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Saturday
Night Fights Photos, Brief Recap And Undercard Results |
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ANDREI “The
Pitbull” ARLOVSKI vs. “Big” BEN ROTHWELL
The Tale of "The Pitbull and The Giant"
SIGNAL HILL, California (June 30, 2008) –
There are a number of reasons not to miss the mega mixed
martial arts extravaganza, “Affliction Banned,” this
July 19th at Honda Center in Anaheim, California — not
least of which is the unbelievable main event — a dream
match-up between heavyweight champs Fedor Emelianenko
and Tim Sylvia. But the list of transcendent fight
talent doesn’t end there. In one of the biggest cards in
the history of the sport, the inaugural fight event of
Affliction Entertainment will feature an unprecedented
line-up of the best MMA combatants competing against
each other, including a brutal, full contact bout
between the two heavyweight powerhouses, Andrei “The
Pitbull” Arlovski and “Big” Ben Rothwell.
Former UFC® Heavyweight Champion Andrei
Arlovski is a 6’ 4”, 240-pound former cop from Belarus
with dangerous stand up skills, a brutal right punch,
and deft mobility and striking accuracy. Arlovski tears
into his opponents, often dealing out devastating damage
before the other fighter even has time to recover.
Considered one of the top ten ranked heavyweight
fighters in the world, “The Pitbull” is one of the
world’s most complete MMA fighters, as well as one of
its most fearsome. This dreaded competitor gets high
marks in grappling ability and massive striking power.
He has won notable victories over Tim Sylvia, Paul
Buentello, Vladimir Matyushenko, Fabricio Werdum and
Wesley “Cabbage” Correira, among others. For his
upcoming fight with Rothwell, Arlovski has been training
with legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach, who has
trained many boxing champions such as Mike Tyson, Oscar
De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins and Manny Pacquiao.
Arlovski’s hard work combined with sheer talent and
strong mental preparedness give his opponents plenty to
worry about in the ring.
Arlovski will face-off with former IFL®
heavyweight standout Ben Rothwell, who is riding an
impressive 13-fight winning streak and is currently
ranked as the number 10 best heavyweight fighter in the
world. At 6'5' and 265 pounds, this gritty, determined
Wisconsin native is a force to reckon with in the
ring—just ask anyone who has squared off against him. A
young fighter full of zest and energy and a personality
as big as his frame, Rothwell is one of the most
entertaining athletes in MMA—Rothwell never fails to
deliver. And he has an impeccable record, rattling off
11 knockouts among his first 17 MMA victories with a
flair that crowds eat up. A wicked combination of
aggression, power and style drives Rothwell’s numerous
victories. The sheer force with which this giant strikes
his opponents leads to the frequent knockouts he is
famous for. But his brute strength is tempered by a good
measure of agility, allowing him to inflict accurate and
precise punishment. “Big” Ben’s fierce ring presence and
heavy-handedness often has opponents voluntarily
choosing to leave the ring to avoid serious injury.
The brawl between the ferocious “Pitbull”
and giant “Big” Ben is sure to please sports fans hungry
for a truly ballistic competition and a performance full
of charisma. These two magnetic, world-class fighters
always put on a great show. With their collective
striking power and bigger-than-life personalities, these
well-matched opponents combine powerful fighting
techniques with a spark of showmanship that electrifies
their audience. Both fighters are known for their
tremendous hard-hitting styles and numerous victories.
Their bouts often end in knockouts — explosive,
expedient, and purely exciting. On July 19th in Anaheim,
fans will bear witness to a dynamic exhibition of
prowess, as these two crowd-pleasing and accomplished
warriors deal out a gallon of pain for guts and glory
for “Affliction Banned.”
“Affliction Banned,” headlined by the
WAMMA heavyweight title bout between Russian superstar
Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia, is stacked with so
much world-class talent that it had to be separated into
two live shows produced for broadcast. The night’s
activities will kick off with “Affliction Live,” a
one-hour, free live telecast on FSN (Fox Sports Net)
starting at 5 PM Pacific (8 PM/ET) and setting the stage
for “Affliction Banned” – five super fights on
pay-per-view starting at 6 PM/PT (9 PM/ET) via iN
DEMAND, TVN, Shaw Communications, Viewers Choice Canada,
DirecTV, DISH Network, Bell ExpressVue and Star Choice
in the United States and Canada for a suggested retail
price of $39.95.
The heavy metal band Megadeth, led by
frontman, guitarist, and songwriter Dave Mustaine, will
be performing live at the event.
Tickets for “Affliction Banned” range
between $50.00 and $1,000.00, and are on sale at Honda
Center’s Box Office and also online at Ticketmaster.com.
To download all video, photos and PR-related media go
to:
http://www.afflictionbanned.com/media.html
Affliction
Already a mainstay for the most elite athletes,
heaviest bands, A-listers and the fashion conscious,
Affliction Clothing’s ability to set the bar high in
fashion is evident in its collection’s indulgence of
style and design, focus on quality, and its trademark
series of divinely executed, dark and powerful themes. (www.afflictionclothing.com)
The Trump Organization
The Trump Organization encompasses global
real estate development and global licensing, sales and
marketing, property management, golf course development,
entertainment, entertainment and product licensing,
brand development as well as restaurants and event
planning. Donald J. Trump is the Chairman and President
of the Trump Organization, a privately held company in
New York. (www.Trump.com)
###
Affliction
Entertainment
Presents The Greatest MMA Event
In the History of the Sport
July 19 PPV in Anaheim
SIGNAL HILL, California (June 11, 2008) –
Affliction Entertainment will make MMA history with the
greatest line-up of mixed-martial-arts fights ever
presented in one night. Live on July 19th, from the Honda
Center in Anaheim, California, “Affliction Banned” will
showcase talent from around the world in the fastest
growing sport on earth.
The superstar-studded card is so stacked
with talent that it had to be separated into two live
shows produced for broadcast. The night’s activities will
kick off with a one-hour, free live telecast on FSN (Fox
Sports Net) starting at 5 PM Pacific (8 PM/ET), dubbed
“Affliction Live.” Following that is “Affliction
Banned”—five incredible fights on pay-per-view starting at
6 PM/PT (9 PM/ET) via iN DEMAND, TVN, Shaw Communications,
Viewers Choice Canada, DirecTV, DISH Network, Bell
ExpressVue and Star Choice in the United States and Canada
for a suggested retail price of $39.95.
Kicking off the night with “Affliction
Live” on FSN is the highly anticipated US debut of Russian
heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3), brother of
Fedor Emelianenko, against tough Texan brawler Paul “The
Headhunter” Buentello (23-10), of Amarillo, and Brazilian
strongman, Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira (13-3)
against veteran Vernon “Tiger” White (26-32-2), fighting
out of Palo Alto, California.
Then, live on pay-per-view, “Affliction
Banned” features the much-anticipated return of the former
undisputed PRIDE® heavyweight champion and Russian M-1
legend Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (27-1), who
takes on former 2-time UFC® heavyweight title-holder Tim
“The Maine-iac” Sylvia (24-4), fighting out of Iowa by way
of his native Maine, in the main event.
The co-feature of the night will match
Former UFC® heavyweight title-holder Andrei “The Pitbull”
Arlovski (12-5), fighting out of Chicago by way of
Belarus, facing IFL® titlist “Big” Ben Rothwell (29-5) of
Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The PPV action continues with three more
super showdowns as Josh “The Baby Faced Assassin” Barnett
(21-5) of Seattle, faces off stateside for the first time
in two years in a grudge match against the only opponent
to ever knock him out—Brazilian strongman Pedro “The Rock”
Rizzo (16-7); three-time All-American wrestler Mike
Whitehead (20-5) of Salt Lake City battles Brazilian
sensation Renato “Babalu” Sobral (29-7) of Costa Mesa,
California; and 2000 Olympic Wrestling Silver Medalist and
Oregon House of Representative candidate, Matt “The Law”
Lindland (20-5) meets Brazilian favorite Fabio “Negao”
Nascimento (8-3).
Finally, for the thousands in attendance at
the Honda Center, the off television swing bouts will fill
out an exciting night of action as light-heavyweights
Terry Martin (16-4) of Chicago vs. Victor “The Phenom”
Belfort (16-8) from Brazil, and Justin Levens (9-8) of
Laguna Niguel (CA) vs. unbeaten San Diego prospect Patrick
Speight (6-0); welterweight JJ Ambrose (9-1) of Lakewood
(CA) vs. Mike “Quicksand” Pyle (15-5-1) of Las Vegas; and
lightweight Savant Young (8-7) of Lakewood (CA) vs. Mark
“The Machine” Hominick (15-8), representing Ontario,
Canada.
Tickets for “Affliction Banned” range
between $50.00 and $1,000.00, and are on sale at the Honda
Center Box Office and also online at Ticketmaster.com.
To download all video, photos and PR-related media go to:
http://www.afflictionbanned.com/media.html
Saturday Night Fights Photos, Brief Recap
And Undercard Results
Photos: TOM CASINO/EliteXC
On a history-making evening which featured a lot of
exciting, entertaining two-way action and a little bit of
everything, including licks, kicks and controversy, unbeaten
Kimbo Slice (3-0) of Perrine, Fla., scored a hard-fought
third-round TKO over England's James "Colossus" Thompson
(16-9) in the main event of the inaugural "CBS EliteXC
Saturday Night Fights" on the CBS Television Network.
The monumental event, the first-ever mixed martial arts card
shown live in primetime on network television, was witnessed
by 8,033, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.,
and millions more on CBS.
It was presented by Los Angeles-based ProElite, Inc.’s live
fight division EliteXC.
"The night was electric, every fight was exciting,'' EliteXC
Live Events President Gary Shaw said. "I'm sure all the
viewers who watched stayed glued to their television sets
for the entire show.
"Kelly Kahl (Senior Executive Vice President, CBS Primetime)
and everybody at CBS, Ken Hershman (Senior Vice President
and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports Programming) and
everybody at SHOWTIME, the EliteXC fight team, everybody at
the Prudential Center, the media and fans, I can't thank
them all enough.''
Said Doug DeLuca, Executive Chairman, ProElite, Inc. "All
the athletes did the sport of mixed martial arts proud. The
sport has a whole new audience after tonight.''
In other CBS fights, EliteXC middleweight champion
“Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4) of St. Louis, by way of
Granite City, Ill., retained his belt when his
match with Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (15-4) of
Sacramento, Calif., was declared a no contest. A good action
fight with ferocious exchanges was stopped with 1:34 left in
the third round after Smith was accidentally poked in
the eye. Since a world title fight in New Jersey must go
three full rounds to be official, it went into the books as
a No Contest.
Gina Carano (6-0) of Las Vegas, Nev., defeated Kaitlin Young
(4-2) of Circle Pines, Minn., by TKO at the end of the
second round; Joey Villasenor (26-6) of Albuquerque, N.M.,
registered a 1:11, first-round TKO over Phil Baroni (10-10)
of Long Island, N.Y., in a battle of 185-pounders; and
hard-hitting Brett Rogers (7-0) of St. Paul, Minn., who
called out Kimbo at the post-fight press conference, scored
a 1:01, first-round TKO over Jon Murphy (4-3) of
Minersville, Pa.
In fights streamed live and for free at ProElite.com: Chris
“The Story” Liguori (9-7) of Red Bank, N.J., scored a
second-round TKO over Jim Bova (3-1) of New Ringgold,
Penn., Carlton Haselrig (2-0), of Johnstown, Penn., won by
TKO when Carlos Moreno (5-3), of Elizabeth, N.J., failed
to answer the bell for the second round; Matt Makowski (3-0)
of Philadelphia, Pa. registered a second-round TKO over Nick
“The Mad Monkey” Serra (8-3) of East Meadow, N.Y.; Wilson
Reis (4-0) of Philadelphia submitted (rear-naked
choke) Justin Robbins (12-4-1) of Granite City, Ill., at
4:06 of the opening round; and James “Binky” Jones (7-5) of
Baltimore, Md., triumphed by submission (rear naked
choke) over Calvin Kattar (2-1) of Methuen, Mass., at 4:49
of the first.
In preliminary bouts that were not streamed at ProElite.com,
Zach Makovsky (4-1) of Philadelphia took a unanimous
decision over Brazilian Andre “Gigetto” Soares (5-2) of
Pinebrook, N.J., by the scores of 29-26 twice and 29-28;
and Joe Sampieri (1-2) of Manhattan, N.Y. knocked out Mike
Groves (0-2) of Philadelphia at 4:58 in the first round.
CBS announcer Gus Johnson handled play-by-play Saturday with
legendary Frank Shamrock and Mauro Ranallo serving as
analysts and Karyn Bryant as cageside reporter.
CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS was produced by SHOWTIME
Sports. The executive producer was David Dinkins, Jr. with
Bob Dunphy directing.
Kimbo Slice follows up with an uppercut as a
bloodied James Thompson attempts to retaliate.
Robbie Lawler connects with a vicious kick to the body against Scott
Smith.
Gina Carano delivers a perfect leg kick against Kaitlin Young.
Joey Villasenor lands a smashing right hand as Phil Baroni attempts to
cover up.
Brett Rogers lands a short, solid right hand to the face of Jon Murphy.
Fighter pages (CBS): Slice ( <http://kimboslice.proelite.com/>
http://kimboslice.proelite.com), Thompson ( <http://jamesthompson.proelite.com/>
http://jamesthompson.proelite.com), Lawler ( <http://robbielawler.proelite.com/>
http://robbielawler.proelite.com), Smith ( <http://scottsmith.proelite.com/>
http://scottsmith.proelite.com), Carano ( <http://ginacarano.proelite.com/>
http://ginacarano.proelite.com), Young ( <http://kaitlinrose.proelite.com/>
http://kaitlinrose.proelite.com), Villasenor ( <http://joeyvillasenor.com/>
http://joeyvillasenor.com), Baroni ( <http://philbaroni.proelite.com/>
http://philbaroni.proelite.com), Rogers ( <http://brettrogers.proelite.com/>
http://brettrogers.proelite.com), Murphy ( <http://jonmurphy.proelite.com/>
http://jonmurphy.proelite.com).
Fighter pages (ProElite.Com): Haselrig ( <http://carltonhaselrig.proelite.com/>
http://carltonhaselrig.proelite.com), Moreno ( <http://carlosmoreno.proelite.com/>
http://carlosmoreno.proelite.com), Liguori ( <http://chrisliguori.proelite.com/>
http://chrisliguori.proelite.com), Bova ( <http://jimbova.proelite.com/>
http://jimbova.proelite.com), Serra ( <http://nickserra.proelite.com/>
http://nickserra.proelite.com), Makowski ( <http://mattmakowski.proelite.com/>
http://mattmakowski.proelite.com), Robbins ( <http://justinrobbins.proelite.com/>
http://justinrobbins.proelite.com), Reis ( <http://wilsonreis.proelite.com/>
http://wilsonreis.proelite.com), Jones ( <http://jamesjones.com/>
http://jamesjones.com), Kattar ( <http://calvinkattar.proelite.com/>
http://calvinkattar.proelite.com), Makovsky ( <http://zachmakovsky.proelite.com/>
http://zachmakovsky.proelite.com), Soares ( <http://andresoares.proelite.com/>
http://andresoares.proelite.com), Sampieri ( <http://joesampieri.proelite.com/>
http://joesampieri.proelite.com), Groves ( <http://mikegroves.proelite.com/>
http://mikegroves.proelite.com <http://mikegroves.proelite.com/>
About ProElite, Inc.
ProElite, Inc. 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. The company has
established a partnership with CBS that brings MMA to a
major primetime network for the first time. Through
acquisitions of MMA organizations in Asia and Europe,
ProElite is a global leader with an exclusive distribution
agreement for its program library with IMG Media. ProElite’s
live fight division, EliteXC, delivers spectacular live MMA
fight events that showcase the world’s top fighters [elitexc.com].
The company’s social media platform, ProElite.com, continues
to add thousands of subscribers each month due to the large
number of live streaming MMA events, social networking
tools, and original and partner-driven content.
WEIGHTS FROM NEWARK SHOW
 8204
 8243 8275 8293
 8326
8366 PHOTOS BY TOM CASINO/EliteXC
IMG_8366: Shaquille O'Neal paid a surprise visit to Kimbo
Slice before Friday's weigh-in at the Prudential Center at
Newark, N.J. Kimbo will face England's James "Colossus"
Thompson in the main event tomorrow / Saturday when "CBS
ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS'' debuts on the on the CBS
Television Network (9 p.m.-11 p.m. ET/PT).
The eagerly awaited, highly anticipated, history-making,
first-ever mixed martial arts event in primetime on network
television, presented by Los Angeles-based ProElite, Inc.'s
live fight division, EliteXC, will emanate from the
Prudential Center.
IMG_8204: EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw looks on
as Kimbo (left) and "Colossus" square off after the
weigh-in.
Slice 235 1/2 Colossus 257.
IMG_8275: Gina Carano (left) and Kaitlin Young pose after
the weigh-in. The women will clash in one of the five fights
on the telecast.
Carano 144 1/2 Young 140 1/2
IMG_8293: Exciting middleweights Phil Baroni (left) and Joey
Villasenor go nose-to-nose after they tipped the scale.
Baroni 185 Vilasenor 184 1/2
IMG_8326: The memorable evening's opening bout will feature
Jon Murphy (left) against Brett Rogers in a heavyweight
scrap.
Murphy 260 1/2 Rogers 263 1/2
IMG_8243: Crowd-pleasing "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (left)
will defend his EliteXC middleweight title against
hard-hitting Scott "Hands Of Steel" Smith in the semi-main
event on CBS.
Lawlor 184 1/2 Smith 184 1/2
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