FATHOM EVENTS AND UFC® TO BRING HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED DOUBLE TITLE FIGHT UFC® 187: JOHNSON VS. CORMIER TO SELECT THEATERS LIVE ON MAY 23
UFC Light Heavyweight Title Up for Grabs as Top Contenders
Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier Square Off
UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman to Battle
Top Contender Vitor Belfort in the Co-main Event
DENVER – May 5, 2015 – On Memorial Day weekend, Fathom Events and UFC® will present a night of epic battles –including two championship fights– when UFC® 187: JOHNSON vs. CORMIER comes to select U.S. movie theaters nationwide. Broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, May 23 at 10:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 p.m. CT / 8:00 p.m. MT / 7:00 p.m. PT (countdown show starts 30 minutes prior), UFC® 187 boasts what many mixed martial arts fans are calling the best fight card in years.
In the main event, the vacant UFC light heavyweight championship is up for grabs as feared knockout artist Anthony “Rumble” Johnson will square off against two-time U.S. Olympian Daniel Cormier in a titillating clash of top contenders for the crown. In the co-main event, the culmination of nearly two years of trash-talking and anticipation comes to the Octagon® as current middleweight champion Chris Weidman will finally lock horns with top contender Vitor Belfort. Additionally, UFC® 187 will also showcase a high-action lightweight bout featuring Donald Cerrone and John Makdessi, plus a mouthwatering heavyweight collision between No.3 ranked Travis Browne and former champion Andrei Arlovski.
Tickets to watch UFC® 187: JOHNSON vs. CORMIER on the big screen are available at participating theater box offices and at www.FathomEvents.com. The event will be presented in more than 250 select movie theaters around the country through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network. For a complete list of theater locations, visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).
Other bouts for UFC® 187: JOHNSON vs. CORMIER include:
- Joseph Benavidez (21-4-0, fighting out of Sacramento, CA by way of San Antonio, TX) will go up against John Moraga (16-3-0, fighting out of Phoenix, AZ) in a flyweight match.
- Flyweight contenders John “The Magician” Dodson (17-6-0, fighting out of Albuquerque, NM) and Zach “Fun Size” Makovsky (19-5-0, fighting out of Philadelphia, PA) will battle it out.
- Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim (19-3-1, fighting out of Busan, South Korea) will make his return to the Octagon® to take on Josh “The People’s Warrior” Burkman (28-10-0, fighting out of Draper, UT) in a welterweight tilt.
- The Ultimate Fighter 17 finalist, Uriah “Prime Time” Hall (11-4-0, fighting out of New York, NY by way of Spanish Town, Jamaica) will face Rafael “Sapo” Natal (19-6-1, fighting out of New York, NY by way of Belo Horizonte, Brazil) in a middleweight showdown.
- Women’s strawweights Rose “Thug” Namajunas (3-2-0, fighting out of Denver, CO by way of Milwaukee, WI) and Nina Ansaroff (6-4-0, fighting out of Miami, FL by way of Weston, FL) will square off.
- Mike “Quicksand” Pyle (26-10-1, fighting out of Las Vegas, NV by way of Dresden, TN) will take on Sean Spencer (12-4-0 fighting out of Dallas, TX by way of Bluefield, VA) in a welterweight bout.
- Islam Makhachev (11-0-0, from Dagestan, Russia) faces Leo “The Lion” Kuntz (17-1-1, fighting out of Coconut Creek, FL USA by way of Linton, ND) in a lightweight bout.
- Justin “Tank Scoggins (9-2-0, fighting out of Coconut Creek, FL by way of Spartanburg, SC) is set to battle Josh “The Gremlin” Sampo (11-4-0, fighting out of St. Charles, MO by way of Las Vegas, NV) in a flyweight bout.
The full fight card is available at www.ufc.com/event/UFC187.
“We’re proud to partner again with UFC® to bring these two title fights to big screens across the nation,” said Fathom Events Vice President of Programming Kymberli Frueh-Owens. “UFC 187: JOHNSON vs. CORMIER is set to bring a night of action that will have fans on the edge of their seats from start to finish.”
For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts are live and subject to change.
About Fathom Events
Fathom Events is owned by a newly formed entity called AC JV, LLC. Fathom is the recognized leader in the alternative entertainment industry, offering a variety of one-of-a-kind entertainment events in movie theaters nationwide that include live, high-definition performances of the Metropolitan Opera, the performing arts, major sporting events, music concerts, comedy series, Broadway shows, original programming featuring entertainment’s biggest stars, socially relevant documentaries with audience Q&A and much more. Additionally, Fathom events take audiences behind-the-scenes and offer unique extras – creating the ultimate entertainment experience for fans of all ages. Co-owned by the three largest movie theater circuits in the United States, AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), Fathom’s live digital broadcast network (“DBN”) is the largest cinema broadcast network in North America, bringing live events to more than 775 locations in 171 Designated Market Areas® (including all of the top 50). For more information, visit www.fathomevents.com.
About UFC®
UFC® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 134 countries and territories to nearly 700 million TV households worldwide in 21 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT™ (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.
