Donruss Entering the Octagon With Matt Serra
April 15, 2008

Arlington, TX - When Ultimate Fighting Welterweight Champion Matt "The Terror" Serra steps into the Octagon this weekend to face Georges "Rush" St. Pierre in their highly-anticipated rematch, Donruss will be there.

Donruss has signed on as a sponsor of Serra, who defeated St. Pierre a year ago in UFC 69 to win the UFC® Welterweight title via TKO in the first round. The Donruss logo will be seen on Serra's shirt, his fight shorts and his pre-fight banner at UFC 83, set for April 19th at Canada's Bell Centre.

"This is a first for us, sponsorship of an athlete," says Donruss Acquisitions Manager Samantha Newman, who worked with Serra's camp to close the deal. "But Matt has proven himself to be the ultimate fighter at the welterweight level, and we're very proud to be associated with him."

Both Serra and St. Pierre are scheduled to be a part of the Ring Kings mixed martial arts insert set in Donruss Americana II, set for a July release.

"I'm very excited to be a part of the Donruss family," Serra said. "It's exciting to know that our sport has reached the level of other major league sports and it is an honor that Donruss has memorialized our sport with a trading card."

Serra was considered an underdog going into his first bout with St. Pierre, but made believers out of UFC® fans when he was ruled the winner at the 3:25 mark of the first round. Serra, 33, carries a 16-4 record into the bout.

The fight is a fight for Canada and according to the Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization, the Serra vs. St. Pierre rematch ranks as the fastest UFC® sellout in history. The majority of more than 22,000 tickets sold were gone in the in the first 24 hours they were available.

Fighting on the undercard of the event will be popular middleweight, Rich Franklin. Coming off a loss, the fan favorite Franklin is set to climb back to the top when he takes on Travis Lutter. Franklin will also be making his trading card debut later this year in Donruss Americana II.

0