GUNN FIRES BACK
Posted on | April 14, 2007 | No Comments
Gunn Fires Back!
I’d like to thank everyone for the support: my personal trainer Kyle White, head trainer Joe Grier, sparring partners and the rest of Team Gunn. I also want to thank the people who stood behind me during my quest to England for the WBO title shot. I want to thank my wife Rose and my son Bobby for loving and supporting me all the way. Special thanks. I would like to say to all my fans and supporters that I’m very sorry for the outcome of the fight with Enzo and all the circumstances that surrounded the fight.
I take my hat off to Enzo; he’s a great man and a great champion. I’ve been involved in countless fights during my professional career aside from watching fights my whole life, and I don’t know why a referee would not allow two men to fight their heart out in a world championship fight. In all unified championship rules, a fighter is not supposed to receive an 8 count unless he’s knocked down or can’t defend himself, I was neither. I had a cut on my nose and then Mark Nelson gave me an eight count because of the cut on my nose. He did not take me to the ringside physician to be examined. The fight was continued, and he jumped to stop it briefly after which I feel was not the right thing to do, considering there were no knock downs scored by Enzo and I was not hurt at any point. However, that was the ref’s call and I’m not a person to cry and make excuses.
The fight was shown on YouTube and then Promoter Frank Warren took it off for “copyright infringement.” Enzo’s fight with Mark Hobson is still on the site. How come Frank Warren never took that off? My publicist Matt Yanofsky asked why the video was removed, and I told him that they removed it because it does not back up the negativity of the British Press. If the fight was in the US, it would be a different story, but I am not saying that I would definitely win. Also, I was under the impression that my IBA Cruiserweight title was not on the line and when I come back home to America, win, lose, or draw in England, I still have my IBA title and I could defend it.
I just found out this week that the IBA stripped me of my title without notifying me. I only found out when I went online. I don’t mean to sit here and bad mouth people, I wish Enzo the best and I’ll be supporting him throughout his career and I would like to thank Frank Warren for the opportunity of a lifetime. It was quite an event to be involved in. All of my loyal fans have been asking me what my next career move is.
I would like to announce I will be dropping down to the Light Heavyweight division. I hope to challenge for the IBA title or anybody among the top of the division. My team feels as a Light Heavyweight I will be much more effective. I’d like to once again thank everyone for the support and Bobby Gunn will fire back!
In closing, I would like to say this. In the movie Braveheart there was a saying in the end. “Every man dies, not every man really lives” and I have lived. I give God the glory.
Roundkick Rumble Promotions to Host Inaugural Thai Boxing Association Sanctioned Event
Posted on | April 12, 2007 | No Comments
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT INFORMATION
- Ryan Christensen (Agency)
MidwestMMA
Owner
1770 92nd St Suite 10301
West Des Moines, IA 50266
515-770-7986 (office)
515-365-0102 (fax)
Roundkick Rumble Promotions to Host Inaugural Thai Boxing Association Sanctioned Event
Roundkick Rumble Promotions will be hosting the first Thai Boxing Association (TBA) sanctioned event at 7 Flags event center on June 16, 2007. The event will host an open tournament with confirmed teams hailing from over 20 states and international squads from Canada competing in International Rules Kickboxing and full Muay Thai action.
Des Moines, IA — June 16, 2007
This event is an open tournament and will feature both junior and adult divisions. The juniors, encompassing ages 8 to 15, will be fighting in international rules kickboxing. The adult division will compete in full Muay Thai rules action. The remaining competitors, ages 16 and 17, will be awarded the opportunity to compete with either rule set depending on the other fighters in the division and how the brackets play out.
The event will be a two part production beginning with a daytime session that will start around 9 AM, coming to a conclusion in the early afternoon. This session will feature two rings in which spectators can experience simultaneous Muay Thai action. This portion of the event will feature in upwards of 75 to 100 bouts. These bouts will serve as the elimination rounds of the tournaments, thus, setting the final card for the evening portion of the event.
An intermission will take place between sessions to construct seating to provide the best viewing experience for the remainder of the tournament. The night session will feature one ring to allow full attention featured bouts for the first ever Thai Boxing Association sanctioned event. Bouts will include all the amateur finals and a handful of professional bouts to give Des Moines a true taste of what Muay Thai competition is truly about.
For the entirety of the event, Ajarn Chai will be in attendance. Ajarn Chai founded the Thai Boxing Association in 1968 and has worked tirelessly from that point to teach his art to Americans and heighten awareness about Muay Thai.
Tickets for both sessions will be available for purchase through Roundkick Rumble Promotions and the 7 Flags Event Center box office.
CAGE BRAWL-NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS
Posted on | April 12, 2007 | 1 Comment
Tickets are on sale for the CAGE BRAWL-NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS by calling the All Stars Sports Caf’e at (614) 431-8881. Tickets are friendly priced at $40 Ringside, $30 Advanced Seating and $20 General Seating. Tickets can be purchased by either Visa, MasterCard or cash.
Fourteen action packed bouts are slated including four championship fights in the Featherweight, Lightweight, Welterweight and Middleweight Divisions for the UNDISPUTED CAGE BRAWLT CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS.
Both Philip “The Mean” Dean and Bill Peatree will try to keep their unblemished records alive as they enter the Cage on June 9 in Columbus, Ohio.
Philip “The Mean” has a perfect record of 4-0 while Bill Peatree will try to maintain his winning streak alive with a record of 11-0.
“The Mean” Dean will be fighting for the Featherweight title belt while Bill Peatree will be the main event as he fights to capture the Lightweight Belt.
A fan favorite wherever he goes is Welterweight sensation Bobby “The Sicilian Assassin” Friend. “The Sicilian Assassin” who has plans of turning pro after the CAGE BRAWLT aims to capture the Welterweight Title Belt in front of his home state of Ohio and in front of a worldwide PPV audience.
Tough and rugged Bryce Rayburn who holds a cast iron chin will look to demolish the Middleweight division. This will be Rayburn’s first title shot as he tries to wrap the coveted CAGE BRAWLT Middleweight Championship belt around his waist on Saturday June 9, 2007 in Columbus Ohio at the All Sars Sports Caf’e.
Ten other exciting non-title bouts are scheduled.
The 5 Knuckle Shuffle rock n’ roll band will be appearing and will be playing from 7:00pm EST -8:00pm EST prior to the matches and during the co-feature cage entrance of welterweight sensation Bobby “The Sicilian Assassin” Friend.
The Bikini Round Card Girl Contest will feature the sexiest and hottest girls in Ohio as they strut their stuff and compete for $500 CASH GRAND PRIZE.
Appearing in the contest will be Adult Film Star knockout sensation DESTINY ST. CLAIRE
Many notable celebrities will be seated at cage side.
Don’t miss any of the action as the most feared and devastating MMA cage fighters from all across the United States slug it out in an action packed CAGE BRAWLT-NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS.
CAGE BRAWLT-NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS will be held at the All Stars Sports Caf’e located on 6124 Busch Blvd in Columbus, OH on Saturday June 9, 2007.
Tickets are on sale today at the All Stars Sports Caf? by calling 614-431-8881. Tickets are friendly priced at $40 Ringside, $30 Advanced Seating and $20 General seating. Tickets can be purchased by either Visa or MasterCard or cash.
SEE YOU RING SIDE!!!!
INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE AND USA WRESTLING ENTER INTO STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
Posted on | April 12, 2007 | 11 Comments
INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE AND USA WRESTLING ENTER INTO STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP TO GROW AWARENESS OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS AND USA WRESTLING PROGRAMS
Grassroots events programs and clinics, joint promotional opportunities part of initial focus
NEW YORK and COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., April 11, 2007 – The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI), the world’s first team-based professional mixed martial arts league, and USA Wrestling, the National Governing Body for wrestling in the United States, today announced a strategic partnership between the two organizations aimed at increasing the awareness level and creating unique grassroots programs and branding opportunities for both groups.
“This is a great day for the IFL and for the sports of Mixed Martial Arts and wrestling,” said IFL Commissioner and Co-Founder Kurt Otto. “This partnership will give us the platform to reach a very passionate demo with one of the most respected National Governing Bodies. This cooperative program will help us further our mission to expose these great IFL athletes to a larger audience and show how they can use their wrestling skills as part of MMA.”
“USA Wrestling is proud to partner with the IFL in this project,” said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director. “Wrestling is a core discipline of MMA and many of the greatest athletes in the sport have a strong wrestling background. This will help us expose wrestling fans and athletes to a much larger audience and grow this Olympic sport by reaching an expanded audience.”
Currently no less than 30% of IFL coaches and athletes come from a wrestling background, many with international and college success. They include Olympic medalist Matt Lindland (Nebraska), two-time Olympian Dan Henderson, past national champion Don Frye (Arizona State) and current athletes Wayne Cole (Oklahoma), Jay Hieron (Nassau Community College and Hofstra University), Ryan McGivern (Iowa), Mike Whitehead (Missouri), Aaron Stark (Wisconsin), Ryan Schultz (Nebraska), Reese Andy (Wyoming), Shad Lierley (NYU) and others.
The partnership will include joint USA Wrestling/IFL clinics and information sessions featuring IFL athletes and coaches and USA Wrestling staff in strategic locations, beginning with the Fan Festival held alongside the USA Wrestling World Team Trials in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 9-10. This event will determine the U.S. teams for the 2006 World Championships in the Olympic disciplines of men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle and men’s Greco-Roman wrestling, as well as the newly recognized discipline of Grappling.
More details concerning the World Team Trials clinic will be published shortly.
Also in the planning process is a multimedia awareness campaign developed to promote both organizations as well as a discount program for USA Wrestling members to attend IFL events nationwide.
Each of the nine regular season IFL events will consist of four teams – each with an athlete in all five weight classes competing – for a minimum of 10 bouts per card. The team that wins the best three of five match setup will be declared the team winner for the match, similar to collegiate and high school wrestling dual meets. The IFL also differs from other MMA organizations in that the bouts are held in an oversized five-rope boxing ring with three, four-minute rounds, designed to create the most compelling in-arena experience for local fans.
Each of the 12 IFL teams for 2007 will compete in three regular season events; the teams with the top four overall win-loss team records will advance to the semi-finals, which will be held on Thursday, August 2, at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. The 2007 IFL Finals will then be held at The Forum in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 15.
About USA Wrestling
USA Wrestling is the National Governing Body for wrestling in the United States, and is a member organization of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the international wrestling federation FILA. USA Wrestling conducts events and programs for wrestling at all levels. Its membership includes athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers and fans all across the nation. For more information about USA Wrestling, please see: www.TheMat.com
About the IFL
International Fight League™ (IFL) is the world’s first professional mixed martial arts sports league. IFL has its headquarters in New York, NY and offices in Las Vegas, NV. For more information about IFL, please see: www.ifl.tv
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Forward-Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and IFL’s management’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future financial condition, and results of operations. There can be no assurance that future developments actually affecting IFL will be those anticipated.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ (favorably or unfavorably) from the expectations stated in this release include the risks and uncertainties such as the conditions of the markets for live events, broadcast television, cable television, pay-per-view, Internet, entertainment, professional sports, and licensed merchandise; acceptance of the Company’s brands, media and merchandise within those markets; uncertainties relating to litigation; risks associated with producing live events; uncertainties associated with international markets; risks relating to maintaining and renewing key agreements, including television distribution agreements; effects of competition, including locations of competitors and operating and market competition.. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the Company’s assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements.
IFL undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. This press release may include the opinions of IFL and does not necessarily include the views of any other person or entity.
The names of all International Fight League, Inc. televised and live programming, teams, images, and logos are trademarks, which are the exclusive property of International Fight League, Inc. All other trademarks and tradenames mentioned in this release are the property of their respective owners, and are not affiliated with IFL in any way.
— IFL —
PROELITE.COM TO STREAM ‘CAGE RAGE’ AND ‘NO LIMITS’ FIGHTS FREE, LIVE ON APRIL 21
Posted on | April 12, 2007 | No Comments
For Immediate Release
PROELITE.COM TO STREAM ‘CAGE RAGE’ AND
‘NO LIMITS’ FIGHTS FREE, LIVE ON APRIL 21
Doubleheader from London and Southern California to Feature Top World MMA Fighters in Including Gary Turner, Bob “The Beast” Sapp, Ivan Serati, Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort, Tim “Big Perm” Persey, Fábio Negão and Takumi Nakayama
Success of ICON and EliteXC Internet Broadcasts Indicate
Viewers Will Watch an Average of 2.5 Hours Per Event
(LOS ANGELES) April 12, 2007 – ProElite.com, the comprehensive and inclusive online community for MMA fighters, fans and organizations, regardless of the MMA league, fighter organization or fan loyalty, will broadcast a global MMA doubleheader. On April 21 Cage Rage Championships 21: “Judgment Day” from Wembley Arena in London, England and No Limits: “Proving Grounds” from The No Limits Event Center in Irvine, Calif. will be a part of this global event that will include over 20 hard hitting bouts in over eight hours of free viewing at ProElite.com.
The United Kingdom’s Cage Rage will begin at 3 pm EST/ noon PST with 13 fights and will feature the anticipated title card of heavyweights Gary Turner and Bob “The Beast” Sapp. Light heavyweight undercard fights will include Ivan Serati being pitted against Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort and Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos going against James “The Messenger” Zikic. Following “Cage Rage,” in their inaugural live event, Orange County, Calif.-based No Limits will follow at 10 pm EST/ 7 pm PST featuring seven bouts that will include former KOTC world lightweight champion Takumi Nakayama, Brazil’s Fábio Negão and Tim “Big Perm” Persey.
Because of the growing popularity of ProElite.com’s streaming, live events, fans are encouraged to register for free well in advance of the first fight.
“This dynamic one-two punch of live programming is completely unique to the mixed martial arts industry. Consecutively delivering two events from two continents from two different promoters is connecting fans to the sport in a very meaningful and powerful way,” said Kelly Perdew, President of ProElite.com. “Fans are coming for the fights and staying for the extra value we provide – the ability for each fan, fighter and organization to build their unique, online environment focused on MMA.”
Viewers of the March 31 ICON fight that included Robbie Lawler scoring a vicious knockout over champion Frank Trigg were staying at ProElite.com on average of over 2.5 hours. This number was up from the EliteXC/ Showtime Sports February 10 undercard broadcast where visitors spent and average of two hours. Other content at ProElite.com includes real time polling, integrated photos from the event, and links to fighter pages.
“The response to these events continues to validate ProElite.com’s vision that MMA fans are fans of the sport, not just specific fight organization fans. Plus, the real time polling and fighter pages of ProElite.com’s live events give fans an immersive experience that keeps them at the site interacting with one another, as well as our advertising partners,” said Perdew.
ProElite.com is able to capitalize on the growing popularity of the sport of mixed martial arts and build a community of enthusiasts around the world through video and blogging tools, social networking and exclusive fight content from such organizations as ICON Sport, No Limits, Cage Rage and others.
For users who missed the Icon Sport “Epic” event live, the fight is available, on demand, at ProElite.com for $9.95.
Register at ProElite.com for the doubleheader on April 21.
ProElite, Inc. and its ProElite.com division are headquartered in Los Angeles.
# # #
About ProElite, Inc. (www.proelite.com) ProElite, Inc. (PELE.pk) is an entertainment and media company dedicated to producing world-class sporting events and empowering the participation of athletes and enthusiasts. ProElite, Inc. fosters the growth of the core principles of competition – Pride, Spirit, Honor and Sportsmanship. ProElite, Inc. owns the following brands and companies: EliteXCTM (mixed martial arts live event production), ProElite.comTM (online community that provides content and tools for martial arts enthusiasts), and LifeLoggerTM (top-rated Internet blogging site and mobile application developer).
PARADISE THEATER POST-FIGHT REPORT
Posted on | April 11, 2007 | 1 Comment
Joval and Tsurkan victorious at the Paradise Theater!
By Matt Yanofsky {Ringside}
Middleweight Raymond Joval (36-4, 16 KO’s) shook off a 17 month layoff to earn a unanimous decision over Willie “The Gladiator” Gibbs (20-3, 16 KO’s). The fight featured a lot of back and fourth action within the first few rounds. Joval elected to pick up the pace and was able to press the action and land many shots on Gibbs. While Joval did hold the edge, Gibbs did land some clean shots, but Joval’s excellent chin altered the effect of most of the punches. Joval hurt Gibbs in the tenth round but was not able to put him out. Carlos Ortiz scored the contest a surprisingly close 96-94 While John Trella and Steve Weisfield scored it 97-93 for Joval. After the fight, Joval’s manager Stan Hoffman said, “Raymond was very impressive tonight, especially considering his layoff. He put on a great performance and had great conditioning.” Hoffman also added they are looking at a big fight next for Joval but did not mention any names.
Audrey Tsurkan (25-2, 16 KO’s) retained his NABF Middleweight Title by scoring an incredible ninth round knockout over Sammy Sparkman (19-16, 8 KO’s). Tsurkan started the fight by coming forward and landing a large volume of punches on Sparkman. Sparkman landed many of his own shots due to the fact Tsurkan neglected his defense during his attack. Sparkman was fighting Tsurkan very tough and even won a few rounds going into the ninth. Tsurkan showed some signs of rust due to the fact that he was making his first appearance since June. In the ninth, Tsurkan unloaded an enormous left hook to the head of Sparkman and put him out cold 1:02 into the round. Sparkman was immediately checked on by the medical team and was able to make it back to his feet shortly after to a cheering crowd.
Big Scottish heavyweight Ian Millarville (5-0, 3 KO’s) earned a hard fought majority decision over Sean McLean (1-1, 1 KO). Millarville was the aggressor for most of the four round contest but McLean was able to land some shots of his own when Millarville was leaning in too far with his punches, ultimately forcing the majority decision.
Junior Middleweight Willie Nelson improved to 7-1 {4 KO’s} after defeating Ecuadorian import Elberto Medina. Nelson used his superior height to land most of his punches at will. Nelson put together many good combinations but Medina hung tough and threw many heavy blows. Judge Carlos Ortiz scored it 40-35 while Judges Steve Weisfield and John Conforti scored it 39-37 for the mohawked Nelson.
Light Heavyweight Denys Lozada improved to 4-1 {2 KO’s} after defeating no-hoper Lee Holoman 0-1-1. Lozada landed two left hooks followed by a straight right hand, which forced Holoman to slump between the ropes and forced the stoppage only 51 seconds into the contest.
Puerto Rican Lightweight Joel Torres improved to 3-0 {2 KO’s} after scoring a third round TKO over Bronx native Artie Bembury 2-1. Torres fought aggressively over the first two rounds and finished the job during the third by landing a right hand that stunned Bembury. The referee surprising elected to stop the contest, leaving many fans in question.
Welterweight Anthony Irons (1-0, 1 KO) of Brooklyn won his pro debut with a third round TKO over Eduardo Adorno 0-3-1. Ivory, who had a large crowd behind him dominated the first two rounds, threw constant bombs and tagged Adorno. Ivory finished the deal during the third by landing unanswered flurries and forcing the stoppage. Iron’s trainer Andre Rozier said this was Iron’s first contest in two years and he had much to improve on that only gym time could improve.
Former world champion Alicia Ashley (13-7-1, 1 KO) earned an easy unanimous decision over Della Hoppe (4-5-1, 1 KO). The southpaw Ashley landed many quick combinations and used her boxing ability to confuse and frustrate Hoppe over 6 rounds. The game Hoppe never went down nor appeared in serious danger from Ashley’s punches. The scores were 60-54 twice and 60-53 all for Ashley.
KENNY FLORIAN HOSTING TRAINING SEMINAR IN BELLINGHAM, MA
Posted on | April 11, 2007 | 2 Comments
MMA Summit 2007
“Putting It All Together”
Presented by Team Kenny Florian

Fresh of his impressive victory over Dokonjonosuke Mishima, UFC Fighter Kenny Florian and his coaching team will present the MMA Summit, a full day of MMA instruction, inspiration and fun on Saturday, April 28 at United States Mixed Martial Arts (USMMA) located in Bellingham, MA. In planning the MMA Summit, Florian wanted to create an event that intelligently brought together all of the key areas of MMA, including the often neglected strength and conditioning component, with top notch instruction. The MMA Summit which runs from 10am-4pm, will teach MMA fans, students and fighters of all levels the best techniques of the standup and ground game with the tools to put it all together.In addition to Kenny Florian, Mark DellaGrotte, who Randy Couture has called “One of the best Muay Thai coaches in the world” and Keith Florian, a BJJ black belt and grappling champion, will lead the MMA workshops.
Kevin Kearns, Kenny’s new strength and conditioning coach, who was recognized by UFC color analyst Joe Rogan for getting Kenny in “the best shape of his life,” will lead a session on strength and conditioning strategies & techniques that will power up your MMA game to the next level.
Besides the world class instruction, the $89 seminar fee includes a free MMA Summit t-shirt courtesy of Sprawl Fight Shorts and Energy Breaks sponsored by Xyience. In addition, NHB Gear will sponsor raffle drawings throughout the day.
Registration information can be found on http://kennyflorian.com/mmaseminar.htmlQuestions on the MMA Summit can be directed to ron@bussenmar.com
SPONSOR COLISEUM CARNAGE I
Posted on | April 11, 2007 | 2 Comments
For Immediate Release
HILTON COLISEUM NEW HOME FOR PROFESSIONAL MMA (MIXED MARTIAL ARTS) EVENT COMPLETE WITH WORLDWIDE WEB CAST ON APRIL 28
Ames, IA- March 27, 2007- Several top MMA promotion companies and personalities have joined forces to produce COLISEUM CARNAGE I on Saturday, April 28 at the 15,000 seat Hilton Auditorium in Ames. Extreme Contacting Fighting, Miletich Fighting Systems, Title Fight Championship, and Fight Sport Global Network will deliver 15 professional MMA bouts. Feature events include some of the sports most popular competitors including UFC and IFL stars Josh Neer and former ISU linebacker Justin Eilers. Attendees can also meet and greet MMA superstars Pat Miletich, Jens Pulver, Robbie Lawler, and Drew McFedries.
Favorite fighters on the regional MMA circuit include Greg Hammar, Mike “Mini-Van” Van Meer, Dan “Big Country” Hutton, Duran Barlow, and Josh Rave.
As well as being the first MMA event held at Hilton, Coliseum Carnage I is the first MMA event originating from the Midwest available via an internet video broadcast. “The Midwest in many ways is the heart of MMA country. We’re grateful the sport has grown into one of Iowa’s largest arenas and proud the eyes of the world will be on our event and Iowa” stated Troy Waller, XCF founder and event promoter.
The near television quality, full screen web cast is available to anyone with a broadband connection through fightsportglobal.com. Fight Sport Global Network launched with significant influence from MMA icon Pat Miletich and partners. “Unlike cable, our reach is greatly expanded and we offer a significantly better value” said Neil Norman, FSGN’s founder. “We’ve assembled the most viable team in MMA combining talent (XCF and Miletich), technology and marketing (FSGN), and live event promotion (XCF and TFC). Our goal is producing the most exciting events, delivering the highest production quality, and to make it available to everyone at a reasonable cost”, added Norman. The web cast is available for $9.95 compared to costs as high as $50 for cable pay-per-view. The event will also be broadcast for free on internet radio at takedownradio.com.
MMA is the world’s fastest growing professional sport. It continues to attract larger crowds, more televised broadcasts, and has added larger advertisers and sponsors. The core MMA audience is the highly sought after 18-34 year old demographic. Coliseum Carnage I is being promoted heavily to college students via web marketing, club promotions, and street teams.
Tickets for the event are available through the Iowa State Center box office and Ticket Master.
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