TEAM GRACIE VS TEAM PENN TO BATTLE AT ELITEXC EVENT ON SEPT. 15
Posted on | September 10, 2007 | No Comments
TWO OF MMA’S MOST SUCCESSFUL FIGHT CAMPS
SET TO CLASH IN ELITEXC’s “UPRISING”
ON SATURDAY, SEPT. 15, IN HAWAII
Fighters From Highly Regarded Gracie and Penn Teams To Clash In Two Of The Televised Matches
On EliteXC’s “Uprising” Cage Spectacular From Honolulu Live On SHOWTIME At 10 P.M. ET/PT
HONOLULU (Sept. 10, 2007) – For years, Mixed Martial Arts legends BJ Penn and Cesar Gracie have captained two of the most prolific and respected fight camps in MMA.
Yet, interestingly, a Penn pupil has never fought a Gracie guy. Until now, that is.
On Saturday, Sept. 15, the famous camps — Penn’s is in Hawaii, Gracie’s is in California — will make history when they collide not once, but twice, in EliteXC’s eagerly anticipated “Uprising” mega-MMA cage fight card at Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The biggest, most significant MMA event in Hawaii’s history will mark the initial collaboration between EliteXC and Hawaii’s most prominent promoters, ICON Sport and ROTR (Rumble On The Rock). The top fights will be televised on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast). The undercard will also be streamed live on ProElite.com following the SHOWTIME telecast.
EliteXC middleweight champion Murilo “Ninja” Rua (murilorua.proelite.com) defends against hard-hitting, exciting ICON Sport titleholder, “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (Robbielawler.proelite.com) in a tremendous, pick ‘em main event.
But there will be plenty of interest and intrigue when two of Penn’ and Gracie’s most talented protégés step into the cage to battle each other for pride, bragging rights – and revenge.
BJ defeated two Gracie family members in one year – no small feat — and now the Gracies are sending their top students to the islands to return the favor.
Gracie’s Nick Diaz, one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in MMA, will make his anxiously awaited EliteXC debut and first start in six months when he faces hometown star “Iron” Mike Aina in one of the enthralling Team Gracie vs. Team Penn match-ups. In the other, Gracie’s talented, streaking top-10 welterweight, Jake Shields meets Penn’s Renato “Charuto” Verissimo.
“September 15 will be a historic battle between two of the greatest fight camps in all of MMA,” EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw said. “It is amazing that these two camps have never gone against each other. To have two battles between these storied fight families in one night is fantastic.”
While the showdowns are highly anticipated, there is no bad blood between the two high end Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu camps, according to Sam Caplan, MMA writer for CBS Sportsline.com.
“It is more of a professional rivalry between the old and the new,” said Caplan, noting that Gracie is about 40 years old and Penn is 28. “They have similar styles, but the main difference is that Gracie is old school and Penn is from the new school.
“It’s going to be a clash of the old school of Jiu-Jitsu and the new school. It’s a different culture, but they respect each other greatly.”
Said Shields: “I think it (Penn vs. Gracie) makes the entire event very exciting. You’ve got Nick and I from Cesar’s and you’ve got those two from Team Penn and they are the two best Jiu-Jitsu schools in the country, so it’s kind of a rivalry. We get along with those guys.
“But it’s a friendly rivalry to go out and show them that we’re better. You always want to make your camp proud. Nick and I want to go out and win and show that our team is the best out there.’’
While Diaz and Aina are trained in the same discipline, they could not be more different. Diaz is a national MMA star, recognized as one of the preeminent fighters in the country. An established fighter returning from a suspension, he took on some of the sport’s biggest names during a three-year stretch (2003-2006).
A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Diaz (nickdiaz.proelite.com) will be entering the cage for the first time since an impressive gogoplata submission victory over Takanori Gomi in a Fight of the Year candidate in February 2007 that wound up going into the books as a no contest.
Aina specializes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and kickboxing. He may not be household name in MMA but he has defeated the likes of Rick Screeton, Rosco McClellan, Albert Rios and Kaleo Kwan. Aina has never turned down a fight and wants to brawl.
“This is a huge fight for me,” Aina said. “I know what a victory over a fighter like Diaz would mean to my career and to my team. This is going to be exciting.’’
Shields and Charuto are both trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but they have dissimilar fighting backgrounds. Shields had a strong amateur wrestling background and began training with the Gracie Fight Team in 2001. Charuto, who once coached Penn, is more proficient in Jiu-Jitsu.
In a division that is top-heavy in talent, Shields (jakeshields.proelite.com) is considered one of the best at 170 pounds. Charuto (renatoverissimo.proelite.com), who only fights the best, is a jiu-jitsu black belt expert and still considered one of the top Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitors in the world.
“The beauty of this fight and all the fights on ‘Uprising’ is that you just can’t point to one of the fights and go ‘he is going to win,’ ’’ Shaw said. “This is an excellent card from top to bottom and proves that EliteXC places worldwide talent in the forefront of this growing sport.’’
The Golden Girl of MMA, sexy Gina Carano (ginacarano.proelite.com), will face Tonya Evinger (tonyaevinger.proelite.com) and Joey Villasenor (joeyvillesenor.proelite.com) will meet fellow tough guy, Riki Fukuda (rikifukuda.proelite.com), in the other televised bouts.
With the exception of “Ninja”-Lawler, the televised bouts are slated for three, 5-minute rounds.
EliteXC announcer Mauro Ranallo will call the play-by-play with world wrestling star Bill Goldberg and Stephen Quadros, The Fight Professor, serving as color analysts. The executive producer of the telecast will be David Dinkins, Jr. with Bob Dunphy directing.
Immediately following the SHOWTIME telecast, additional undercard fights will be streamed live on the Internet on the premier mixed martial arts social networking and entertainment site, ProElite.com.
For more information on EliteXC, ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series and other MMA-related stories, including bios, videos, photos, stats and more, please visit EliteXC.com.
About Pro Elite, Inc.
ProElite Inc. [PELE.PK] delivers the most exciting entertainment experience in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) with live arena-based entertainment events, cable television programming on Showtime Networks and community-driven interactive broadband entertainment via the Internet. ProElite embraces MMA with the highest levels of honor, integrity, discipline and self-esteem all the while remaining inclusive for fighters, fans and schools. ProElite’s live fight division, EliteXC, delivers spectacular live MMA fight events that showcase the world’s top fighters. ProElite’s interactive business, ProElite.com, capitalizes on the growing popularity of the sport of mixed martial arts by building a community of mixed martial arts enthusiasts. In addition to streaming the most exciting live fights to the web, ProElite expands the fan base of the sport by providing a comprehensive set of online social networking tools for fans, fighters and organizations. ProElite.com – Empowering the Fight Community TM
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