BAS RUTTEN NAMED VICE PRESIDENT OF FIGHTER OPERATIONS FOR IFL
Posted on | January 23, 2008 | No Comments
INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE NAMES MMA WORLD CHAMPION SEBASTIAN “BAS” RUTTEN VICE PRESIDENT, FIGHTER OPERATIONS
NEW YORK, January 23, 2008 – The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI) today announced the latest step in its reorganization heading into the 2008 season, naming Mixed Martial Arts legend Sebastian “Bas” Rutten to the newly-created position of Vice President, Fighter Operations. Rutten, who has been with the IFL since its inception as a coach and commentator, will oversee the contact between the IFL, its current athletes and other athletes in the sport, as well as working to create potential future matchups and cards both internally and with other organizations. He will report directly to IFL CEO Jay Larkin.
The 42 year old Dutchman competed professionally for over 20 years in various MMA disciplines, and was a three time champion in Pancrase (the Japanese precursor to what is now MMA) as well as holding the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight title.
He became interested in martial arts when he was 14 after seeing the Bruce Lee classic film “Enter the Dragon,” and began taking up Tae Kwon Do and other forms of karate. He had had skin problems and asthma as a youngster in Tilburg, the Netherlands, and martial arts became an excellent outlet for his growing athletic ability. His professional career began with Pancrase, the upstart Japanese fighting organization in 1993 and he rose through the ranks to take his first “King of Pancrase” title in 1995, defeating Minoru Suzuki. He defended the title twice and ended his Pancrase career with 19 straight wins.
In 1998, Rutten signed with the UFC, taking the heavyweight title from Kevin Randleman in just his second bout. He vacated the title later in the year in order to drop down to his natural middleweight category, but a series of serious injuries forced him to retire. In July 2006 he made one more come back, he defeated his opponent Ruben Villareal by way of leg kicks in the first round and finished his career with 22 straight wins.
Following his retirement, Rutten moved on to coaching, acting and broadcasting, landing roles on TV shows like “Martial Law,” and “The King of Queens,” as well as three movies, “The Eliminator,” “The Vault” and “The Kingdom of Ultimate Power.” He was also the color commentator on PRIDE’s Fighting Championship events, where his sense of humor and intimate knowledge of the sport immediately made him a fan favorite. He has also produced four DVD’s on workouts and techniques and written two books, Bas Rutten’s Big Books of Combat.
Bas, who uses the nickname “El Guapo” (named after the villain in the comedy The Three Amigos) has been with the IFL as one of its founding coaches, most recently training and coaching IFL standouts like current welterweight champion Jay Hieron, Chris Horodecki, Benji Radach and Alex Schoenauer, and rising MMA legend Kimbo Slice, among others. He has also been the face of the IFL on television, teaming with Kenny Rice on IFL broadcasts on FSN, MyNetworkTV and HDNet that have been seen in over 200 countries worldwide in 2007. He is also the co-host of “Inside MMA” with Rice, a role which he will continue. Rutten also owns two gyms in the Los Angeles area and is one of the top trainers for many of Hollywood’s elite.
Rutten lives and trains in Los Angeles with his wife and has three daughters.
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.
JAPANESE WRESTLER’S WINNING STREAK ENDS AT 119 MATCHES
Posted on | January 23, 2008 | No Comments
ESPN FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS TO TELEVISE MARCH 7 FOXWOODS BOXING CARD
Posted on | January 23, 2008 | No Comments
THOMAS MASHABA VS CRISTOBAL CRUZ
HEADLINES FIGHT CARD,
HARRY JOE YORGEY VS JASON Le HOULLIER
IN CO-FEATURED BOUT
ON MARCH 7, 2008, AT FOXWOODS;
TELEVISED LIVE ON ESPN’S FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS
Promoters Art Pelullo/Banner Promotions and Rodney Berman/Golden Gloves Promotions will present a sensational fight card on Friday, March 7, 2008, in the Fox Theatre at Foxwoods Resort Casino, located at 39 Norwich Westerly Road in Mashantucket , Connecticut . The main event and co-featured bouts will be televised on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights.”
In the main event scheduled for 12 rounds, “Merciless” Thomas Mashaba, 20-2-4 with 12 knockouts, of Temba, South Africa, will make his sixth defense of the IBO featherweight title against Cristobal Cruz, 35-11-1 with 23 knockouts, of Tijuana, B.C., Mexico.
Cruz, now 30 years old, is a tough, experienced 16-year professional veteran with an aggressive style and always makes exciting fights.
Mashaba, 29, is ranked No. 9 in the world by The Ring. He is coming off a spectacular knockout win against former IBF featherweight world champion Eric Aiken in his last fight in November, 2007. It was a fast-paced, give-and-take battle – Thomas was knocked down in the sixth round but came back and knocked Aiken out cold in the ninth.
After the fight, Boxing News reported, “Thomas Mashaba was commanding in his devastating ninth round stoppage of highly-rated former IBF champion Eric Aiken…. Mashaba served notice that he can be accepted within the top echelons of the featherweight division….”
Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com, “Mashaba, a legitimate contender from South Africa , survived a sixth-round knockdown and rallied to stop Aiken, a former titleholder, with a left hook. Mashaba won his 10th in a row, the last five of which have come against solid opposition.”
In the co-featured fight, two talented undefeated prospects will fight in a scheduled 12-rounder for the vacant NABA super welterweight title – “Lightning” Harry Joe Yorgey, 21-0-1 with 9 knockouts, of Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, will face Jason “The Hammer” Le Houllier, 21-0 with 8 knockouts, of Portland, Maine.
This is an important fight for both Yorgey, now 30 years old, and Le Houllier, who is 29 – the winner will move up in the world rankings and be in a position for bigger opportunities in the very competitive 154-pound weight division.
An exciting undercard, to be announced, will complete the show. All bouts are subject to change without notice.
Weigh-in: Thursday, March 6, 4:00 to 6:00 P.M. in the Fox Theatre.
Fight Night: Doors open at 7:00 P.M., first fight at 8:00 P.M. (All times ET)
ESPN will begin its live telecast at 9:00 P.M.
Tickets prices: $35, $50, $65.
Tickets are on sale now at: Foxwoods Resort Casino Box Office – 800-200-2882, and online at www.foxwoods.com.
For media credentials, contact Carol Boyd at Foxwoods – 860-312-7441 (tel.), 860-312-4429 (fax), cboyd@mptn-nsn.gov (email).
LIDDELL’S FAR FROM DONE
Posted on | January 23, 2008 | No Comments
“Sharp Shooter” Remillard now a moving target
Posted on | January 22, 2008 | No Comments
“Champions of Tomorrow” Friday night at Foxwoods Resort Casino
PROVIDENCE (January 22, 2008) – One sure sign of respect in boxing is when a fighter calls out a potential opponent in the media. It’s rare for a boxer with only 11 pro fights to be such a target, especially one coming off of a 15-month inactive stretch due to an injury, but that’s exactly where Manchester favorite Matt “Sharp Shooter” Remillard (11-0, 7 KOs) finds himself.
Remillard is preparing for Friday night’s (Jan. 25) 10-round title bout against WBC Youth featherweight champion Manuel Perez (11-3, 2 KOs) in the co-main event on “Champions of Tomorrow,” promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc., at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Remillard has been out of the ring since suffering a wrist injury, twice requiring surgery, after he won the WBC Youth super featherweight (September 23, 2006) that Matt was unable to defend and relinquished because of his aforementioned injury.
Perez’ first lost was in 2006 to Rashiem Jefferson, who is now 15-0-1 (6 KOs) and reportedly has been in Denver sparring with Perez, who surprisingly chose to defend his title belt on the road. According to an Internet report, Jefferson claims that he has been trying to fight Remillard for quite some time but Matt hadn’t accepted, and that Rashiem was familiar with Remillard and would give Perez a great look at Matt’s style.
“If he (Jefferson) has been calling me out,” Remillard responded, “I don’t know who he was supposedly contacting. I’ve been out of action for 15 months. If he had called my promoter, Jimmy Burchfield, we’d probably be fighting him for his title (USNBC) this Friday night. I saw Jefferson around in the amateurs. He’s a respectable fighter, but for him to call me out and talk like I’m nobody, well, that’s a slap in my face.
“He’s helping Perez but I couldn’t care less. Jefferson doesn’t fight anything like me and if they think he can imitate me, they’re both in for a big surprise. I’m just focused on Perez right now. I’ve had the best training camp of my career preparing to fight him. Jefferson sounds like a clown.”
Jefferson and his manager plan on accompanying Team Perez to Foxwoods. “I hope they have tickets,” Remillard’s promoter, Jimmy Burchfield, remarked. “They’ve never contacted me about fighting Matt or for anything else. After Matt beats Perez we can talk about Jefferson possibly being next on Matt’s dance card.”
2004 U.S. Olympian Jason “Big Six” Estrada (10-1, 2 KOs) squares-off against former world heavyweight title challenger Charles Shufford (20-7, 9 KOs) in the other 10-round, co-main event on “Champions of Tomorrow.”
Two other Connecticut fighters will be in action. Hartford light welterweight Addy Irizarry (3-1, 2 KOs), a corrections officer at a Connecticut prison, faces Tonya Gallegos (4-6, 2 KOs), while recent University of Connecticut graduate Brian Macy, a poker card dealer at Foxwoods who is from Ledyard, makes his pro debut versus super middleweight Pete Guthy (1-1-1, 1 KO).
Unbeaten cruiserweight prodigy and 9-time U.S. amateur champion, Aaron Williams (15-0-1, 11 KOs), battles former world kickboxing champ Manu Ntoh (17-13-1, 10 KOs) in an eight-round match.
New England fans have waited quite a few years for Friday’s light heavyweight showdown between Iraqi War-veteran Chris Traietti (7-0, 4 KOs) and “Irish” Joey McCreedy (5-1, 4 KOs) in a six-round bout. Throwback middleweights Richard “Bobo” Starnino (8-2-1, 1 KO), of Providence, and New Bedford’s Eric Pinarreta (1-1, 1 KO) bring an old-fashioned border war brawl into the ring for their four-rounder.
Also on the undercard in four-round bouts are undefeated Rhode Island super middleweight Angel Camacho, Jr. (8-0, 4 KOs) versus Terrence “TJ” Jones (10-10, 6 KOs) and unbeaten Brockton super middleweight Manuel Antonio Lopes (4-0, 1 KO) meets John “The Baptist” Michael Terry. All bouts and fighters are subject to change.
Former world title contender “Sucra” Ray Oliveira will be inducted into the CES Ring of Honor in a ceremony during the “Champions of Tomorrow.” Unbeaten heavyweight contender “Baby” Joe Mesi (36-0, 29 KOs), promoted by CES, will make a special presentation to Oliveira.
“Champions of Tomorrow” will be taped live and air on Saturday, February 2 at 7:30 p.m. on CN8 and will also stream online at www.CN8.tv. Following the broadcast, the show will be available ON DEMAND to Comcast Digital Cable customers for at least one week. “Champions of Tomorrow” will also air on Cox Sports Television on February 1 at 8:30 p.m.
Tickets for “Champions of Tomorrow” are priced at $40.00, $65.00 (Silver), $100.00 (Gold) and $150.00 (Jimmy’s Platinum Club). Two VIP Presidential Suites are also available (call CES for details as well as sponsorship opportunities). To purchase tickets or for additional information contact CES (1.401.724.2253/2254 – www.cesboxing.com) or Foxwoods (1.800.200.2882/www.foxwoods.com). Doors open at 6 PM/ET, first bout at 7 PM/ET.
-CES-
SHAWN BIAS GIVEN 30% CHANCE TO LIVE AFTER POLICE ALTERCATION
Posted on | January 22, 2008 | No Comments
SHERDOG ARTICLE ABOUT BIAS SITUATION
FROM JEREMY LUCHAU: PFC PROMOTER
Shawn Bias “Is fighting”
Some quoters I generated from Richard Goodman (Shawn Bias’ manager), who
drove to Oroville from Porterville Monday to see Shawn.
“He is starting to do better. He is currently in an induced coma. He is
moving, though, he moved on his own when the nurse moved him earlier. He is
still in critical condition, but showing signs of progress.”
“The reports that the hospital was going to pull the plug, because Shawn
doesn’t have medical insurance are false.”
“I can’t comment on what happened exactly, but more details will be
available tomorrow. Here are some facts, he was sick at the time of his
fight last Thursday at the Palace, but that was not the cause of the current
situation. The fight and his illness have nothing to do with why he is
currently in the hospital”
“There was at least 100 people that have come through the hospital today and
his family and friends are praying for him.”
“Shawn is fighting”
IFC JOINS MMA RANKS AS NEW ORGANIZATION
Posted on | January 22, 2008 | 1 Comment
International Fighting Championship, LLC (IFC) Blasts Off in 2008
IFC is putting together an all star cast to capture a piece of the ever growing MMA market
Las Vegas, Nevada – January 20, 2008 – The International Fighting Championship, LLC (IFC) looks to stake its claim to a piece of the ever growing Mixed Martial Art (MMA) market. IFC is forming an all star team that will leverage their expertise from fighting and promoting to marketing, producing and broadcasting first class events. These individuals and corporate partners will be named at a future date as well as their role in the organization. IFC has also received commitments from some of MMA’s biggest names to fight for them in the near future.
IFC has tentatively scheduled events in Las Vegas, Nevada, Lake Charles, Louisiana, Taylor, Michigan, St. George, Utah and Columbus Ohio. “IFC is looking to take MMA to a new level, not only by putting on the best fights, but by creating a brand that will allow both the fighters and IFC to prosper and give back to the community. This will truly be a team effort”, stated IFC President, Rico White. “Look for some major announcements in the next couple of weeks that will solidify our presence in the MMA market”, continued White.
About The International Fighting Championship, LLC, Las Vegas, Nevada. The IFC is a live Mixed Martial Arts show produced in North America. The International Fighting Championship plans to have 10 shows for 2008 and 12 shows in 2009. The next live event will be held in Las Vegas Nevada. The IFC’S mission is to produce the most exciting, highest-quality fight shows in North America and to develop superstar up and coming talent to compete on the world stage. The IFC plans a strong marketing campaign in Sports publications, e-wire broadcasts, T.V. and Radio commercials, street promotional teams, billboards, press releases etc… The IFC features a strong ownership and a depth of management experience across a spectrum of live event sports, television production, and strategic business partnerships.
FIGHT DAY SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 8
Posted on | January 22, 2008 | No Comments
PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2008
Mixed Martial Arts fans should “expect the unexpected” as Fight Day returns March 8 at Valley Ford in Hanford.
Last September, J-Live Entertainment presented the very first Fight Day event at the Hanford Mall and the event was filled with live demonstrations from Valley Fight Club along with an exclusive Palace Fighting Championship press conference that featured some of the top Mixed Martial Arts fighters in the Valley.
“Our first Fight Day was good, but it will be nothing like what we have planned for our second event”, said Joey Perez, Founder of J-Live Entertainment. “All I can say at this moment is expect the unexpected at Fight Day”.
World Extreme Cage fighting Light Heavy-weight Champion, Doug “Rhino” Marshall will be in attendance signing autographs and will greet MMA fans for a celebration appearance following his dominant victory over Ariel Gandulla last December on the Versus Network.
“Fight Day gives the fans a chance to see what ‘The Rhino’ is like outside the cage and it is just great to meet people that support me and the sport”, said Marshall.
You can also expect to see some of the Valley’s top fighters, UFC Vets, Valley Fight Club live demonstrations, informational booths and MMA vendors. While attending the event those with an empty stomach can enjoy some BBQ and drinks as well.
Perez promises more details on why he asks MMA fans to “expect the unexpected” at Fight Day in the coming weeks leading to the event.
Fight Day will take place on site at the Valley Ford Lincoln Mercury dealership located on 455 N. 11th Ave in Hanford.
For further information on FIGHT DAY please call 559-308-0260 or check out www.jliveent.com. MMA organizations, schools, clothing lines etc. interested in participating in this great event please email jluchau@cvhspreps.com
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