UFC CONFIRMS REMAINING BOUTS FOR UFC® 101

AMIR SADOLLAH vs. JOHNY HENDRICKS
KENDALL GROVE vs. RICARDO ALMEIDA
JOSH NEER vs. KURT PELLEGRINO
SHANE NELSON vs. AARON RILEY
TAMDAN McCRORY vs. JOHN HOWARD
THALES LEITES vs. ALESSIO SAKARA
MATT RIDDLE vs. DAN CRAMER
GEORGE SOTIROPOULOS vs. ROBERT EMERSON
JESSE LENNOX vs. DANILLO VILLEFORT

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – A stacked card of Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) action has gotten even bigger with today’s announcement of the explosive undercard for UFC 101: DECLARATION, which takes place live on Saturday, August 8th at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Featuring a star-studded lineup of contenders and prospects, as well as local heroes from just up the turnpike in New Jersey, the UFC 101 undercard will undoubtedly set the stage for the co-featured bouts of the evening – the highly-anticipated UFC lightweight title bout between champion BJ Penn and challenger Kenny Florian, and the light heavyweight showdown pitting pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva against former world champion Forrest Griffin.

Bouts added to UFC 101 today are: Amir Sadollah vs. Johny Hendricks, Kendall Grove vs. Ricardo Almeida, Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellegrino, Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley, Tamdan McCrory vs. John Howard, Thales Leites vs. Alessio Sakara, Matt Riddle vs. Dan Cramer, George Sotiropoulos vs. Robert Emerson and Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort.

Remaining tickets for UFC 101 are still on sale and are priced at $600 and $400. Tickets are available via www.ComcastTIX.com, UFC.com, by phone at 1-800-298-4200, the Wachovia Center Box Office, or select ACME markets.

Winner of the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter™, Amir Sadollah (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) has already impressed many in his young mixed martial arts career. The Brooklyn born Sadollah is a perfect 2-0 in MMA and he secured the title of The Ultimate Fighter in 2008 with a slick armbar against CB Dollaway. Now at welterweight, he faces former two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler and former World Extreme Cagefighting® standout Johny Hendricks (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.). The Oklahoma State graduate carries a 5-0 record into the Octagon™ for his UFC debut.

Always looking for the big finish, 6-foot-6 Kendall Grove (fighting out of Maui, Hawaii) has used his size and aggressive style to score five wins in the UFC. At UFC 96, the 26-year-old middleweight took out Jason Day via first-round TKO but he will need to bring his best submission defense when he faces Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Ricardo Almeida (fighting out of Hamilton, N.J.). The four-time Brazilian national champion and 1999 Pan-American champion has two UFC wins via submission and he earned a unanimous decision victory against Matt Horwich in April. Now the New Jersey veteran will look to stop the rise of Grove on August 8th.

With 25 professional mixed martial arts wins already on his resume`, it’s tough to believe Josh Neer (fighting out of Des Moines, Iowa) is only 26 years old. The experienced lightweight submitted Mac Danzig in the second round of their February fight and now he focuses his attention on New Jersey’s own Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Kurt Pellegrino (fighting out of Point Pleasant, N.J.). Winner of two straight UFC matches, Pellegrino improved his record to 19-4 with an impressive submission victory against Rob Emerson in February.

Because of a controversial referee stoppage at UFC 96 in March, Shane Nelson (fighting out of Hilo, Hawaii) and Aaron Riley (fighting out of Seattle, Wash.) are going to do it again. Nelson, a BJ Penn-trained lightweight fighter, is looking to go 3-0 in the UFC when he faces the Tell City, Indiana native, whose first win in the UFC came against Jorge Gurgel at UFC 91 last November.

Looking to make an impression in the welterweight division, Tamdan McCrory (fighting out of Cortland, N.Y.) used a TKO victory against Ryan Madigan at UFC 96 to improve his pro MMA record to 12-2. The Ithaca, N.Y. native now faces up-and-coming 26-year-old John Howard (fighting out of Boston, Mass.). The 11-4 fighter secured a split decision win in his UFC debut against Chris Wilson at UFC 94 in January, a bout that earned Fight of the Night honors.

On a five-fight win streak before taking UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva five rounds in their title bout at UFC 97 in April, Thales Leites (fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), has three submission victories already in the UFC but will need to show off his complete game when he faces former pro boxer Alessio Sakara (fighting out of Miami, Fla.). The Rome, Italy native knocked out Joe Vedepo in his last UFC match in 2008 for his third UFC victory via KO/TKO and fourth overall.

It’s been two pro matches and two UFC wins for 23-year-old Matt Riddle (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.). The Allentown, Pa. native has two unanimous decision victories against Dante Rivera and Steve Bruno, and he will put his perfect record on the line against fellow unbeaten Dan Cramer (fighting out of Bethel, Conn./Coconut Creek, Fla.). The 23-year-old Danbury, Connecticut-born welterweight earned a split decision win against Matt Arroyo in his UFC debut in January.

A tough test for anyone in the lightweight division, Australia’s George Sotiropoulos (fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) is a perfect 2-0 in the UFC with a submission victory and a TKO win. The 32-year-old with the 9-2 record will need all his skills when he stares across the Octagon at fellow Ultimate Fight alum Rob Emerson (fighting out of Irvine, Calif.). The 27-year-old from Irvine, California will go for his third UFC win when he faces Sotiropoulos.

When the WEC® discontinued its welterweight division, the UFC picked up two dynamic welterweights in Jesse Lennox (fighting out of Bettendorf, Iowa) and Danillo Villefort (fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla). With a 14-1 record and a TKO victory against Blas Avena in his sole WEC match, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-born Lennox will have to be at his best when he takes on the skilled Brazilian. Holding a devastating TKO victory against Mike Campbell in his one and only WEC match in January, Villefort is a decorated competitor with black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and judo.

For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com, UK.UFC.com, GERMANY.UFC.com or UFCEspanol.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship®
The Ultimate Fighting Championship® 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., UFC® produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN Entertainment, BellTV, SaskTel Max™, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Viewers Choice, and WOWOW in Japan, and Premiere Combate and SporTV in Brazil, and via the Internet worldwide on Yahoo! Sports, and commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. In addition to its North American distribution, UFC programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world.

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