UFC® RETURNS TO CHICAGO WITH LIGHTWEIGHT BATTLE BETWEEN FORMER CHAMPION BENSON HENDERSON AND JOSH THOMSON

Las Vegas, Nev. – The Ultimate Fighting Championship^® returns to United Center in Chicago, Ill. on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014with a battle of former champions looking to get back into the title hunt.  Former UFC lightweight champion and No. 1 ranked contender Benson Henderson (19-3, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.) takes on the former STRIKEFORCE^® lightweight king and No. 4 Josh Thomson (20-5, fighting out of San Jose, Calif.) with the winner moving closer to a date with reigning champion Anthony Pettis.

Then, in the night’s co-main event, ninth-ranked heavyweight Stipe Miocic (10-1, fighting out of Cleveland, Ohio) returns to the Octagon^® after a dominant performance in his last bout to face former title contender Gabriel Gonzaga (16-7, fighting out of Ludlow, Mass.), a winner of two straight.

In addition, fan favorite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (21-6, fighting out of Albuquerque, NM) looks to continue his winning ways against fellow lightweight and Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Adriano Martins (25-6, fighting out of Manaus, Brazil), fresh off a submission win over Daron Cruickshank in his UFC^® debut last month.

Finally, tenth-ranked featherweight Darren Elkins (17-3, fighting out of Hobart, Ind.) looks to thrill his hometown Chicagoland fans when he takes on a reinvigorated Jeremy Stephens (22-9, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.), who has reeled off two straight wins since his drop to the 145-pound class.

“Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson is the current No. 1 ranked contender and he’ll be taking on Josh Thomson, who is currently ranked No. 4 and was supposed to fight for the title next before champion Anthony Pettis got injured,” UFC President Dana White said. “The stakes are really high in this fight and both of these guys want to fight for the belt. Top to bottom, this card is stacked!”

Tickets for UFC^® on FOX: HENDERSON VS. THOMSON go on sale Friday, Dec. 6 at 10 a.m. CT and are priced at $250, $150, $100, $75, $50 and $40. Tickets will be available at all Ticketmaster locations and the United Center Box Office. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase atwww.ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.

UFC^® Fight Club^™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 10 a.m. CT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, Dec. 5 starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

Media interested in obtaining credentials for the event are encouraged to apply at https://cervello.ufc.com/signup/UFConFOX10 Deadline to apply is December 20, 2013.

For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com.  All bouts live and subject to change.

Universally recognized for its action-packed, can’t-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC^® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. In 2012, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter^®, which now airs on FOX Sports 1.

In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 145 countries, to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide, in 28 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and Australia via Main Event and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website,UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with more than 2.6 million followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best-selling DVDs and video games, UFC FIT^™, an in-home fitness and nutrition program, an internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TV^® offering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, a new franchise in development with EA, UFC GYM^®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo^® festivals, branded apparel and trading cards.

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