COLORADO MMA
THATCH RETURNS AT
ROF 41 BRAGGING
RIGHTS IN SEARCH OF WORLD TITLE
07-16-2011
Pancrase Newswire
Denver, CO
RING OF FIRE MMA is one of the
longest running Mixed Martial Arts
promotions in the world. On Saturday August
20th they return with ROF 41: BRAGGING
RIGHTS!
Headlining the event will be a battle of two
of the top Welterweight prospects in the
country. Current ROF Young Gun Champion,
Brandon RUKUS Thatch will be going after the
ROF 170 World Title against super striker
Chidi "CHIDI BANG BANG" Njokuani.
There is no more dynamic exciting fighter in
the welterweight division then Brandon RUKUS
Thatch. He is a lifelong martial artist
whose father and grandfather were both
professional fighters. After a short stint
in Kickboxing Thatch set his sights on MMA,
and has never looked back. Although being
known mostly for his devastating striking
ability, he has proved his worth on the
ground as well, with exactly half of his
victories coming by way of submission.
A neck injury de-railed the young star, and
after a 20 month absence he returned at ROF
39, where he finished Danny DEE-1 Davis in a
non title bout. Thatch then went on to KO
rival Chris Holland at ROF 40 in just 19
seconds of the first round to defend his
Young Gun title.
Thatch now has his sights set on Njokuani
and the ROF World Title. Knowing that a win
here will most likely propel him to the UFC,
he realizes this could be the last chance
his local fans will get to see him fight
live. With that in mind and presented with
multiple opponents for this bout Thatch
simply stated. "Whoever is the toughest,
that's the one I want to fight. I want to be
challenged. I want a war. I want the
toughest match up possible." But once the
fight with Njokuani was agreed to Thatch
added "Well now its also about bragging
rights, he's from Las Vegas, and everyone
knows I fly the 303 flag proudly. Denver is
my home town, and I will represent!"
Chidi "CHIDI BANG BANG" Njokuani is known
for his hard hitting and aggressive Muay
Thai style of fighting. He has amassed a 5-
2 MMA record, with 4 of his wins being a TKO
or KO. He is the brother of UFC light weight
fighter Anthony Njokuani, and fights in the
same manner as his sibling. Chidi also has
had a succesful professional Muay Thai
career as well. Chidi trains with his
brother at One Kick Nick's gym in Las Vegas
along with other fighters like Stephen
Bonnar and Steve Cantwell. He and Thatch are
exactly the same height, and have almost
identical backgrounds and similar records.
Besides the Bragging Rights that are at
stake, and the ROF World Title, this truly
could be the war that Thatch is looking for.
Making his return to the RING OF FIRE will
be fan favorite Tyler THUNDER Toner. Toner
is a former ROF Champion and launched his
big league career through the promotion.
After debuting in the WEC and then getting
absorbed into the UFC, Toner now finds
himself climbing his way back up the ladder.
Toner has shown Fight Of The Night efforts
in almost all of his MMA matches and never
disappoints. Excited to be fighting in front
of his home crowd again, Toner is training
hard for his return. Facing Toner will be
Bodog Fights veteran Glibert JR Sims. Sims
has an extensive boxing background and a
style that should bring out the best in
Toner.
No one has had a harder path to ROF then
Serbia's Bojan Velickovic. Velickovic was
the grand champion of the reality televison
show PUT KA VENRONOM RINGU which translate
in English to THE ROAD TO RING OF FIRE. The
program was braodcast in 6 countries in
Europe and the winner was given a chance to
come to America and compete in the Ring Of
Fire flagship promotion. After surviving a
long elimination process of over 100
fighters, Bojan was chosen as one of the
finalists. He was then sent through a
grueling training program which included
Muay Thai, Brazilian JiuJitsu, Wrestling,
and even Special Forces Combat training. He
then fought two times on the television
show, winning both fights by submission and
earned a spot in the final 4. On June 19 in
the capitol city of Belgrade, Bojan fought
two times in one night to be crowned the
Champion of the series and earned his right
to come to the US to compete.
The fighter chosen by the promotion to
welcome Bojan to the US is Jason THE DRAGON
Lee. Lee was voted the ATO 2010 Amateur
Fighter of the year. Lee debuted at ROF 40
with a decision victory over Hit Squad
fighter Coltin Cole. With a 4-1 amateur and
3-0 professional record, Lee looks to be one
of the top prospects on the circuit. Lee is
training hard at GRUDGE Training center
preparing for his clash with Velickovi, and
is looking forward to representing America
in this International battle.
The newest addition to the RING OF FIRE
roster is #1 Ranked heavyweight Ryan
Martinez. Martinez is a monster in the cage
and sports a 4-0 amateur and 4-1
professional record. Having made his way up
the ranks on the smaller regional shows
Martinez wanted to step up his game. After
seeing other Heavyweights such as Shane
Carwin and Brendan Schaub have boosts to
their careers from ROF, Martinez saw it as
the next progression on his path.
With all of his Ryan's wins coming by way of
K.O., ROF president Sven Bean knows talent
when he sees it. "I have had Ryan in my
sights for quite a while actually and we
have had some discussions in the past, but
the timing was right now. We are extremely
happy to have signed the best heavyweight in
the region to a multi fight deal." said Bean
VENUE INFORMATION:
ROF 40 also marks the promotion's return
to the 1ST BANK CENTER, formerly known as
the Broomfield Event Center. The arena is
located just 15 minutes from both Downtown
Denver and Boulder. The venue just received
a multimillion dollar face lift and has
recently hosted UFC FIGHT NIGHT on SPIKE TV.
Tickets also available at:
TicketHorse charge-by-phone (8am - 8pm
M-Sat., 9am - 5pm Sun.): 866.461.6556.
TicketHorse Kiosks located at all Dicks
Sporting Goods
*price does not include $4.00 facility fee,
additional charges may apply
VIP TABLES:
As always if you would like to see the
event is style, VIP GOLD and VIP SILVER
tables can be purchased. The VIP tables seat
8 people and are catered by Brothers BBQ.
Cocktail service is available to the VIP
tables. Call 303-521-0966 or e-mail beanz4@msn.com
to reserve your table!
