Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber (James Law/HeavyMMA)
Two titles on the line at July 7 show in Las Vegas
Tickets for one of the most anticipated title fights in UFC history go on sale this week. And as a bonus, fans get a second title fight in the co-main event.
UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen 2 will take place July 7 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main event is the highly anticipated rematch between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and his arch rival, Chael Sonnen. In the co-main event, bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz puts his belt on the line against Urijah Faber – another pair with an icy history.
Tickets to the general public go on sale Friday at 9 a.m. Eastern. But members of the UFC Fight Club can purchase tickets Wednesday starting at 1 p.m. Eastern, and subscribers to the UFC’s newsletter can get tickets early on Thursday at 9 a.m. with their presale password. Tickets for UFC 148 are priced at $125, $250, $400, $600, $850 and $1,200, plus fees. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or the MGM Grand box office.
The UFC 148 card has seen some changes in the last week. The Silva-Sonnen rematch originally was planned for UFC 147 in a soccer stadium in Rio de Janeiro. But complications arose when a United Nations conference was booked in Rio the same week. Last week, UFC president Dana White announced the plug had to be pulled on the soccer stadium and that the Silva-Sonnen fight would be moved to Las Vegas. That put it in obvious main event status, bumping the Cruz-Faber bantamweight title fight down to co-main event status.
Also on the main card, Tito Ortiz will have what likely will be his retirement fight when he meets Forrest Griffin in the rubber match of their trilogy. Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin meets former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le. And former middleweight title challenger Demian Maia drops to welterweight for the first time and will meet Dong Hyun Kim. A middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and Tim Boetsch that originally was planned for the card, according to a report from MMA Junkie, has been moved to UFC 149 on July 21 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.