TORONTO– The Ultimate Fighting Championship®, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, announced today that tickets for its inaugural event in Calgary will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, May 12.

UFC® 149: ALDO VS. KOCH sees featherweight champion Jose Aldo defend his 145-pound crown against tenacious contender Erik Koch on Saturday, July 21 at Scotiabank Saddledome. Both fighters will join local UFC® middleweight Nick Ring and UFC® Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright for a press conference and other events (as listed below) in Calgary on Wednesday, May 9 at 10 a.m. MTN at Shaw Court.

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.

Reigning UFC® featherweight champion Jose Aldo (21-1) is undefeated in the UFC as he puts his belt on the line against knockout artistErik Koch (13-1). Considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, Aldo has reeled off 14 straight wins and has not lost since 2005. For his part, the 22-year-old Koch has but one career loss and has won four straight with two Knockout of the Night awards in those performances.

Two former UFC® champions add to the star power in Calgary as former light heavyweight championv Mauricio Rua (20-6) faces off against Thiago Silva (14-3, 1 NC) while former interim heavyweight champ Minotauro Nogueira (33-7-1, 1 NC) returns to action to face thealways dangerous Cheick Kongo (27-7-2). Seasoned veterans also clash as Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-5, 2) meets welterweight Thiago Alves (24-8) andMichael Bisping (23-4) faces middleweight Tim Boetsch (15-4).

Five Canadians will also step into the Octagon on July 21 as Edmonton’s Mitch Clarke (9-1) faces lightweight Anton Kuivanen (16-5), Calgary’s Nick Ring (12-1) battles middleweight Court McGee (13-2), Sudbury, Ontario’s Mitch Gagnon (8-1) takes on bantamweight Bryan Caraway (16-6), Oshawa, Ontario native Antonio Carvalho (13-5) will challenge featherweight George Roop (12-10-1), and Saint John, New Brunswick’s Ryan Jimmo (16-1, fighting out of Edmonton) meets light heavyweight Anthony Perosh(13-6).

 Tickets for UFC®149: ALDO VS. KOCH go on sale to the public on Saturday, May 12 at 10 a.m. MTN. Tickets are priced at $650, $400, $275, $200, $125 and $85 and are available through Ticketmaster.ca, charge by phone 1-855-985-5000, at all Ticketmaster outlets, and the Saddledome Box Office. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.

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.

UFC®149 will be available live on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, and in Canada on Shaw Communications, Bell TV, Sasktel and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.99 US/$49.99 CAN for Standard Definition and $54.99 US/$59.99 CAN for High Definition.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

UFC® 149: ALDO VS. KOCHPRESS CONFERENCE

WHEN:                      Wednesday, May 9 – 10:00 a.m. MTN (media check starts at 9:00 a.m.)

WHERE:                    Shaw Court, 630 3rd Avenue SW, Calgary

WHO:                       Jose Aldo, UFC® Featherweight Champion

Erik Koch, UFC® Featherweight Contender

Nick Ring, UFC® Middleweight and Calgary native

UFC® Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright

NOTE:                        ***This press conference will be streamed live on UFC.com. Please note, this media event is not open to the public however fans are encouraged to come meet the fighters Wednesday evening at the Chinook Centre Boston Pizza from 7-9 p.m.

CANADIAN FOOTBALL INITIATION WITH CALGARY STAMPEDERS

WHEN:                      Wednesday, May 9 – 4:00-5:00 p.m. MTN

WHERE:                    McMahon Stadium, 1817 Crowchild Trail Northwest, Calgary, AB

WHO:                                    Jose Aldo, Erik Koch and Nick Ring, members of the Calgary Stampeders

NOTE:                        Calgary native Nick Ring and members of the Calgary Stampeders will introduce Canadian football to Aldo and Koch with a training session at McMahon Stadium. Fans are encouraged to follow @calstampeders and @UFC_CA for a chance to attend thisprivate session with the fighters and players.

UFC® AUTOGRAPH SIGNING

WHEN:                      Wednesday, May 9 – 7-9 p.m. MTN

WHERE:                    Boston Pizza, Chinook Centre, 6455 Macleod Trail SW, Calgary, AB

WHO:                       Jose Aldo, Erik Koch and Nick Ring

NOTE:                        The first 25 fans will receive a free autographed UFC Encyclopedia

Additional bouts will be announced at UFC.com in the weeks to come. All bouts live and subject to change. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com.

Published by wakafightermma

Married father of two beautiful kids and Freelance Writer/Reporter who has covered MMA for over 12 years. An extensive background in studying mixed martial arts and a graduate of print journalism. I also write stories of inspiration and the fighting spirit. Author of three short books. "The Toughest Guy In Here", "Finding Bruce Lee and My JKD" and "Cate's Weekends with Daddy" Studied Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do from an early age and am a Lee historian. Covered mixed martial arts at every level from youth jiu-jitsu right up to being fully credentialed media member by the major organizations like the UFC, Bellator, WSOF, MFC and Score Fighting Series. View all posts by wakafightermma