Ultimate Fighting Championship delivers smiles and more in December with visits to hospital, home, and toy drives.

LAS VEGAS – Members of the Ultimate Fighting Championship were busy this holiday season visiting a hospital, a home for teens, working with hospital volunteers, and participating in several toy drives with The Salvation Army and Lotus Broadcasting, Las Vegas’ leading radio company.

UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir visited Summerlin Hospital Medical Center with middleweight contender Phil Baroni and Ring Card beauty Rachelle Leah on Dec. 9.

Baroni and Leah were featured live by KVBC (Channel 3) cameras as they delivered several bags filled with toys to volunteers for The Salvation Army’s annual Toy Drive. The duo signed autograph cards, mingled with visitors and spent time thanking volunteers for their efforts.

Mir joined Baroni and Leah afterward as they toured the Summerlin Hospital Pediatric Unit. Mir’s championship belt was a big hit with the children, some too small to carry the belt – although they tried.

Mir, Baroni and Leah went from room to room and passed out toys to the children and their family members and stopped at nurses’ stations to talk with the staff, pass out UFC gifts and sign autographs.

"I was glad that I was able to participate again this year," Mir said. "It was difficult to walk into some of the hospital rooms, but it helps me remember how lucky I am."

Mir and Baroni again teamed up on Dec.15 when they joined Marc Laimon and a handful of other mixed martial arts athletes for several hours at Girls & Boys Town, a home for children ages 7 to 17. Athletes signed autographs, posed for photos and passed out UFC beenies, caps and T-shirts to more than 80 children and volunteers.

"It is always nice to be able to get out in the community and help people, especially around the holidays," said Laimon, an assistant coach on UFC’s new reality television show The Ultimate Fighter which premieres Jan. 17 on Spike TV.

Baroni also helped deliver toys on Dec. 17 to the Lotus Broadcasting Toy Drive where he was interviewed on "97.1 FM, The Point" by radio personality Lark Williams. In addition to several bags full of toys and UFC logo shirts and caps, UFC President Dana White donated two Octagon-side tickets for UFC 51: Super Saturday, the UFC’s next pay-per-view event on Feb. 5 at Mandalay Bay.

The UFC wishes everyone a healthy, happy and safe holiday season. Our UFC offices in Las Vegas, NV, will be closed Dec. 24-26.

On TV this Jan. 17 watch for the premiere of UFC’s reality show The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. The 13-episode series, which airs Monday nights at 11 p.m., is hosted by top recording artist Willa Ford. The show will follow 16 athletes as they train, workout and live together. The final four fighters will meet in championship matches in a middleweight division and a light-heavyweight division to determine who will win UFC contracts.

UFC 51: Super Saturday

The UFC’s next pay-per-view telecast will be UFC 51: Super Saturday LIVE at 10 p.m. EST, Feb. 5, 2005 from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Tickets for the all-star, nine-fight card are now on sale at the Mandalay Bay Box Office (877-632-7400), at all Ticketmaster locations, and on the internet at www.ticketmaster.com and www.mandalaybay.com.

Tickets for this event are priced at $350, $250, $150, $75 and $35. To order tickets by telephone call 877-880-0880 or 702-891-7777. Ticket purchases are subject to transaction fees. UFCâ 51: Super Saturday will be available LIVE on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST on iNDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu and Viewers Choice Canada. The suggested retail price is $29.95.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship, based in Las Vegas, NV., is the world’s premier mixed martial arts sports association. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the UFC programs six live pay-per-view events yearly through cable and satellite providers. In addition, UFC programs are distributed on iNDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, TVN, Fox Sports Net, Bell ExpressVu and internationally through Viewers Choice Canada, WOWOW, Inc., in Japan and Globosat in Brazil.

Zuffa, LLC, licenses the distribution of UFC video games through Crave Entertainment and Take Two TDK Mediactive, its fight show DVDs through Studioworks Entertainment, a Ventura Distribution company and its music CDs are published by Nitrus Records/DRT Entertainment, the official publisher of UFC music.  "Ultimate Fighting Championship," "Ultimate Fighting," "UFC," "Submission," "As Real As It Gets" and the Octagon cage design are registered trademarks or trademarks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC, in the U.S., Japan and other jurisdictions. All other marks that may be referenced herein belong to their respective holders.

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