NEW YORK, NY, May 19, 2008— UFC lightweight contender Spencer “The King” Fisher will battle fellow Iowa native and up-and-coming mixed martial artist Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens Saturday, June 21 at 9:00 pm on the undercard of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter 7” finale. The live three hour fight card will emanate from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV and will be the first ever presented in high definition on Spike TV.
Fisher, a Bettendorf resident and Miletich Fighting Systems Camp member, is looking to rebound from a hard fought loss this past November to Frankie Edgar at UFC 78: Validation. With wins over such highly regarded fighters as Thiago Alves, Josh Neer, Sam Stout, Matt Wiman and Dan Lauzon, the two-year veteran of the UFC has established himself as one of the stronger standup fighters within the lightweight division. A victory over the much younger Stephens will only further cement Fisher as one of the elite lightweight contenders.
Since losing his UFC debut to Din Thomas at UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson, the 21-year-old Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens has defeated both Diego Saraiva and “The Ultimate Fighter 5” contestant Cole Miller bringing his UFC record to 2-1-0. A native of Des Moines, Iowa and a Des Moines Mixed Martial Arts Academy member, Stephens would be thrust into the upper echelon of the division with a victory over the proven UFC veteran Spencer Fisher.
Submission specialists go head-to-head as Salt Lake City’s Jeremy Horn (88-17-5) takes on former assistant coach for “The Ultimate Fighter 3” Dean “The Boogeyman” Lister (10-5). With over 100 professional mixed martial arts fights under his belt, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist Horn looks to bounce back following a loss to Nate Marquardt via submission at UFC 81 Breaking Point. The 32-year-old Horn boasts an impressive list of wins over such fighters as “The Ultimate Fighter 7” coach Forrest Griffin, Josh Burkman and former UFC light heavyweight champ, Chuck Liddell. After spending most of 2007 recovering from a torn biceps muscle, Lister returned to the octagon this past December for UFC 79 Nemesis, where he defeated Jordan Radev via unanimous decision.
Also on the card, “The Ultimate Fighter 2” contestant Josh Burkman (20-5) battles Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist Dustin Hazelett (12-5). Both fighters return to the octagon following recent losses with Burkman falling to Mike Swick during UFC Fight Night 12 and Hazelett suffering a TKO at UFC 82 by Josh Koscheck.
Marvin “The Beastman” Eastman takes on Iowa native Drew McFedries (6-3) and protégé of “The Ultimate Fighter 5” coach Jens Pulver. Eastman most recently defeated Terry Martin via unanimous decision during UFC 81 Breaking Point, while McFedries is coming off of a TKO loss to Patrick Cote at UFC Fight Night Swick vs. Burkman.
*Due to time constraints, not all undercard bouts will air
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, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Bell ExpressVU, and Viewers Choice, and commercially through Joe Hand Promotions. In addition to its North American distribution, UFC programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit www.ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or www.ufcespanol.com.
Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa™, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC or other respective owners.
About Spike TV
Spike TV is available in 96.1 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com.
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