'UFC 166: Velasquez vs. dos Santos III' tickets on sale Aug. 2

Tickets for “UFC 166: Velasquez vs. dos Santos III,” which features a headliner rubber match between UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez (12-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) and ex-titleholder Junior dos Santos (16-2 MMA, 10-1 UFC), go on sale next month.

The event takes place Oct. 19 at Houston’s Toyota Center. The evening’s main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and Facebook.

UFC officials recently announced tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, Aug. 2, at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT local time). However, UFC Fight Club members can buy tickets on Wednesday, July 31, at 11 a.m. ET, and UFC.com e-newsletter subscribers can purchase tickets on Thursday, Aug. 1, at 11 a.m. ET.

Ticket prices haven’t been announced.

Velasquez and dos Santos meet for the third time in less than two years in a heavily anticipated trilogy contest. The fighters set up the trilogy in May at UFC 160 when Velasquez stopped Antonio Silva in the headliner and dos Santos knocked out Mark Hunt in the co-headliner. The bout was considered a title eliminator for dos Santos.

Velasquez and dos Santos first met at UFC on FOX 1 in November 2011, when dos Santos stopped Velasquez in just 64 seconds. That was Velasquez’s first defense of the belt after taking it from Brock Lesnar.

In their rematch at UFC 155, though, Velasquez dominated dos Santos for five rounds to win back the belt. His win over Silva marked his first successful title defense.

In addition to the night’s headliner, the evening’s lineup also includes welterweights Hector Lombard (32-4-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) vs. Nate Marquardt (32-12-2 MMA, 10-5 UFC), lightweight Gilbert Melendez (21-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) vs. “The Ultimate Fighter 1? winner Diego Sanchez (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC), and lightweights  Tony Ferguson (13-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) vs. Mike Rio (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC). More bouts are expected to be announced shortly.

For the latest on UFC 166, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Cain Velasquez)