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Monday, Oct 07, 2002

Hughes To Defend Welterweight Title Against Castillo At Ufc 40: Vendetta, Nov. 22, At Mgm Grand Garden Arena


From Josh Hedges/Zuffa:



HUGHES TO DEFEND WELTERWEIGHT TITLE AGAINST CASTILLO AT UFC 40: VENDETTA, NOV. 22, AT MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA

Second Ultimate Fighting Championship Title Fight On Live, Pay-Per-View

Tickets On Sale Now; Ortiz To Battle Shamrock For Light Heavyweight Belt


      LAS VEGAS, October 8, 2002…Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes of Hillsboro, Ill., will defend his title for the third time when he takes on top contender Gil Castillo of Concord, Calif., live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST as the co-main event of UFC 40: Vendetta, Friday, November 22, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena. UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz will meet UFC legend Ken Shamrock for the light heavyweight belt in the main event. Tickets, $300, $200, $100, $60 and $30, can be purchased at the MGM Grand box office and all Ticketmaster locations, by calling Ticketmaster at 1-877-880-0880 and 702-474-4000, or at www.ticketmaster.com.
      UFC 40: Vendetta will be available live at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m PST on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, BellExpressVu and Viewers Choice Canada. The suggested retail price is $29.95.
      Hughes, 27-3-0 in Mixed Martial Arts, most recently defended his title July 13 at UFC 38: The Brawl At Royal Albert Hall in London where he defeated former champ Carlos Newton by referee stoppage due to punches at 4:37 of the fourth round. It marked his second victory over Newton in eight months after he won the belt from him Nov. 2, 2001, at UFC 34: High Voltage at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with a knockout at 1:27 of the second round. In between, Hughes also defeated Japanese legend Hayato Sakurai March 22 at UFC 36: Worlds Collide at the MGM Grand by technical knockout at 3:01 of the fourth round.
      Castillo, 17-1-0, is a top welterweight contender who defeated Chris Brennan January 11 at UFC 35: Throw Down at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., by unanimous decision after three rounds. Castillo is a jiu-jitsu specialist who trains with Cesar Gracie and like many Gracie fighters his strengths are grappling and submissions.
      The Ortiz-Shamrock matchup has been much anticipated for some time and the fight will pit the UFC’s old guard against the new. Fight fans are well aware they have a major score to settle based on long-standing hostilities between each other although they have never fought. Shamrock has not fought in the UFC since December 1996 but continued to train UFC fighters.
      Bad vibes were building for years, but reached a boiling point March 5, 1999, at UFC 19: Young Guns in Bay St. Louis, Miss., after Ortiz battered Shamrock prot

posted by Full Contact Fighter @ 8:00 pm
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