, and I can’t wait to bring it a win in August.”

UFC 87 will also feature Brock Lesnar, fighting out of his hometown of Minneapolis, in a battle against UFC Hall of Famer and former PRIDE® superstar Mark “The Hammer” Coleman.

The remaining bouts for UFC 87 will be announced in the near future. All bouts are live and subject to change. For further information on the UFC visit ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or ufcespanol.com.