Breaking News for Amateur MMA Fighters!!!
Posted on | February 5, 2008 | No Comments
After a successful year in working with the International Fight League (IFL), the International Sports Combat Federation (ISCF) has been swamped with requests from literally hundreds of Amateur Fighters and Trainers asking the ISCF to create something like the IFL. ISCF is introducing to you the “Next Big Thing” for MMA, The
International Battle League (IBL)
The First Real Amateur MMA Team Fight League!
Already there is a lot of excitement about the new IBL. This is long overdue as it is a must that the amateur athletes are given a first class platform to display their talents. Even before the official press release was made there has already been a load of interest. There have been requests for teams from Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota, Virginia, Florida, Arkansas, Indiana and North Carolina. Several top names in MMA have voiced their support such as Pat Miletich, Bas Rutten and Keith Hackney.
The IFL is supportive of the IBL knowing it will be a great place to scout potential pro talent for the Pro IFL League. All rules and regulations of the IBL will be sanctioned by the ISCF. The goal in creating the IBL is not to compete with the IFL or any other Professional organization. The new IBL Amateur League will be a feeder organization to Professional Promotions such as the IFL. The main thing that sets the IBL apart from the IFL is the fact that the IBL is an AMATEUR Team League and although there are other things that are the same, there are also a lot of differences.
The weight classes are the same;
? Lightweight, 145 lbs. to 155 lbs.
? Welterweight, 155 lbs. to 170 lbs.
? Middleweight, 170 lbs. to 185 lbs.
? Light Heavyweight, 185 lbs. to 205 lbs.
? Heavyweight, 205 lbs. to 265 lbs.
The Team concept and competition will be the same, as each League Event will feature 4 Teams, where 2 Teams square off against each other for ranking points, wins and loses. However, the differences of the IBL Amateur League may work to its overall advantage and future success.
In the IBL, all the Teams will be “Teamed Owned” instead of owned by the League (IBL). Team Owners do not have to be directly involved in the sport of MMA. In some cases the Team Owner will be the same as the Team Coach. However, some Teams will have a separate Owner and Coach. There is no limit to the number of Coaches and or Trainers each Team can have. Each Team will be responsible for their own expenses which means they will be allowed to seek and attain their own sponsorship for expense funding and or needed equipment. Team members could be fighters all from 1 gym/school or a combined group from the city or region the team is based out of. It will be best if all the Team members live close to each other to assure unity of the Team, especially in Team practices and decision making. This concept clearly separates the IBL/ISCF Leadership from the TEAMS just as in other successful Team Leagues such as the NFL or NBA. The only difference here is that this is an AMATEUR League.
Teams will field 5 starters and 5 alternates. Each Team will be responsible for hosting 1 home event a season. Scheduled events will be held every 30 days or every 4-5 weeks, depending on venue bookings. The plan is to have a 4 month season that will provide 1 home event for each Team.
The regions of the IBL are pretty basic. The League will be divided into 3 Conferences (Western, Central and Eastern) and 3 Divisions in each Conference (Northern, Central and Southern). At the end of the 4 month season, each region of each conference will each have a Champion. There will also be 1 Wild Card Team which is the next best team of all 3 Divisions who will round out the needed 4 Teams for the Conference playoffs. The conference playoffs will take place on two events, 30 days apart (To provide plenty of rest and recovery time in case a fighter from one team is stopped by strikes for example) Once a Champion is determined from the 3 Conferences, the League will select the best performing Team from the Playoffs to be added in as the Wild Card Team to make up the IBL Final 4 Championships.
The IBL will be responsible for hosting the IBL Final 4 Championship event. At the Tournament, after weigh-ins, a hat draw will determine the parings of the first 2 match ups and the first 10 fights along with which Teams will compete first. After the first 10 fights, on the SAME NIGHT, the final two winning Teams will meet for the IBL Championship. Here is where it ads a little twist. The winning “Fighters” will each receive an IBL Championship Belts. The Winning TEAM will receive a Championship
Trophy and other Championship Awards such as individual Championship Rings, Plaques, Jackets and other things.
After the IBL Final 4 Championships, the IBL will host the IBL Grand Prix which will be a match-up of the top 10 fighters (2 from each weight class) to compete for an even more prestigious belt, the IBL Grand Prix Belt. There is a lot more that the IBL will be announcing. You can catch all the news on www.iblfights.com.
League Format
1. LEAGUE
? The League name is the IBL: International Battle League
? It is an AMATEUR “TEAM” Fight League for Mixed Martial Arts.
2. SANCTIONING
? The League will be sanctioned by the ISCF, International Sport Combat Federation.
3. MARKETING – EXPOSURE
? Apparel, Equipment, Posters, Logo clothing & merchandise items.
o A percentage will go to the Team to help with Team Expenses.
o Amateur Fighters cannot receive any portion of financial income.
o Internet Web Media Sites.
o Print – Magazine Media.
o Radio – TV Media.
? The Team Owner is responsible for himself, or the appointment of his own Sponsorship Team to seek out and attain their own sponsorship income to assist in the financial obligations of their Team.
4. FRANCHISES – OWNERS
? The ISCF shall be the determining authority to approve or deny all Owner/Franchise Applications.
? Each TEAM will have a Franchise Owner. Just like in other Sport Teams as in the NFL, NBA and their Farm Divisions.
? Teams are not owned by the League (IBL) or the Sanctioning body (ISCF).
? Team owners do not have to be directly involved in the sport of MMA.
? The owner is responsible for the Financial needs of his/her team. These needs are:
o Paying the League Franchise fee to the ISCF for rights to own his /her Team.
o Like in any Sport, the Franchise Fees would help fund the League for the season along with other income to the league from each Team.
o Funding Travel Expenses for his/her Team.
o Funding home events for his/her Team.
o Funding Team Uniforms.
o And any additional financial responsibilities of the Team.
? Franchisees will be selected through Application.
? Each Franchisee / Owner will pay a Yearly Team Owners Franchise Fee. These fees will be put towards:
o League administration costs.
o Costs for the Final Two League Championship Events: This will include the costs of the Venue Rental, staffing and of course the Awards
5. COACH
? The coach and the owner can be the same person, however, it would be less of a burden on the coach if they were separated.
? The coach is responsible for fielding and training his/her team.
? Their can be more than 1 Coach per Team. Whether they be called a “Co-Coach” or an “Assistant Coach” can be determined by the Team.
6. WEIGHTCLASSES
? Each Team is required to Field A Starter and an Alternate Fighter Per Weightclass.
1. Lightweight, 145 lbs. to 155 lbs.
2. Welterweight, 155 lbs. to 170 lbs.
3. Middleweight, 170 lbs. to 185 lbs.
4. Light Heavyweight, 185 lbs. to 205 lbs.
5. Heavyweight, 205 lbs. to 265 lbs.
7. FIGHTERS
? All Fighters Must First be a Registered Fighter with the ISCF to be eligible to be on a League Team.
? All fighters are AMATEUR Fighters and cannot have fought as a professional in ANY Full Contact Fight Sport.
? Each TEAM will have 10 fighters who represent 5 weightclasses per team.
? A STARTER with a back-up Fighter for each weightclass.
FIGHTER SELECTION
Fighters will be required to have a minimum amount of bouts before being allowed to be on a Team.
The minimum number is yet to be determined by the ISCF & IBL. Teams can only Field Fighters for their Teams from their direct Region.
8. TEAMS
? Teams could be all fighters from 1 gym/school (Where the Team would be named after their gym/school) or a combined group from the city or region the team is based out of with a name of that region or a mascot name like in other team Sports. (Ex: Team Chicago, Chicago Wildcats, Team Minnesota, Team Dragons etc.)
? Here is an example of a “REGION” within a “DIVISION” and its teams:
Central Region within the Central Division
o Missouri KNIGHTS
o Springfield THUNDER
o St. Louis LIGHTNING
o Kansas City KINGS
9. POINT SYSTEM
AWP: Accumulated WIN Points
Total of WIN Points of each bout a fighter competed in.
Win = 1 Point
Lose = 0 Points.
In the case of a Forfeit – Ex: Opponent no shows – the opposing fighter will receive the HIGHEST allowed points.
HWP: How Won Points
In case of any TIES with the Accumulated WIN Points, these points shall be thrown out and the League will review the fighters HWP.
o First Round Win (Knockout, TKO, Submission): 30 Points
o Second Round Win (Knockout, TKO, Submission): 20 Points
o 3rd Round Win (Knockout, TKO, Submission): 10 Points
o Judges Decision Win: 5 Points.
Location of each playoff event shall be determined in the same way as above, with the BEST earning Home Venue Rights.
10. REGULAR SEASON
SEASON
o The best time for the Season is during the months of good weather.
o This way, there are no problems with traveling to the various venues.
o The proposed Season for the Divisional Match-Ups is from May through August.
o The 2 months needed for the Playoffs shall be September & October.
o The Grand Prix All Star Event shall be held at the end of the year in November/December.
It is our desire to have an event every 1-2 weeks because the teams would be on a rotating schedule.
Each Team should have an event every 30 days.
In a Division with 4 Teams, this would mean a 4 month “Regular Season”.
o This way, each TEAM has a HOME event.
o On the final of these 4 events, the number 1 seeded Team will fight the number 3 seeded Team and the number 2 seeded Team will fight the number 4 seeded Team as a Regular Season Event.
o Add 2 months for the two rounds of Regional playoffs
o Add one more month for the FINAL 4 Event.
o Add one more month for the “All Star Grand Prix”
o This would make the entire season, 8 MONTHS LONG.
COMPETITION
Each REGION within the three Conferences will compete against each other within the 4 month season. Over the 4 month season, all REGIONAL Teams will fight their own Regional Teams once to determine the BEST in their Region.
HOWEVER: The number of League Events per Team would depend on how many Teams are in a division. This is because we want each Team to compete against their own Regional Teams one time during the Season. However, if there are only 4 Teams in an entire Conference, there will be less
League “Events”, but still, 4 months of 4 League Events among those 4 Teams.
Each COMPETITION will consist of 4 TEAMS.
These Teams will be 1 HOME TEAM with 3 visiting TEAMS.
All visiting Teams will pay their own travel fees to get to the event which will include;
o Travel (Gas, Plane tickets etc).
o Hotel.
o Food.
Each Division (Western, Central & Eastern) would field Teams.
TEAM Match-ups will be determined by a schedule announced by the IBL & The ISCF.
When the Teams compete, it would of course be one TEAM Vs another TEAM.
During competition, each WIN by a fighter counts as a Win Point for his Team.
At the end of each competition, the TEAM with the most WIN points, wins the Event.
The BEST team in a Region will now be part of the TOP 4 playoff Teams Per Conference.
The Top 4 will consist of;
1. Northern Champion
2. Central Champion
3. Southern Champion
4. Wild Card Team; The Team with the next best record or point totals within the Conference.
At the end of the year, fighters with the best records would be selected for the “ALL-STAR” or “GRAND-PRIX” Event.
11. PLAYOFFS
REGIONAL PLAYOFFS
DETERMINING PLAYOFF TEAMS
Location of each playoff event shall be determined by the BEST Team of the “Conference” earning Home Venue Rights.
Northern Region, Central Region & Southern Region of each Conference (Western, Central &
Eastern) will each have a Champion.
There will also be 1 Wild Card Team which is the next best team of all 3 Divisions.
If two Teams TIE in fight records, the tie shall be broken by the AWP: “Accumulated WIN Points” of all their events they competed in.
In General, Each Win is 1 point, loss is -0-. Forfeit – Opponent no shows.
If still tied, the TIE shall be broken by the League by a tally of HWP which stands for “How Won Points “.
o First Round Win (Knockout, TKO, Submission): 30 Points
o Second Round Win (Knockout, TKO, Submission): 20 Points
o 3rd Round Win (Knockout, TKO, Submission): 10 Points
o Judges Decision Win: 5 Points.
FIRST ROUND OF PLAYOFFS
The 4 best Teams of each Conference will travel to the HOME Venue (As determined by the Best Team of the Conference) and compete against each other for the Top 2 Teams who will eventually meet for the Conference Championship.
The Top Seed of the Conference (Home Team) will battle against the 4th seed (Wild Card Team) to determine one of the Final 2 Conference Teams.
The Second and Third seed Teams will battle each other to determine the other Final 2 Conference Team for the Conference Final.
CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS
30 days after the FIRST ROUND OF PLAYOFFS, the remaining TWO Teams will meet each other for the Conference Championships at a location determined after the first round of Playoffs is over. The location shall be the home venue of the Team with the better record of the two Conference final Teams.
FINAL 4 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT
We will have a name for this event with something such as the “IBL Grand Prix”.
It shall be determined if this event changes locations every year like the Super Bowl in the NFL or if we have a Home Venue.
The Final 4 will consist of the final 4 Top Teams.
o Champion from the Western Conference.
o Champion from the Central Conference.
o Champion from the Eastern Conference.
o A Team specially selected by the League from the Conference Playoffs as a “Wild Card Entree”.
The Championship of these Teams will be determined all in one night.
Seeding will be determined by their “SEASON” Performance, not Playoff Performance.
Seed number 1 will face off against Seed number 4.
Seed number 2 will face off against Seed number 3.
The winners of these 10 bouts will meet at the end of the event against each other for the League title.
12. ALL STAR GRAND PRIX
Each fighter will have a separate ranking and point system from the team system.
Each fighter will earn their ranking based upon the point structure system as noted above (Win points, or to break a tie, how they won)
In each of the 5 weight classes the League will select the top two fighters who will participate in the League’s “All Star Grand Prix” for either an IBL Title and Belt or an ISCF title & Belt. (TBD)
Each TEAM that fields an ALL STAR will be responsible for their travel expenses to the “All Star Grand Prix”.
It is the desired goal of the League to assure that a minimum of 1 winner, maybe all 5 winners at the “All Star Grand Prix” are selected for Pro Contracts on one of the Premier Pro MMA Promotions.
13. LEADERSHIP
This is not a League of Teams owned by the league (IBL) or the sanctioning body (ISCF) which is a conflict of interest.
This concept clearly separates the IBL/ISCF Leadership from the TEAMS just as in other successful Team Leagues such as the NFL or NBA.
The only difference here is that this is an AMATEUR League.
14. SPONSORSHIP
Sponsorship can be attained by the IBL/ISCF for the League as well as for the Teams.
Each Team has the right to attain a Team Sponsor.
Tags: amateur MMA > international battle league > Mixed Martial Arts
Godfrey punches way to Germany for WBC Title Eliminator versus Kraj on March 8
Posted on | February 5, 2008 | No Comments
PROVIDENCE (February 4, 2008) – Unbeaten NABF cruiserweight champion Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey (16-0, 9 KOs), rated No. 1 by the World Boxing Council, travels to Germany to battle undefeated, No. 2 ranked Rudy Kraj (13-0, 10 KOs) on March 8 in a WBC title elimination bout determining champion David Haye’s mandatory challenger.
“Kraj won a Silver Medal in the 2000 Olympics and going overseas to fight him will be a big test,” the 27-year-old Godfrey said. “He’s very good. Kraj is a typical Eastern European fighter who does some things very well. The winner of this fight is going to be set-up nice in the WBC. I’m looking at it as a title fight.”
The WBC title eliminator potentially has additional implications because Haye, who also holds the WBA title belt, fights the same night as Godfrey-Kraj in a unification bout versus WBO champion Enzo Maccarinelli. A win by Haye reportedly will send him up to heavyweight, leaving the cruiserweight division wide open, and the Godfrey-Kraj winner possibly the new WBC champion or Interim title-holder.
“I’ve fought in Europe as an amateur but never in Germany,” Godfrey noted. “I’ve watched the surge of boxing in Europe and always knew that my title run would go through Europe, especially with cruiserweights like Haye, Enzo and Jean-Marc Mormeck. I’ve prepared mentally and I believe that I’m a world class fighter who is ready for this.”
Godfrey has been training almost non-stop since the middle of August. First, his bout against Jeremy Williams in November was cancelled when the show fell apart, and the Kraj fight was originally slated for February. He will head to Germany with his head trainer, former world light heavyweight title challenger “Iceman” John Scully, 10-14 days in advance of the show in order to get acclimated and arrange sparring.
Matt, second heavyweight alternate on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team, had a 194-23 amateur record, capturing six national championships — four open tournaments including the 2004 Everlast U.S. Championships, plus two in the Junior Olympics – as well as a Bronze medal at the 2001 Pan-American Games, Silver in all four of that year’s national major tournaments (National Golden Gloves, PAL (Police Athletic League), U.S. Championships and U.S. Challenge) and six-time New England Golden Gloves champion.
The highly decorated U.S. amateur defeated many boxers who today are outstanding professionals such as WBA middleweight title challenger Randy “The Gentleman Griffin (24-1-3, 12 KOs), unbeaten heavyweight prospect Chazz “Mensa With Muscles” Witherspoon (21-0, 14 KOs), Devin Vargas (14-0, 6 KOs), Corey “Black Ice” Cummings (15-2, 12 KOs), Leonard “Haitian Sensation” Pierre (18-3, 13 KOs) and John Johnson (12-1, 10 KOs).
-MG-
John Bray Boxing Clinic A Success!
Posted on | February 5, 2008 | No Comments
February 2, 2008-The John Bray Boxing Club held its1st Annual John Bray Free Youth Boxing Clinic to help the community in preventing violence and promoting discipline and academic success among school-age students by interfacing with local community leaders.
The John Bray Boxing Club would like to thank the following special guests for attending the clinic: Former Two-Time Heavyweight Champion and Cast Member of “Rocky V” Tommy Morrison, Former Contender TV Series Star and current WBC CABOFE Middleweight Champion Miguel Espino, Former World Champions Gabriel and Rafael Ruelas, Former Welterweight Contender Randy Shields, Former Middleweight Contender Alex “the Bronx Bomber” Ramos and Carlos “The Cutman” Vargas from the Reality TV Series Contender. We would also like to thank the LAPD and Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department as well as other presenters for there assistance and support.
We would like to give a special thank you to the following sponsors for their contributions: CJ Colonna at Everlast, Travis McDowell at Glaceau Vitamin Water, Mobile Media Marketing, Kal’s Enterprise, Cota Boxing Promotions and the numerous volunteers that made this event a reality.
If you would like copies of photos from the event, please contact Bonnie Bray at 818-427-7813 or braybonnie@hotmail.com
For video coverage of this event, please log on to www.myworldofsports.com/beta/RBFoundation
If you would like to donate to or sponsor the John Bray Boxing Club, please contact Jerry Gonzalez at (559) 643-9313 or jerrygonzalez@csufresno.edu
MAX EXTREME FIGHTING COMING TO BELFAST
Posted on | February 5, 2008 | No Comments
Takedown Wrestling Radio- The Oregon State Beavers To Invade the TDR Studios
Posted on | February 5, 2008 | No Comments
Live from our the Brute Adidas Studios at Des Moines Sports Station AM 1460 KXNO we do something we’ve never done over the many years on the air. We have invited an entire team in to the studio Saturday Morning for a fun 2 hours of “Getting to Know You”. TDR airs Saturday mornings 9:06 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST.
We’ll start with a conversation with the coaches and will do our best to interview all the boys throughout the show. This show will be filmed for LSV/TDR and the Beavers web site as well. Join us for a fun show. Thanks to Big Daddy’s BBQ for catering this event.
The Beavers will be joining us between 2 Duals meets. The night before the broadcast the Beavers Face Iowa State at Hilton and Sunday, the day after the broadcast the Beavers face The Missouri Tigers at Missouri. (This match will be broadcast LIVE on TakedownRadio.com free of charge courtesy of our sponsors.
Scheduled to join Steve Foster, Scott Casber, Jeff Murphy, Chris Arns and company-
Beavers Head Coach Jim Zalesky, Beavers Asst. Coach’s Troy Steiner, Kevin Roberts, Alex Clemsen
McGIVERN TO REPLACE KENNEDY IN IFL MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE BOUT AT ORLEANS ARENA IN LAS VEGAS
Posted on | February 5, 2008 | No Comments
Kennedy Called to Military Duty; McGivern To Battle Horwich for 185-lb. Crown; Four Other Bouts Finalized On Eight-Fight Card on Feb. 29
NEW YORK and LAS VEGAS, February 4, 2008 – Miletich Fighting Academy middleweight standout Ryan McGivern (Bettendorf, Iowa), recognized as one of the most improved, up-and-coming athletes in the International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI), will fight for the 185-lb. title against current champion Matt “Suave” Horwich (Portland, Ore.), one of three championship matchups at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Friday, February 29. McGivern replaces Tim Kennedy (Fayetteville, N.C.), an active U.S. Military member who has been called into duty.
Four other bouts have also now been finalized on the eight-bout card, including three featuring Xtreme Couture vs. Mario Sperry’s World Class Fight Center camps. Benji Radach (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) will compete for Xtreme Couture in a middleweight bout against Leopoldo Serao (Brazil), Lew Polley (Coconut Creek, Fla.) will battle Alexandre Ferreira at 205 lbs., and Santino Defranco will take on Rafael Dias in a featherweight contest. The Lions Den’s Pat Healy (St. Louis) will take on Team Quest’s Jake Ellenberger (Omaha, Neb.) in a matchup that may determine a future title bout at 170 lbs. (Team Xtreme Couture’s Jay Hieron of Las Vegas holds the belt at present).
“While it is disappointing to us and to Tim that he will be unable to compete due to his military obligations, we are excited and fortunate that a fighter of Ryan McGivern’s caliber is available to step in,” said Bas Rutten, IFL Vice President, Fighter Operations. “Ryan has been a great success story and his all-around style should make for an entertaining matchup with Matt Horwich.”
As previously announced, two other IFL titleholders will place their belts on the line as Roy Nelson (Las Vegas), who knocked out Antoine Jaoude (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) to win the heavyweight crown, will take on IFL newcomer Fabiano Scherner (Portland, Ore./Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), who trains with Lindland at Team Quest. Ryan Schultz (North Platte, Neb.), whose lightweight victory over Chris Horodecki (London, Ontario) raised eyebrows in the entire MMA community, makes the first defense of his lightweight belt against John Gunderson (Medford, Ore.), who competes for Ken Shamrock’s Lion’s Den.
Matt Lindland’s Team Quest will take on Lion’s Den in three bouts in the other camp matchup.
Tickets are available at www.orleansarena.com, all Coast Casino box offices, The Galleria at Sunset, by calling 702-284-7777 or by visiting www.ifl.tv.
IFL Las Vegas
Friday, February 29, 2008
Preliminary Bout
145 lbs.: Ian Loveland (Portland, Ore.) (0-2 IFL, 8-7 overall MMA) vs. Dennis Davis (Las Vegas) (0-0, 13-6)
Team Xtreme Couture vs. MMA Top Team (Mario Sperry)
145 lbs.: Santino Defranco (0-0, 10-3) vs. Rafael Dias (0-0, 8-3-1)
185 lbs.: Benji Radach (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) (5-1, 17-4) vs. Leopoldo Serao (0-0, 11-6)
205 lbs.: Lew Polley (Coconut Creek, Fla.) (0-0, 6-0) vs. Alexandre Ferreira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (0-0, 15-5)
Team Quest (Matt Lindland) vs. Lions Den (Ken Shamrock)
170 lbs.: Jake Ellenberger (2-2, 16-3) vs. Pat Healy (St. Louis) (2-1, 18-12)
*155 lbs.: **Ryan Schultz (North Platte, Neb.) (5-2, 18-9-1) vs. John Gunderson (Medford, Ore.) (2-2, 15-5)
*265 lbs.: **Roy Nelson (Las Vegas) (4-1, 11-2) vs. Fabiano Scherner (Portland, Ore.) (0-0, 7-5)
Championship Bout
*185 lbs.: Ryan McGivern (Bettendorf, Iowa) (5-4, 11-5) vs. **Matt Horwich (Portland, Ore.) (6-3, 21-9-1)
*Championship Bout
**Current Titleholder
About the IFL
International Fight League™ (IFL) has its headquarters in New York and offices in Las Vegas. For more information about IFL, please see: www.ifl.tv.
STEVE CUNNINGHAM TO BE SEEN ON ESPN
Posted on | February 5, 2008 | No Comments
STEVE “USS” CUNNINGHAM READY TO SET SAIL ON BRISTOL, CT AND ESPN 2 FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS
IBF CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION TO BE GUEST STUDIO ANAYLYST THIS FRIDAY NIGHT
Philadelphia (February 2, 2008)—This Friday night, IBF Cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham will be the special in-studio guest on ESPN 2 Friday Night Fights.
Cunningham, 21-1 with eleven knockouts will join award winning studio host Brian Kenney and among the topics that they will discuss will be Cunningham’s tremendous twelfth round stoppage over Marco Huck last December 29th that took place in Huck’s hometown of Bielefeld, Germany.
The main event on the ESPN 2 broadcast will be an important cruiserweight match-up between USBA champion, Darnell “Ding a Ling Man” Wilson and BJ Flores.
It is only fitting that the RING Magazine number-one ranked contender will be in the studio to help break down this contest.
“I am honored that ESPN has asked me to be in the studio this Friday night” said Cunningham.
“I think this will be a great opportunity for the world to get to know me and at the same time I will be able to share my thoughts on this pivotal fight that happens to be in my division.”
The broadcast will begin at 9pm eastern on ESPN 2
UPDATE ON SHAWN BIAS RECOVERY
Posted on | February 4, 2008 | No Comments
Bias released from hospital, expected to make full recovery
OROVILLE — Shawn Bias is on his way to making a full recovery from injuries allegedly sustained in a recent struggle with Oroville police.
The former Palace Fighting Championship World Featherweight champion was released from the Oroville Hospital on Wednesday and spoke about his incident for the first time.
Bias allegedly ran from officers outside an apartment complex in Oroville at about 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 20. Oroville police were called to investigate a disturbance and upon making contact with the 22-year-old mixed martial artist, Bias reportedly ran and ignored orders from police to stop or be shot by a taser.
According to the Chico Enterprise Recorder, Bias was eventually caught by two officers and was tased a total of five times according to Oroville Police Chief Kirk Trostle. Some of the tasings were “drive stuns” which involves the taser making direct contact with the victim.
Bias was restrained and taken to the Oroville Hospital where he was treated for a heart attack and went into kidney failure.
“There was a lot of unnecessary tasing and use of force against me. Someone with not as much will or training might have died,” Bias said. “A parent could be mourning over their child right now. The police didn’t know I was a cage fighter and that shouldn’t matter. They knew nothing about me.”
Bias was reportedly under the influence of oxycontin and cocaine.
“I dabbled here and there with some drugs and did have a problem a while ago,” Bias said. “But my family and I, before this incident, had planed to check me in somewhere and get me complete again. I didn’t want to live my life that way.”
Bias denies several different reports in the media about his incident.
“I know George [Adkins] was out there doing some talking and I wasn’t sure where he got certain stuff. George is not a member of my family and he isn’t close to my family,” Bias said. “I would hope people would disregard the things that were said and written. I don’t want anyone telling my story.”
What Bias does want is to rewrite a story with a much more positive image.
“This whole thing has been very emotional for me and my family,” Bias said. “This has definitely inspired me to be a better person and a much tougher person. When you almost die, you learn not to take life for granted. I need to get out there and give 110 percent all day… even if it’s just walking out to get the mail.”
The first steps will be recovering from his injuries and kidney failure and then help with his drug “dabbling”.
“We are going to do whatever it takes to help Shawn,” manager Richard Goodman said. “He wasn’t a regular drug user and this was something that I don’t even think happened often. We are moving him back with his parents so that his parents can guide him back on to the right track.”
And Goodman expects Shawn to be back in MMA action.
“I personally believe that he will be back. It might take six to eight months recovery and training, but some time next year he will be back. And of course at the PFC that’s the only place that he wants to be,” Goodman said. “I think he will be better than he has ever been. This was a wake up call to Shawn and I think he will take it in the right direction. He will take it to where he can everyone knows what he can do. Maybe dedication was a slight problem.”
Bias believes that MMA, its fans and fighters helped get him through.
“I was released from the hospital on Wednesday, but a few days after I became coherent I was walking. I have that fighter heart,” Bias said. “I want to thank everyone in the fight world and fans and friends. I really want to thank Christian [Printup], and the whole PFC for caring about me and not forgetting about me. I’d also like to thank Sherdog. All the support means a lot and I think it shows in my recovery. I couldn’t do this on my own.”
“At this time we are happy that Shawn is making a good recovery. Our thoughts and prayers remain with him and his family during this trying time,” Palace Fighting Championship President Printup said.
On Jan. 18th Bias (12-6) lost his featherweight title to Oakldale’s Art Arciniega (6-1) by submission at 2:07 in the fourth round.
There were early reports that the fight might have played a part in his condition, but those rumors were unfounded.
“I feel bad about my last performance. I was sick, but I came and I fought. I fought my butt off and as hard as I could,” Bias said. “But he was the better man that night. He has the belt around his waist now and he deserves it”
But Bias makes a promise.
“I will be back. My fights will be way more exciting. I won’t waste anymore time and nothing will take me away from training,” Bias said. “I hope to be training soon. I believe my kidneys will be better within two months.”
Tags: fighter tased > law enforcement > Palace Fighting Championship > police > Shawn Bias > tasers
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