Middleweight Showdown at FOX UFC FIGHT NIGHT: MACHIDA VS. ROCKHOLD on Saturday, April 18

The UFC^® returns to Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. for FOX UFC FIGHT NIGHT: MACHIDA VS. ROCKHOLD live on FOX Saturday, April 18 (8:00 PM ET) with an exciting main event pitting former UFC champ Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida against former STRIKEFORCE^® titleholder and fourth-ranked contender Luke Rockhold in a pivotal bout for the middleweight division.

FOX UFC analyst Daniel Cormier trains with Rockhold and believes he’s ready for the test against one of the best in Machida. “Luke is in for a serious fight against Lyoto,” he says. “He’s been asking to fight one of the best in the division. He believes in a matchup of anyone who wants to strike with him, he has the advantage. He doesn’t only think he’s going to beat Lyoto, he’s going to finish Lyoto and make a statement that he deserves the title shot.” Click the link to watch Cormier’s break down of the fight. http://bit.ly/1DoJRbS

Machida (22-5, fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif. by way of Belem, Brazil) returns to action following a “Performance of the Night” award against Chris Weidman and a recent first round TKO victory over CB Dollaway that netted him another “Performance of the Night” honor. Currently ranked No. 2, the Karate expert has become a fan favorite known for his unique counterstriking and lightning-quick speed. Having won three of four bouts since dropping to middleweight, Machida looks at home in his new division and is hoping to become just the third fighter in UFC history to win titles in multiple weight classes.

Rockhold (13-2, fighting out of San Jose, Calif.) has long maintained that he is one of the elite fighters at 185 pounds and just needed the opportunity to prove it. After winning the STRIKEFORCE middleweight title from “Jacare” in 2011, Rockhold went on to pick up dominant victories over current top 15 fighters Tim Kennedy, Costas Philippou, Tim Boetsch and most recently, Michael Bisping. The AKA-based fighter who routinely trains alongside Cain Velasquez and Cormier hopes that in 2015, he’ll add UFC champion to his resume.

Cormier and co-analyst Brian Stann join host Curt Menefee on the desk for the two-hour main card on FOX, as well as the two-hour prelims on FOX Saturday night. Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan call the fights live on FOX from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

In addition to the Machida vs. Rockhold headliner, the main card features three more exciting matchups, including another middleweight clash between No. 1 ranked Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (21-3, 1NC) and Chris Camozzi (19-9). The No. 5 ranked featherweight Cub Swanson (21-6) squares off against No. 9 ranked Max Holloway (12-3), while No. 8 ranked strawweight Felice Herrig (10-5) and No. 10 Paige VanZant (4-1) kick off the main card with a pivotal division clash.

The two-hour FOX UFC FIGHT NIGHT PRELIMS begin on FOX (6:00 PM ET) and feature four more action-filled bouts, including No. 13 ranked lightweight Jim Miller (24-5, 1NC) against Beneil Dariush (10-1). No. 8 ranked light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux (17-6) battles No. 15 Patrick Cummins (7-1). Corey Anderson (6-0) takes on Gian Villante (12-5) in another light heavyweight bout, while No. 6 ranked bantamweight Takeya Mizugaki (20-8-2) and undefeated Aljamain Sterling (10-0) open the PRELIMS.

Saturday night coverage begins with the UFC FIGHT NIGHT PREFIGHT SHOW on FOX Sports 2 at 5:00 PM ET, with host Ariel Helwani and analysts Cormier, Stann and UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman previewing the evening’s action. Heidi Androl interviews fighters onsite. The evening wraps on FOX Sports 2 (10:00 PM ET) with the UFC FIGHT NIGHT POSTFIGHT SHOW, where the analysts break down the results and interview the winners.

The UFC WEIGH-IN SHOW airs Friday, April 17 (4:00 PM ET) on FOX Sports 2 with Helwani hosting, while Weidman, Cormier and Stann offer analysis as the fighters attempt to make weight. Androl interviews the fighters backstage.

Leading up to Saturday’s main event, FOXSports.com offers comprehensive coverage of UFC FIGHT NIGHT with fight analysis and interviews with the featured fighters. Fans can monitor FIGHT NIGHT action with the live blog and keep score with FightTrax, the app that tracks all the fight action in real time. Fans can also follow minute-by-minute commentary via @UFCONFOX on Twitter and use the hashtag #UFCNewark for the latest updates.

The live FOX UFC FIGHT NIGHT: MACHIDA VS. ROCKHOLD action and related studio programming on FOX and FOX Sports 2 are available to customers of participating pay TV providers via FOX Sports GO app and on the web through FOXSportsGO.com. FOX Sports GO is currently available for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and Fire phones and select Windows devices. Fans can download the mobile app for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store and Windows Store.

Watch the FOX UFC FIGHT NIGHT: MACHDIA VS. ROCKHOLD promo:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FtC1XtcAmo

Following the fights in Newark, FOX Sports 1 features the premiere the new season of THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER: AMERICAN TOP TEAM VS. THE BLACKZILIANS on Wednesday, April 22 (10:00 PM ET).

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FOX UFC FIGHT NIGHT: MACHIDA VS. ROCKHOLD Fight Card