NATE ‘THE GREAT’ MARQUARDT AND RICK ‘THE HORROR’ STORY HEADLINE VERSUS’ FOURTH LIVE ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP (UFC) EVENT ON JUNE 26

NEW YORK —VERSUS will air its second UFC^® event of the year on Sunday, June 26, with a main event featuring veteran fighter Nate “The Great” Marquardt, in his first ever welterweight match, taking on Rick “The Horror” Story. The highly anticipated three-round battle originates from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh and will air live on VERSUS at 9 p.m. ET.

VERSUS will once again offer extended coverage of the event with two live shows, a 60-minute pre-fight show and 30-minute wrap-up show, hosted by Todd Harris and featuring MMA writer Ariel Helwani and UFC Fighter Stephan Bonnar. Tina Dixon will serve as a reporter for the shows, conducting interviews with the fighters. The pre-show will also include an exclusive interview with UFC President Dana White, as well as one-on-one interviews with Marquardt and Story before they enter the Octagon^®.

Marquardt (34-10-2) is a UFC veteran and seven-time King of Pancrase. He recently dropped weight to compete at 170-pounds and has victories over Martin Kampmann and Dan Miller in the middleweight division. Marquardt will have to use his black belt jiu-jitsu skills when facing Story (13-3) who is fresh off a phenomenal win over former number one contender Thiago Alves on May 28. The 26-year-old Story has six straight wins under his belt and will look for his seventh against his most seasoned opponent to-date.

The night’s undercard features a heavyweight showdown between Pat “HD” Barry (6-2), a former professional kickboxer, and Cheick Kongo (25-6-2), a lethal 6’ 4” striker. Additionally, Seattle native Matt “The Immortal” Brown (13-10) will try to secure a win against John “Doomsday” Howard (14-6) in the night’s second featured welterweight battle. Finally, heavyweight Christian Morecraft (7-1-0) will take on former NFL player and rising star Matt Mitrione (4-0).