UFC 126 & UFC 127 Prelims Live on Fuel TV

Sydney, Australia – The Ultimate Fighting Championship organisation and FUEL TV are excited to announce the Prelim bouts for both this Sunday’s UFC 126 card and February 27’s UFC 127 super-show will be broadcast LIVE on FUEL TV.

UFC Prelim shows give fans the chance to watch two LIVE fights from the stacked undercards of UFC events, adding anticipation for the pay-per-view events that follow one hour later on Main Event.

This Sunday UFC 126: SILVA v BELFORT emanates from the sold-out Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, USA, and FUEL TV will broadcast two hotly anticipated match-ups at 1pm, AEDT.

First, undefeated America featherweight Chad ‘Money’ Mendes, 9-0, takes on Japanese veteran and judo black belt Michihiro Omigawa, 12-6-1.  Then, two-time world lightweight title challenger Donald ‘the Cowboy’ Cerrone, 17-3-0-1, makes his UFC debut, taking on tough English brawler Paul ‘Tellies’ Kelly, who has a won-loss record of 11-3.

And on February 27 - also at 1pm - FUEL TV will broadcast two Prelim fights from the ram-packed Acer Arena, Sydney.

In a sure ‘Fight of the Night’ candidate, Sydney-based James Ta Huna, 12-4, returns to the Octagon to collide with Swedish destroyer Alexander Gustafsson, 10-1. Fighting at the same Acer Arena 12 months ago, Ta Huna overcame a broken arm to heroically stop Igor Pokrajac in the third round at UFC 110. The win in his UFC debut extended the puncher’s winning streak to six victories on the bounce and now, fully healed, Ta Huna will be looking to make up for lost time.

The 23-year-old Gustafsson protégé has lost only once in 11 professional bouts and most recently dazzled in submitting Frenchman Cyrille Diabate last October. The hard-hitting Swede has already fought in England, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Finland, Poland and his native Sweden and now looks to demonstrate his skills in Australia for the very first time.

Also on the UFC 127 Prelims on FUEL TV, lightweight scrappers Spencer Fisher and Ross Pearson meet over three rounds, in a fight that has fans excited with anticipation. Veteran Fisher (24-6) hails from North Carolina and has been involved in some of the most thrilling mixed martial arts battles of the last decade. Fresh off a win over another Brit, Curt Warburton, 'The King' is looking to continue his impressive form with a win over Pearson in Sydney.

England’s talented up-and-comer Pearson (11-4), meanwhile, is a former winner of The Ultimate Fighter reality TV series and one of the most highly-regarded young lightweights in the world. Since defeating fellow Brit Andre Winner to claim the season nine title, 26-year-old Pearson has added the names of Dennis Siver and Aaron Riley to his list of beaten opponents. A win over Fisher at UFC 127 will go some way to backing up the praise that has been lavished upon 'The Real Deal' since joining the UFC in 2009.