The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Wednesday announced it will return to Australia with UFC Sydney: Alves vs Kampmann to be held at Sydney’s Allphones Arena on Saturday, March 3, 2012. Following two sell-out shows in this country, this highly anticipated event pits two of the UFC’s most explosive welterweights against each other and also sees the debut of the flyweight division with a two-bout tournament to decide the top contenders at 125-pounds (56.7kg).

Alves vs Kampmann Official, Headlines UFC Sydney

Tickets for UFC Sydney Alves vs Kampmann will be available to UFC Fight Club members from 10am Monday, Dec. 19 and to UFC Newsletter subscribers from 10am Tuesday, Dec. 20, before going on general release through Ticketek on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 10am (times are AEDT). Tickets are priced from $75 to $425.

Marshall Zelaznik, Managing Director of UFC’s International Development, said: “The UFC is thrilled to return to Sydney for its third live event in three years.  We’ve had tremendous success with our two previous events, with last year’s UFC 127 remaining the equal fastest sell-out in the organisation’s history.  I’ve got no doubt that our Aussie fans will be just as excited about our March event, especially as they’ll witness UFC history with the introduction of the flyweight division.  The 125-pound contenders will absolutely put everything on the line is Sydney, knowing that the winners of those two bouts will then have a shot at the inaugural flyweight title. It’s going to be a great show!”

Commenting on the card’s main event, Zelaznik said: “Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann are two seasoned mixed martial artists who are sure to go to war in the Octagon.  Both athletes are coming off recent wins and will be looking to continue their streak to climb the welterweight ladder.”

Fresh from his first round annihilation of UFC debutant Papy Abedi at UFC 139, Thiago ‘Pitbull’ Alves (24-7) has returned to vintage form that has previously seen him cruise through the welterweight division with wins over UFC greats such as Matt Hughes, Josh Koschek and Chris Lytle before challenging for the welterweight title in July 2009.

Martin ‘The Hitman’ Kampmann (18-5) will look to back-up his unanimous decision win at UFC 139 over up-and-coming welterweight Rick ‘The Horror’ Story when he meets Alves in the Octagon on March 3. The Dane has incredible knock-out power and an underrated ground game that has seen him win nine of his 12 fights in the Octagon, including victories over Carlos Condit, Jorge Rivera and Paulo Thiago.

In the flyweight division, former No.1 WEC bantamweight contender Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson (14-2) will face the recently crowned Tachi Palace Fights flyweight champion, Ian ‘Uncle Creepy’ McCall (11-2), while  Joseph Benavidez (15-2) will face Japanese fighter and Shooto champion Yasuhiro Urushitani (19-4-6) in the weight division’s two semi-finals.

Broadcast information and details regarding the full card for UFC Sydney: Alves vs Kampmann will be announced in the coming weeks.

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