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TOP “ULTIMATE FIGHTER®” ALUMNI TAKE TO THE OCTAGON® ON SPIKE TV’S “UFC® FIGHT NIGHT™” WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 AT 9:00PM ET/PT

posted by Kathleen Holland on July 31, 2007, in MMA Press Release, , in Mixed Martial Arts

Din Thomas, Nate Diaz, Chris Leben, and Mike Swick All Face Tough Tests In Nationally Televised Fight Card

New York, NY, July 31, 2007 – For The Ultimate Fighter® alumni Din Thomas (Season 4), Nate Diaz (Season 5 champ) Chris Leben (Season 1) and Mike Swick (Season 1), the Ultimate® Fight Night™ on Spike TV Wednesday, September 19 at 9:00pm ET/PT will provide a golden opportunity to showcase their talents in front of a nationally televised audience. Each fighter is facing a tough test with the winners moving up the UFC® ranks and another step closer to a title shot. The two-hour live fight card will take place live from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV.

Din Thomas (23-7) may have gained national recognition on Season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter last year, but the 30 year-old fighter was already well-known to mixed martial arts fans with a resume including an impressive win over current welterweight champ Matt Serra at UFC 41 in 2003. Now, the American Top Team product out of Port St. Lucie, Fl. looks to ascend the lightweight ranks against Spencer “The King” Fisher (21-3). The 31 year-old Team Miletich fighter from Bettendorf, Iowa earned national acclaim when he won a hard-fought decision over Canadian Sam Stout on Spike TV in June. With three wins in his last four UFC fights, “The King” is inching closer for a shot at the UFC lightweight throne.

A bold personality from Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter, Chris “The Crippler” Leben (16-4), was a rising star in the UFC with five straight victories until his career was sidetracked by a devastating stoppage at the hands of current middleweight king, Anderson Silva, last June. Leben, fighting out of Gresham, Ore., has lost two of his last three bouts, and is desperate for a win against Chicago’s Terry Martin (18-2). The 26-year-old Martin, working toward a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, is on a two-fight winning streak in the UFC including a first round TKO over Ivan Salaverry at UFC 71 in May.

The Ultimate Fighter 5 champ Nate Diaz (6-2) gets his first big opportunity as a UFC fighter against the tough Atlanta-based Junior Assuncao (6-2). Diaz was awarded a six-figure multi-fight deal with the UFC when he defeated Manny Gamburyan in the second round of their nationally-televised bout in June. Diaz will look to use his impressive array of submission skills against the hard-charging Assuncao.

Mike Swick (10-2) was on the fast track to a UFC title shot with a five-fight winning streak since appearing on The Ultimate Fighter 1 with wins over vets David Loiseau and Joe Riggs. However, the talented 28-year-old fighting out of San Jose, Calif. lost a decision in a three-round war to Yushin Okami at UFC 69 in April. Now he is dropping down to welterweight to fight Canadian Jonathan “The Road Warrior” Goulet (19-8), who trains with UFC star Georges St-Pierre, and is making his fifth appearance on a Spike TV fight card.

The undercard will also feature prominent The Ultimate Fighter alumni as Gray Maynard (Season 5) takes on Joe Veres, Cole Miller (Season 5) battles Leonard Garcia, and Pete “Drago” Sell (Season 4) takes on Nate Quarry (Season 4).

Spike TV is available in 91.6 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.

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