UFC® will return to Atlanta for the first time in four years on Saturday, July 30 at Philips Arena. UFC® 201: LAWLER vs. WOODLEY will feature one of the most exciting champions in history returning to the Octagon®, as welterweight kingpin Robbie Lawler looks to defend his title for the third time when he meets Tyron Woodley in the five-round main event.
This showdown for the welterweight crown between Lawler (26-10, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) and Woodley (15-3, fighting out of St. Louis, Mo.) pits two of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC against one another as they have combined for 20 first-round finishes. To raise the stakes, both men also train out of the American Top Team camp, widely considered one of the best gyms in the world. Lawler, who is coming off two of the best fights in division history against Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit, packs a heavy punch and has finished 20 of 26 pro victories by knockout. A two-time NCAA Div. I All-American wrestler, Woodley will need to use his smothering ground attack to counter the world-class striking of the champion.
Also, two of the welterweight division’s most experienced fighters collide when No. 8 Matt Brown (22-14, fighting out of Denver, Colo.) meets Jake Ellenberger (30-11, fighting out of Lake Forest, Calif.). These two dominant strikers have combined for 33 knockouts making this bout an early favorite for Fight of the Night.
Additional bouts*:
- Electrifying No. 3 strawweight contender Rose Namajunas (6-2, fighting out of Denver, Colo.) fights the versatile and undefeated No. 6 Karolina Kowalkiewicz (9-0, fighting out of Lodz, Poland).
- Two striking specialists clash in a bantamweight bout when Francisco Rivera, (11-6, fighting out of Buena Park, Calif.) meets Erik Perez (15-6, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.).
- No.11 light heavyweight contender Nikita Krylov (20-4, fighting out of Donetsk, Ukraine) faces sea- soned veteran Ed Herman (24-11, fighting out of Portland, Ore.)
- Knockout artist Anthony Hamilton (14-5, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) squares off against heavyweight finisher Damian Grabowski (20-3, fighting out of Opole, Poland).
- Undefeated American Top Team welterweight Michael Graves (6-0, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) meets submission specialist Bojan Velickovic (14-3, fighting out of Denver, Colo.).
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Claudio Silva (11-1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) takes on heavy- handed Siyar Bahadurzada (22-6-1, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla.) in a 170-pound bout.
- Paraguayan newcomer Cesar Arzamendia (7-3, fighting out of Asuncion, Paraguay) collides with well- rounded Damien Brown (15-9, fighting out of Brisbane, Australia) in a lightweight showdown.
Tickets are on sale for UFC® 201: LAWLER vs. WOODLEY and priced at $354, $254, $179, $129, $94, $79 and $54 (prices do not include applicable service charges and handling fees). Tickets are available for purchase online at http://www.ticketmaster.com and by phone at (800) 745-3000. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.
UFC® 201: LAWLER vs. WOODLEY will be available live on Pay-Per-View on Saturday, July 30 at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Vubiquity, and in Canada on BellTV, Rogers, Shaw Communications, Sasktel, and Canal Indigo for a suggested retail price of $49.99 US/CAN for Standard Definition and $59.99 US/CAN for High-Definition.
UFC® is a premium global sports brand and the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Sao Paulo and Singapore, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in over 150 countries and territories to more than one billion TV households worldwide in 21 different languages. UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service, delivers exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content to fans around the world. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.
-TPR Team