LIVE FROM THE ROSE GARDEN – SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2009

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) is headed to Portland for the first time ever and it’s bringing a couple of true heavyweight heroes. Mixed martial arts legends and former UFC champions Randy “The Natural” Couture and Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira will face off for the first time in their storied careers at UFC 102: COUTURE vs. NOGUEIRA, live from Portland, Oregon’s Rose Garden on Saturday, August 29, 2009.

“We’re extremely excited to be heading to Portland,” UFC President Dana White said. “When you get two mixed martial arts legends that are all heart and have wanted to fight each other for years, plus the fact that Randy has roots in Oregon, that tells me that not only will the crowd be electric but it’s also a night where the fighters will be looking to cement their legacies.”

Tickets for UFC 102 will go on sale Saturday, June 20 at 10 a.m. PT and will be priced at $600, $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50. Tickets can be purchased at the Rose Quarter Box Office (M-F 10 a.m.-5 p.m.), all participating Safeway/ TicketsWest outlets, by calling 877.789.ROSE (7673), or at ComcastTIX.com. For more information please visit RoseQuarter.com. Prices do not include service charges.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Thursday, June 18 starting at 10 a.m. PT via UFC.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers on Friday, June 19 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

A UFC Hall-of-Famer and five-time UFC champion, Randy “The Natural” Couture (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) has a mixed martial arts resume that truly stands out from the rest. The Everett, Washington native has registered a series of wins over big names that include Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Tim Sylvia, Pedro Rizzo, Vitor Belfort and Gabriel Gonzaga. On August 29th, Couture returns to Oregon after coaching wrestling at Oregon State University, and the 45-year-old former three-time UFC heavyweight champion and two-time UFC light heavyweight champion will be looking to give his legion of fans yet another reason to cheer when he takes on Nogueira.

“Nogueira is the type of fighter that is dangerous everywhere,” Couture said. “He’s difficult to knock out and he’s a world class jiu-jitsu player. I will have to train very diligently and very specifically for him. Also, the fact that I’m fighting in Oregon makes me want to put on a great show and win for these fans.”

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo black belt and the only man to hold the PRIDE and UFC heavyweight championship belts, “Minotauro” Nogueira (fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) has the experience and the world-class talent to take out anyone who opposes him in the Octagon. With UFC wins over Heath Herring and Tim Sylvia in his first two UFC bouts, the revered Nogueira quickly made his presence felt in the ultra-competitive heavyweight division. Now the 6-foot-3, 240-pound former interim UFC heavyweight champion looks to get the gold back around his waist.

“I’m honored to face such a great fighter as Randy Couture,” Nogueira said. “I wanted to fight him for some time now and I know to become a legend you have to beat a legend.”