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TORONTO – The Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, announced today that tickets for its inaugural event in Calgary will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, May 12. UFC 149: ALDO VS. KOCH sees featherweight champion Jose Aldo defend his145-pound crown against tenacious contender Erik Koch on Saturday, July 21 at Scotiabank Saddledome. Both fighters will join local UFC  middleweight Nick Ring and UFC Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright for a press conference and other events (as listed below) in Calgary on Wednesday, May 9 at 10 a.m. MTN at Shaw Court.

The July 21 event marks the first of three UFC events taking place in Canada in 2012 as Toronto (Sept. 22, location to be determined) and Montreal (Nov. 17, Bell Centre) are also set with UFC^® dates this calendar year.

Reigning UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo (21-1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is undefeated in the UFC as he puts his belt on the line against knockout artistErik Koch (13-1, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisc.). Considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, Aldo has reeled off 14 straight wins and has not lost since 2005. For his part, the 22-year-old Koch has but one career loss and has won four straight with two Knockout of the Night awards in those performances.

Two former UFC champions add to the star power in Calgary as former light heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua (20-6, fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil) faces off against Thiago Silva (14-3, 1 NC, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil) while former interim heavyweight champ Minotauro Nogueira (33-7-1, 1 NC, fighting out of Bahia, Brazil) returns to action to face thealways dangerous Cheick Kongo (27-7-2, fighting out of Paris, France). Seasoned veterans also clash as Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-5, 2 NC, fighting out of Osaka, Japan) meets welterweight Thiago Alves (24-8, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) and Michael Bisping (23-4, fighting out of Manchester, England) faces middleweightTim Boetsch (15-4, fighting out of Sunbury, Penn.).

Five Canadians will also step into the Octagon on July 21 as Edmonton’s Mitch Clarke (9-1) faces lightweight Anton Kuivanen (16-5, fighting out of Helsinki, Finland), Calgary’sNick Ring (12-1) battles middleweight Court McGee (13-2, fighting out of Orem, Utah), Sudbury, Ontario’s Mitch Gagnon (8-1) takes on bantamweight Bryan Caraway (16-6, fighting out of Goldendale, Washington), Oshawa, Ontario native Antonio Carvalho (13-5) will challenge featherweight George Roop (12-10-1, fighting out of Tucson, Arizona), and Saint John, New Brunswick’s Ryan Jimmo (16-1, fighting out of Edmonton) meets light heavyweight Anthony Perosh (13-6, fighting out of Sydney, Australia).

Tickets for UFC 149: ALDO VS. KOCH go on sale to the public on Saturday, May 12 at 10 a.m. MTN. Tickets are priced at $650, $400, $275, $200, $125 and $85 and are available through Ticketmaster.ca, charge by phone 1-855-985-5000, at all Ticketmaster outlets, and the Saddledome Box Office. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.

UFC Fight Club members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event on Thursday, May 10 at 10 a.m. MTN via the website ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers on Friday, May 11,starting at 10 a.m. MTN. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

UFC 149: ALDO VS. KOCH PRESS CONFERENCE

WHEN:                       Wednesday, May 9 – 10:00 a.m. MTN (media check starts at 9:00 a.m.)

WHERE:                     Shaw Court, 630 3^rd Avenue SW, Calgary

WHO:                        Jose Aldo, UFC^® Featherweight Champion

                                    Erik Koch, UFC^® Featherweight Contender

      Nick Ring, UFC^® Middleweight and Calgary native

      UFC^® Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright

NOTE:                         ***This press conference will be streamed live on UFC.com. Please note, this media event is not open to the public however fans are encouraged to come meet the fighters Wednesday evening at the Chinook Centre Boston Pizza from 7-9 p.m.

CANADIAN FOOTBALL INITIATION WITH CALGARY STAMPEDERS

WHEN:                       Wednesday, May 9 – 4:00-5:00 p.m. MTN

WHERE:                     McMahon Stadium, 1817 Crowchild Trail Northwest, Calgary, AB

WHO:                                     Jose Aldo, Erik Koch and Nick Ring, members of the Calgary Stampeders

NOTE:                         Calgary native Nick Ring and members of the Calgary Stampeders will introduce Canadian football to Aldo and Koch with a training session at McMahon Stadium. Fans are encouraged to follow @calstampeders and @UFC_CA for a chance to attend thisprivate session with the fighters and players.

UFC^® AUTOGRAPH SIGNING

WHEN:                       Wednesday, May 9 – 7-9 p.m. MTN

WHERE:                     Boston Pizza, Chinook Centre, 6455 Macleod Trail SW, Calgary, AB

WHO:                        Jose Aldo, Erik Koch and Nick Ring

NOTE:                         The first 25 fans will receive a free autographed UFC Encyclopedia

UFC featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo failed to set the world on fire in his title defense in Canada at UFC 129 against Mark Hominick but he gets a chance at redemption headlining UFC 149 for the promotions debut in Calgary.

Aldo is on a fourteen-bout win streak and has never lost under the Zuffa umbrella, winning the 145-pound title in 2009 he has defended it on five separate occasions between the UFC & WEC.

An opponent for Aldo has not been named yet and what weight-class he fights in is another issue.

The top-contender for Aldo at featherweight is former Shooto champion Hatsu Hioki who won his second-straight fight since joining the UFC in Japan but the Brazilian bomber has expressed interest in testing his skills at lightweight.

Whether or not he will be allowed to move up in weight without relinquishing his ten-pounds of gold is unknown at this point but since UFC President Dana White didn’t discuss a challenger it’s a possibility.

For the organizations ninth trip north of the border and debut in a new city they will look to put on a big event but nothing else for the card is official as of yet.

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UFC President Dana White and Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright were in Calgary on Wednesday, March 21 to make a major announcement.

The organization did not fail to impress, as they announced a trio of shows which will take place in Calgary, Toronto and Ontario.

Calgary will be slated for July 21 and will be UFC 149. With follow up stops in Toronto on September 22 (UFC 152) and Montreal on November 17 (UFC 154).

Fast forward to about the 8:30mins mark.

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Dana White landed in “Cow Town” (Calgary), Alberta and threw down a few juicy announcements regarding Canadian UFC dates. It is now official that the city of Calgary will be getting UFC 149 on July 21, 2012 at the Scotiabank Saddledome with the headliner bout being a Main Event involving UFC’s featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Most likely Aldo’s opponent will be the winner of the Dustin Poirier vs. “Korean Zombie” fight on May 25th at UFC on Fuel TV 3.  No other matchups were announced for the Calgary show but we are sure those will be coming down the pipe in the next few weeks. However Dana White did promise that the card would be something special.

I’m so pumped to come back up here with a sick card and blow the doors off that arena, White said.

Dana White also announced that both Toronto and Montreal will be on the UFC PPV radar this year with Toronto getting a show September 22 (UFC 152), and Montreal on November 17 (UFC 154). It also appears that those two cities will be annual Canadian destinations of choice for the UFC moving forward with another city like Edmonton, Calgary or even Halifax added as the third. There was no mention of Vancouver which has to be regarded as a major snub to one of Canada’s most popular destinations.

Dana White mentioned that as of right now there are no plans to put George St. Pierre on any of those cards due to not knowing when GSP will be 100% from his knee injury.

The UFC has been to some of the most beautiful and exotic places around the world such as Brazil, Australia, Japan and … perhaps soon Calgary?

Yup, it seems the city of cowboys, pick up trucks and oil could be getting a UFC event this summer. There is a lot of talk that Cowtown could be getting its first UFC experience July 21 for UFC 149. The show will possibly be held at the Saddledome, home of the NHL non-playoff powerhouse Calgary Flames.

Alberta has always been a hot bed for mixed martial arts. Calgary and Edmonton have been running amateur and professional events since the ’90s. One of the largest Canadian MMA promotions, Maximum Fighting Championships, has been doing business in Alberta for years. There are no city managers or officials getting in the way in Calgary. No, they understand the popularity and the money it brings to their city. What a concept.

However, nothing has been made official yet. One of the biggest reasons for the hold-up is our great and mighty Canadian Medical Association. All hail doctors who don’t have better things to do. Forget about proposing ideas to government about health care reform, as baby boomers become senior boomers.

Last year the CMA was asking the feds to ban professional MMA throughout the country. Now they are using the possible UFC 149 event in Calgary as a way to stand on their soapbox once again — heads firmly up their backsides.

“The objective is to render your opponent insensible,” said association president Dr. John Haggie. “It’s the commercialization of violence; it sets a very bad example for children. It’s not a sport in my book. It’s two guys out to pummel each other.”

Never mind the facts, Mr. Haggie. Why let those get in the way when you have such an obviously uneducated personal bias against a sport. Forget about the chronic head injuries in hockey and football. Never mind the scientific facts over the years that show MMA as a lot safer than boxing and cheerleading. Let’s ban it all!

The Canadian Medical Association really holds no power to institute law, but they swing enough weight as lobbyists and that is what concerns me. I’m sure doctors mean well, but to start a fight based only on personal opinion instead of hard facts seems rather un-doctor like.

-Corner Man-

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