Chuck Liddell
More than 50 celebs expected for red carpet
Anaheim isn’t quite Hollywood, but it isn’t that far away, either. Regardless, the UFC’s network debut on Fox will get the full red carpet treatment on Saturday night.
On Thursday, the UFC and Fox made public for the first time a list of celebrities from the entertainment and sports worlds expected to attend the UFC on Fox event at the Honda Center. More than 50 stars will walk the red carpet before heading into the arena for the heavyweight title fight between champion Cain Velasquez and challenger Junior dos Santos.
Not surprisingly, the vast majority of television celebrities expected to attend represent programs on Fox, FX or Fuel TV, including Golden Globe nominee Matthew Morrison and Harry Shum Jr. from “Glee,” one of Fox’s most successful and critically acclaimed shows, which is viewed by upwards of 7 million people each week. And “Fox NFL Sunday” co-hosts Michael Strahan and Howie Long will attend. Fox has done regular UFC on Fox promotion on its NFL broadcasts since the deal was announced, and Strahan even did a segment earlier in the NFL season referencing the UFC. Also attending will be film star Mickey Rourke, a regular at UFC events who even celebrated the opening weekend of “Iron Man 2” by attending UFC 113 in Montreal, and Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, who Tweets regularly about the UFC.
MMA stars expected to attend the red carpet include Michael Bisping, Gina Carano, Carlos Condit, bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell, Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez, UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre and Brian Stann.
Below is the current (as of Thursday) list of red carpet celebrities:
Fox
Michael Strahan (Fox NFL Sunday)
Howie Long (Fox NFL Sunday)
Harry Shum Jr. (Glee)
Matthew Morrison (Glee)
Odette Annable (House)
Jesse Spencer (House)
Howie Mandel (Mobbed)
Max Greenfield (New Girl)
Jake Johnson (New Girl)
Lamorne Morris (New Girl)
Hannah Simone (New Girl)
FX
Joelle Carter (Justified)
Walton Goggins (Justified)
Nick Searcy (Justified)
Nick Kroll (The League)
Dayton Callie (Sons of Anarchy)
Ron Perlman (Sons of Anarchy)
Dorian Brown (Wilfred)
Jason Gann (Wilfred)
Fiona Gubelmann (Wilfred)
Fuel TV
Danny Kass (Adventures of Danny & The Dingo)
Luke Trembath (Adventures of Danny & The Dingo)
Bas Rutten (Punk Payback with Bas Rutten)
Mike “Rooftop” Escamilla (Strangers in Danger)
Zack “Catfish” Yankush (Strangers in Danger)
Charlie Andrews (Knights of Mayhem)
Sports
Jim Brown (NFL Hall of Famer)
Brad Penny (Major League Baseball)
Kelly Slater (Professional Surfer)
Film, Television and Music
Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters)
David Arquette
Travis Barker
Gina Carano (Haywire)
Claire Coffee (Grimm)
Ryan Guzman (Step Up)
Gilles Marini (Brothers & Sisters)
Nicole Murphy (Model)
Ronnie Mund (The Howard Stern Show)
Amanda Righetti (The Mentalist)
Mickey Rourke (Immortals)
Matt Sanders (Avenged Sevenfold)
Karina Smirnoff (Dancing with the Stars)
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family)
Nick Swardson (Jack and Jill)
Kenny Wormald (Footloose)
Neon Trees
UFC
Michael Bisping
Carlos Condit
Dominick Cruz
Chuck Liddell
Gilbert Melendez
Georges St-Pierre
Brian Stann