UFC 146 Headed to Atlanta for First Event There Since September 2008

Philips Arena, Atlanta

Card will be UFC’s fourth in Georgia

For the first time since a September 2008 card featuring Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans, the UFC will host a show in Georgia.

The UFC 146 pay-per-view is headed for an April 21 date in Atlanta. The news was revealed on Tuesday night’s episode of “UFC Tonight” on Fuel TV. The event is expected to take place at Philips Arena, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.

No fights for the card were announced on the show. But the UFC has no shortage of fighters who have called the Peach State home, including former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, former bantamweight champion Brian Bowles and Anthony Johnson, who fights in the co-main event Saturday at UFC 142.

The UFC’s last trip to Atlanta, for UFC 88, featured a main event between Evans and Liddell that saw Evans score what was then the biggest win of his career. He knocked Liddell out in the second round and went on to a title shot against Griffin, which he won to become the light heavyweight champion. Liddell would not win again in his MMA career, losing by knockout to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Rich Franklin before retiring. UFC 88 also featured a body kick knockout by Franklin against Matt Hamill and Dan Henderson’s first UFC win in more than 10 years after returning from Pride.

UFC 146 will be the promotion’s fourth trip to Georgia. Prior to UFC 88 in Atlanta, the UFC held two pre-Zuffa events in Augusta, UFC 11 in September 2006 and UFC 13 in May 2007. UFC 13 featured a light heavyweight tournament won by Guy Mezger over Tito Ortiz and a heavyweight tournament won by Randy Couture.