David Schwarz sent along the following:
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 5 FINALS ARE SET!
Lightweights Nate Diaz And Manuel Gamburyan To Fight On The Ultimate Fighter 5 Season Finale
On Spike TV
Live Event To Air Saturday, June 23 From Las Vegas
New York, NY — June 15, 2007 — Two of the world’s top up-and-coming lightweight mixed martial arts fighters, Manuel Gamburyan and Nate Diaz, have both endured a long and arduous six-week test on The Ultimate Fighter 5 to advance to the live finale on Saturday, June 23 at 9:00pm on Spike TV from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV. The winner will receive a six-figure contract with the premier mixed martial arts organization in the world, The Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Both Diaz and Gamburyan have strong UFC bloodlines as both have close relatives who fight in the UFC. Despite the two being members of Team Pulver while on the show, The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale between the teammates will certainly have a personal edge to it, as Nate Diaz will look to avenge the devastating and controversial defeat of his brother Nick at the hands of Manuel’s cousin, Karo Parisyan, at UFC 49 in August, 2004. The split-decision loss was Nick’s first in the UFC and derailed his path to a title shot while helping elevate Parisyan to among the sport’s elite welterweights. Nate will now have the chance on a national stage to exact revenge with his older brother serving as his cornerman, while Karo corners his cousin Manuel across the Octagon.
Gamburyan’s road to the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 5 started with a submission via Kimura arm-lock over Noah Thomas in the preliminary round. In the quarterfinals, he used his judo and striking abilities to earn a unanimous decision over Matt Wiman. Most recently, Gamburyan defeated Joe Lauzon in the semifinals to advance to the Finale.
Diaz has stormed to the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 5, beginning with a tough win over Rob Emerson in the second round during their preliminary matchup. In the quarterfinals, Diaz used a triangle choke to defeat the explosive Corey Hill. A war with Gray Maynard resulted in Diaz’s hand being raised in the center of the Octagon, and he moves on to the Finale to fight his Team Pulver training partner Manny Gamburyan.
As previously announced, The Ultimate Fighter 5 coaches and former UFC champions, BJ Penn (10-3-1) and Jens Pulver (21-6-1) square off in the co-main event.
Spike TV, the first network for men, is available in 91.6 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc.
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