UFC
Tickets on sale this week for UFC "Battle on the Bayou" in New Orleans; four fights confirmed for Spike TV card
Jul 27, 2011 - 4:25:08 PM Tickets on sale this week for UFC "Battle on the Bayou" in New Orleans; four fights confirmed for Spike TV card

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC's "Battle on the Bayou" comes live to Spike TV this September, and the organization has now officially set four of the fights for the night's main card.

A joint venture with Anheuser-Busch owned Bud Light, the UFC Fight Night 25 event will air live from the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in Louisiana, headlined by a welterweight clash between Jake Shields and Jake Ellenberger.

Confirmed for the night's televised card are two fights featuring Ultimate Fighter season winners, as well as the return of middleweight contender Alan Belcher. TUF season 11 winner Court McGee will face off against Dongi Yang, TUF 12 season winner Jonathan Brookins drops to featherweight to face Erik Koch, and Belcher meets Jason MacDonald, all live on Spike.

"Jake Shields has fought some of the best guys in the sport and he wants to prove that he deserves another shot at the title," UFC President Dana White said in the UFC's official announcement of the event. "But Jake Ellenberger has won his last four fights and wants to knock off a top contender like Shields. Shields has phenomenal jiu-jitsu, but Ellenberger thinks he can overpower him in the Octagon. This should be a great main event for the Battle on the Bayou."

Shields enters the fight off his first loss in seven years - a loss that ended a 15 fight winning streak - to Georges St. Pierre in their Welterweight Championship bout at UFC 129. Taking on a tough challenger in Ellenberger, Shields wants to expose what he feels is the weakness in his opponent's game in this fight.

"Jake Ellenberger’s a tough up-and-comer with good wrestling and boxing, but I think jiu-jitsu is his weak point and I want to expose that," Shields said. "This is a really important fight for me. I had a really huge winning streak prior to my last fight and I want to put together another one starting in New Orleans."

For his part, Ellenberger has seen this as a fight that he can win, and believes his style presents a major problem for the highly experienced Shields.

"I respect Jake Shields, but I don't think he's fought anyone like me," said Ellenberger. "I'm a bad match up for him. He's not as hungry as me and he doesn't want it as bad as me. This is the opportunity I've been waiting for my whole life. It's my time to showcase my skills."

UFC Fight Club members can get their first crack at tickets beginning at 10AM CT this Thursday, July 28, while UFC Newsletter subscribers get a presale at the same time on Friday. Tickets go on sale to the public on Saturday, July 30 at 10AM CT. Ticket prices range from $85-$250.