Las Vegas, NV – With a total of nine fights on the card, the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) today announced the remaining four bouts for UFC 57: LIDDELL vs. COUTURE 3 taking place at the Mandalay Events Center in Las Vegas Saturday, February 4, 2006.
Leading up to the blockbuster battle between Liddell and Couture are four action-packed matchups between Elvis “The King of Rock-n-Roll” Sinosic and Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara; Gilbert “El Peligro” Aldana vs. Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello; Jeff “Snowman” Monson vs. “The Iron Lion” Brandon Lee Hinkle and “Iron” Mike Whitehead vs. Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine.
UFC 57: LIDDELL vs. COUTURE 3, which sold out in less than five weeks, is also available live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $39.95 (Canadian).
Elvis Sinosic (6-8-2) 6’2″/205 lbs., fighting out of Sydney, Australia, is known for his slick jiu-jitsu skills. He shocked the world in his UFC debut when he submitted the No. 1 light heavyweight contender Jeremy Horn (triangle armbar) in the first round. He has fought the best fighters around including Frank Shamrock, Evan Tanner, “Babalu” Sobral and Tito Ortiz. At UFC 55 he fought Forrest Griffin, hurting him early in the round, before he lost by TKO at 3:22 of the first round. Sinosic showed that his striking can be as dangerous as his submissions, and will combine those skills against Sakara for a real light heavyweight battle.
Alessio Sakara (13-3-0-1 No contest) 6’0″/205 lbs., fighting out of Rome, Italy, recently held the IBF junior world championship. Though he is deadly with his hands, he has trained extensively in wrestling and jiu-jitsu to become a complete fighter. He made his UFC debut at UFC 55 against Ron Faircloth, making a strong impression before he took a low blow from which he could not recover. The fight was ruled a no-contest, and now a disappointed Sakara wants to score his first UFC victory over Sinosic.
Gilbert Aldana (5-0-0 / 5 KOs) 6’1″/245 lbs., fighting out of Chandler, Ariz., has a perfect record with all of his wins by knockout, including his first MMA fight which ended in three seconds. He has the ability to knockout opponents standing or on the ground, and has proved his MMA skills in a series of smaller competitions. He is ready to make his UFC debut and continue his winning streak, this time in a heavyweight fight against Paul Buentello.
Paul Buentello (19-9-0) 6’2″/235 lbs., fighting out of San Jose, Calif., made an impressive UFC debut by knocking out Justin Eilers at UFC 51. He earned his nickname with his nonstop attempts to finish his fights by the quickest means possible. While he is known for his explosive standup skills, Buentello has worked hard on becoming a well-rounded fighter, which he displayed in his submission win over Kevin Jordan at UFC 53. At UFC 55 he took a big step up in his career and attempted to take the heavyweight title from Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski. When the bell rang, Buentello got caught immediately by a huge right hand that ended the fight. Now Buentello is ready to go back inside the Octagon(tm) and work his way back up the heavyweight rankings, starting with a win over Aldana.
Jeff Monson (21-5) 5’9″/240 lbs., fighting out of Olympia, Wash., is a world champion submission grappler who trains with the American Top Team. He is most well known for his strength and his wrestling skills, but he has concentrated on his boxing skills and is looking for a strong knockout over Hinkle.
Branden Lee Hinkle (14-6) 6’2″/235 lbs., fighting out of Weirton, West Virginia, is an NCAA Division II National Wrestling Champion and U.S. National Freestyle All-American. He possesses heavy hands and loves to break up his opponent with vicious ground and pound tactics. Hinkle feels his athletic ability will ensure a victory over Monson and carry him far in the heavyweight division.
Mike Whitehead (9-5) 6’1″/205 lbs., fighting out of Salt Lake City, Utah, was the unofficial team captain on the Team Hughes during The Ultimate Fighter(tm) Season 2. He would constantly encourage and push his teammates and many of them looked up to him as a big brother. When it came time for him to fight, it was against Rashad Evans (winner of the Season 2 finale). He went all three rounds with Evans, but suffered a mental meltdown and appeared lethargic to his teammates. What no one knew was that Whitehead was ailing from a major staph infection that affected his energy level. Now he is looking forward to making his UFC pay-per-view debut, and plans to take out Jardine to show everyone he is a true fighter.
Keith Jardine (10-2-1) 6’2″/205 lbs., fighting out of Albuquerque, New Mex., is a black belt in Gaidojutsu under Greg Jackson. He is equally comfortable grappling or striking, and showed excellent kicking ability in The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 finale against Kerry Schall, who he stopped with leg kicks in the second round. Jardine has dropped weight to enter the light heavyweight division, where he feels he can truly excel, starting with a win over Whitehead.
About The Ultimate Fighting Championship®
The Ultimate Fighting Championship® brand is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization and offers the premier series of MMA sports events. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., the UFC® organization produces approximately eight live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed through cable and satellite providers. In addition to its U.S. distribution, UFC fight programs are distributed throughout the world including broadcast on WOWOW, Inc. in Japan, Globosat in Brazil and Bravo in the United Kingdom. Zuffa, LLC licenses the distribution of its fight show DVDs through Studioworks Entertainment, a Ventura Distribution company. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit www.ufc.com.
Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, The Octagon(tm) and the eight-sided cage design are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC or other respective owners.