ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® RETURNS TO COLUMBUS

UFC 82: PRIDE OF A CHAMPION SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 2008 LIVE FROM NATIONWIDE ARENA

UFC® WORLD MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP Anderson Silva vs. DAN HENDERSON

Tickets Go on Sale Sunday, Dec. 30 at 10am ET

In a long-awaited super-fight to determine the undisputed king of the middleweight division, Anderson "The Spider" Silva, UFC Middleweight Champion, will take on PRIDE 183-lb. Champion Dan Henderson when the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) makes its third trip to the state of Ohio on Saturday, March 1, 2008 for UFC 82: PRIDE OF A CHAMPION, live from Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

“Anderson Silva has been so dominant as UFC Middleweight Champion that people are starting to wonder if there is anyone out there who can dethrone him,” said Dana White, UFC President. “Now Pride champion Dan Henderson has stepped up to the challenge. Anderson Silva may be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport and Dan Henderson may be the strongest, toughest guy in the middleweight division so there is no doubt in my mind that this will be a battle that goes down in the history books.”

The UFC visited Columbus, Ohio last year when it held UFC 68: THE UPRISING at Nationwide Arena on March 3. More than 19,000 people attended the sold-out event, which grossed a gate of more than $3 million. The event set a new record for the highest North American attendance figure for a mixed martial arts event, and still stands as the largest gate in Nationwide Arena history.

Tickets for UFC 82: PRIDE OF A CHAMPION go on sale Sunday, Dec. 30 at 10am ET and are priced at $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50 and are available at the Nationwide Arena Ticket Office, at all Ticketmaster ticket centers, online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.ufc.com and by phone at (614) 431-3600. Tickets may also be purchased at the FSN Ohio Blue Line locations at the Chiller Ice Rinks and The Mall at Tuttle Crossing. All tickets are subject to facility fee and service charges.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Thursday, Dec. 27 at 10am ET. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Saturday, Dec. 29 starting at 10am ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through www.ufc.com.

UFC 82: PRIDE OF A CHAMPION is available live on pay-per-view at 10pm EST/7pm 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).