MIKE SWICK vs. JOSH BURKMAN


DREW MCFEDRIES vs. PATRICK COTE


THIAGO TAVARES vs. MICHIHIRO OMIGAWA


WEDNESDAY, JAN. 23, 2008


UFC Fight Night Live Tickets


The UFC® and Spike TV will return to The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday, January 23 for the first UFC® Fight Night™ of 2008, featuring a welterweight battle between Mike Swick and Josh Burkman.


"Mike Swick and Josh Burkman, two tough veterans of The Ultimate Fighter® will be facing each other for the first UFC Fight Night of 2008," said Dana White, UFC President.  "Swick is dropping down to 170 pounds for this fight.  He has always had speed and power, so this will be an exciting new look at him in a lighter weight class.  Burkman is a great wrestler, and he brings it every time he fights. This will be an explosive main event and real test for both fighters."


Burkman, winner of three of his last four bouts, including a recent decision win over Forrest Petz at UFC 77 in October, will be looking to kick off the New Year by spoiling the 170-pound debut of Swick.


A former middleweight contender, Swick won five in a row in the UFC at 185 pounds before losing a hard fought decision to Yushin Okami at UFC 69 in April.  His welterweight debut was scheduled for September, but an injury forced him to delay his foray into the 170-pound weight class until January.


Also signed for the show are what should be explosive bouts between middleweights Drew McFedries and Patrick Cote, and lightweights Thiago Tavares and Michihiro Omigawa.


A member of the MFS Elite camp in Iowa, McFedries' punching power makes him one of the most feared middleweights in the world, and this power was in evidence during his stoppage of Alessio Sakara and his 33 second knockout of Jordan Radev.  In Cote, McFedries will be facing an experienced foe who has finally hit his stride in the UFC by decisioning Scott Smith and stopping Kendall Grove. 


Brazil's Thiago Tavares is one of the lightweight division's brightest young stars.  A punishing ground fighter, Tavares' two fight UFC win streak was snapped in September when he lost a close decision to fellow prospect Tyson Griffin, and he is eager to get back in the win column against PRIDE® veteran Omigawa, who made a good impression on UFC fans with a gallant effort in defeat against Matt Wiman in his Octagon™ debut in September.


For more information about UFC 79, UFC 80, UFC Fight Night, UFC 81 or any upcoming UFC event, visit www.ufc.com or uk.ufc.com.  All bouts are live and subject to change.


Spike TV is available in 96.1 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks.  MTV Networks is a division of Viacom International Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).


UFC Fight Night Live Tickets


Palms Casino Resort