UFC 149 Aldo vs. Koch, Several Bouts Confirmed

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Monday made UFC 149: Aldo vs. Koch official for the promotions July 21 debut in Calgary.

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will defend his belt against Erik Koch in the main event.

Aldo (21-1) has defended his belt five times since winning it while in the WEC. He also hasn’t lost a fight in six-and-a-half years, which amounts to 14 consecutive victories.

Aldo last fought on his home turf in Brazil in January, where he easily handled then-No. 1 contender Chad Mendes, knocking him out in the final moment of the first round.

The only loss to mar Koch’s 13-1 professional record is to Mendes, while both were still in the WEC. Koch has since reeled off four consecutive victories, including a win over The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 winner Johnathan Brookins last September.

The UFC 149 fight card will also feature former light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua squaring off with Thiago Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira facing Cheick Kongo, Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Thiago Alves, and a middleweight showdown between Michael Bisping and Tim Boetsch.

Five Canadians will also step into the Octagon on July 21 as Edmonton’s Mitch Clarke faces lightweight Anton Kuivanen; Calgary’s Nick Ring battles middleweight Court McGee; Sudbury, Ontario’s Mitch Gagnon takes on bantamweight Bryan Caraway; Oshawa, Ontario native Antonio Carvalho will challenge featherweight George Roop; and Saint John, New Brunswick’s Ryan Jimmo meets light heavyweight Anthony Perosh.

Tickets for UFC149: Aldo vs. Koch go on sale to the public on Saturday, May 12 at 10 a.m. MTN. UFC Fight Club members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event on Thursday, May 10 at 10 a.m. MTN via the website ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers on Friday, May 11,starting at 10 a.m. MTN. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

The July 21 event marks the first of three UFC events taking place in Canada in 2012 as Toronto (Sept. 22, location to be determined) and Montreal (Nov. 17, Bell Centre) are also set with UFC dates this calendar year.

Aldo and Koch will join local UFC middleweight Nick Ring and UFC Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright for a press conference in Calgary on Wednesday, May 9 at 10 a.m. MTN at Shaw Court, which will be streamed live online.

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