ELITEXC MMA EVENT
- FEATURING KIMBO SLICE, KEN SHAMROCK, GINA CARANO
8-29-2008,
Denver, CO
Event
date: Saturday, October 4, 2008
Venue:
Bankatlantic Center, Fort Lauderdale,
Fla
LOS ANGELES – Incredibly popular hometown hero Kimbo Slice returns to 305 to face legendary Hall Of Famer Ken Shamrock in a featured fight on a stellar, star-studded mixed martial arts card that includes women’s superstar Gina “Conviction” Carano and MMA standouts Jake Shields, Paul Daley and Murilo “Ninja” Rua Saturday, Oct. 4, at the BankAtlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Tickets start at $30 and are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at (954) 523-3309 in Broward County, (305) 358-5885 in Dade County and (561) 966-3309 in Palm Beach County, online at www.ticketmaster.com and at the BankAtlantic Center box offices (954) 835-7825.
The BankAtlantic Center box offices are located on both the North and South sides of the main entrance. Their normal business hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday through Friday. The box office will be open the day of the event beginning at 10 a.m. The first live fight begins at 6 p.m. ET. The event is presented by Los Angeles-based ProElite, Inc.’s live fight division, EliteXC.
Besides Kimbo-Shamrock, other finalized fights include: a title defense by EliteXC lightweight champion Jake Shields against Paul Daley, Carano collides with Kelly Kabold in a 140-pound bout and Rua, a former EliteXC middleweight beltholder, faces Benji Radach, at 185 pounds.
Cristiane “Cyborg’’ Santos meets Yoko Takahashi and Florida-based Edson Berto faces Hawaii’s Mike Aina at 170 in top undercard fights. The undercard also will feature Florida favorites Crafton Wallace and Seth Petruzelli, who will face foes to be announced. Wallace has won four straight and six of seven. Petruzelli, a former cast member of the Ultimate Fighter, has won eight of his last 10 fights.
A major MMA attraction, the undefeated Kimbo, of Perrine, Fla., near Miami, is trained by respected legendary fighter and trainer, the no-nonsense Bas Rutten. Kimbo is coming off an exciting third-round TKO over James "Colossus" Thompson on May 31.
Before turning pro, the hard-hitting Kimbo grew up in and around Perrine. He made a name for himself on the Internet where videos of the bald, bearded, menacing-looking former underground bare-knuckle street fighter have been downloaded literally millions of times on YouTube.
Kimbo’s first two MMA fights lasted 62 seconds. In a devastating, memorable performance, Kimbo blew up Tank Abbott in 43 seconds last Feb. 16 in Miami.
Shamrock, of Reno, Nev., is a true MMA legend and one of the biggest draws in any sport. Known as “The World’s Most Dangerous Man,’’ 22 of his 26 wins have come via submission.
One of the sport's most recognizable and popular figures, Shamrock has fought in some of the biggest and most important fights in MMA history. He has defeated the likes of Rutten, Maurice Smith, Dan “The Beast” Severn and Kimo Leopoldo in an illustrious career.
Shields, of San Francisco, is a life-long vegetarian who was raised in a remote area in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Northern California. Undefeated for nearly five years and a winner of 10 straight, including six inside the distance, Shields is considered one of the best in the world at 170 pounds.
On July 26 in Stockton, Calif., Shields captured the EliteXC belt with a 1:03, first-round submission over highly regarded Nick Thompson. A Cesar Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, Shields' last five fights have ended in the first round.
Daley, of Nottingham, England, is a confident, dangerous Muay Thai specialist whose style has been described as an aggressive mix of striking, striking and more striking. Extremely popular in England, he has won his last six fights, five by KO. Thirteen of Daley's 18 wins have come by stoppage.
Nicknamed “Semtex” after an explosive that British armed forces use to demolish large structures, Daley stopped previously unbeaten Bojan Kosednar in the first round in his last start on July 12 in the UK. When he's not fighting, Daley has been involved in a project with Mothers Against Guns in London.
Carano, aka “Crush” on American Gladiators, resides in Las Vegas. She'll be making her first start since registering an entertaining, crowd-pleasing second-round TKO over Kaitlin Young on May 31.
The most recognizable female MMA fighter in the world, Carano is a skilled Muay Thai specialist with model looks and world-class ability. She has mostly dominated her opposition.
Kobald, of Minneapolis, began her career 16-0-1. A tough talker who has predicted an early- round knockout, Kobald holds a second round TKO victory over the respected Shayna Baszler.
Rua, of Curitiba, Brazil, is a classy Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai black belt whose aggressive style makes for scintillating scraps. A former EliteXC 185-pound champ and the brother of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, “Ninja’’ has won five of his last six, including a first-round TKO over Tony Bonello last June 14.
Radach, of Castle Rock, Wash., has been on a roll. The heavy-handed veteran has won five of his last six fights. Regarded as a top young prospect until an injury sidelined him for three years, Radach owns several notable triumphs in a career that began in March 2001.
Santos, a talented, aggressive-minded Brazilian, stormed onto the women's scene in spectacular fashion in her United States debut on July 26 in Stockton. In an overwhelming performance that lasted just under six minutes, she overpowered Baszler en route to winning by impressive second-round TKO.
A product of the world-famous Chute Boxe Academy in Curitiba, Brazil, Santos is trained by her husband and fellow fighter, Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos.
The more experienced Takahashi, of Japan, has won two of her last three.
Berto lives in Orlando and will be making his fifth start for EliteXC. Aina, who lost a controversial decision to world-class Nick Diaz in September 2007, is coming off a win over Strikeforce lightweight champion Kaleo Kwan last June 14.
The remainder of the fights will be announced soon. For more information on Kimbo, please go to (http://www.elitexc.com/fighters.
