The full lineup is set and tickets are set to go on sale this week for UFC 161: Barao vs. Wineland, the organization’s first trip to Winnipeg on June 15.
As usual, UFC Fight Club members get the first opportunity to purchase them this Wednesday at 10 a.m. CT via ufcfightclub.com. A special internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers will take place on Thursday, April 11 at 10 a.m. CT (register through UFC.com) before tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 12 at 10 a.m. CT, available at the MTS Centre box office and at all Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets are priced at $500, $350, $250, $150, $90 and $50.
UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao looks to defend his title for the second straight time against No. 4-ranked contender Eddie Wineland in the main event of the pay-per-view show.
A special official press conference, which is open to the public, will take place Wednesday at 1 p.m. CT at The Met, 281 Donald Street in Winnipeg, and it will be streamed live on sportsnet.ca. The two headlining fighters Barao and Wineland will be joined by UFC president Dana White and UFC director of Operations in Canada, Australia and New Zealand Tom Wright.
Canada will also see its first women’s bantamweight bout in the show as Port Colborne, Ont.’s Alexis Davis takes on Manchester, England’s Rosi Sexton in a bout just announced last week. Davis will become the first Canadian woman to compete in the UFC, in the same city where she appeared in the first ever professional female fight in Manitoba just over six years ago. She lost to fellow Canadian Sarah Kaufman in an Ultimate Cage Wars event in April 2007, which was also her MMA debut.
Davis, who has a black belt in both Japanese and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, has won five of her last six fights including victories over Strikeforce veteran Julie Kedzie and Amanda Nunes. The “Ally-Gator” earned Fight of the Night honours in her most recent win by rear naked choke over Shayna Baszler in January at Invicta FC 4.
In total, seven Canadians are featured on the fight card. Winnipeg’s Roland Delorme (8-1, 1NC) faces Edwin Figueroa (9-2, fighting out of McKinney, Texas) in a bantamweight bout, Ryan Jimmo (17-2, fighting out of Edmonton, Alberta) will return against light heavyweight Igor Pokrajac (25-9, 1 NC, fighting out of Zagreb, Croatia) and Toronto’s Sean Pierson (13-6) will battle welterweight T.J. Waldburger (16-7, fighting out of Belton, Texas). Montreal’s Yves Jabouin (18-8) will also challenge bantamweight Dustin Pague (11-8, fighting out of Dulles, Va.), while two other lightweight fights include Sam Stout (20-8-1, fighting out of London, Ont.) against Isaac Vallie-Flagg (14-3-1, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) and Mitch Clarke (9-2, fighting out of Edmonton) versus John Maguire (18-5, fighting out of Cambridge England).
Here is the full 13-fight lineup:
Main card (pay-per-view, 9 p.m. CT / 10 p.m. ET)
Renan Barao (c) vs. Eddie Wineland
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua
Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson
Patrick Barry vs. Shawn Jordan
Alexis Davis (CDN) vs. Rosi Sexton
Televised preliminary card (Sportsnet, 7 p.m. MT / 8 p.m. ET)
Jake Shields vs. Tyron Woodley
Sam Stout (CDN) vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
Stipe Miocic vs. Soa Palelei
Ryan Jimmo (CDN) vs. Igor Pokrajac
Online prelims (sportsnet.ca, 5 p.m. MT / 6 p.m. ET)
Yves Jabouin (CDN) vs. Dustin Pague
Sean Pierson (CDN) vs. Anthony Waldburger
Mitch Clarke (CDN) vs. John Maguire
Roland Delorme (CDN) vs. Edwin Figueroa
(c) = champ, (CDN) = Canadian
