January 30, 2007
MFC "Gridiron": Valimaki, Kilkenny Headlines this Saturday’s Event The Shaw Conference Centre, in Edmonton, Alberta, will host the Maximum Fighting Championship’s latest installment, "Gridiron", this Saturday night, February 3rd. The card will feature MFC Lightheavyweight Champion Victor Valimaki (8-3) looking to defend his title against up and coming Canadian Martial Arts Centre fighter, Jared Kilkenny (5-1). Valimaki won the organization’s LHW crown last September, when he defeated Kilkenny’s teammate, Jason Day at MFC 10, by stopping Day with strikes in the first round. Less than three weeks later, Valimaki defeated the veteran Vernon White at Vancouver’s Elite Fighting Championship on September 29th, working his way to a unanimous decision victory. In all likelihood, it was this victory that catapulted the Edmonton fighter to his UFC debut on December 13th at Ultimate Fight Night 8, where Valimaki dropped a close split decision loss to David Heath. Valimaki will be looking to rebound from the disappointing loss with a title defense against Kilkenny, in the hopes that a solid performance will see his way back into the UFC. Kilkenny has already built a reputation as a powerful striker during his young career, with all five of his professional victories coming way of stoppage due to strikes. Tack on 3 more amateur wins all ending by TKO or KO, and one can see why the Lethbridge fighter’s reputation precedes him. Most recently, Kilkenny stopped Marcus Hicks shortly into Round one with strikes, at Rumble in the Cage’s "Season Beatings" on New Year’s Eve. Kilkenny previously competed at heavyweight, but recently dropped down to fight at 205. The event is coined "Gridiron" due to the fact that two professional football players from the Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Eskimo’s will be competing on the card. Mike Maurer will be fighting for the third time in his MMA career, in his last fight at MFC 9 last year on March 10th; the Eskimo full-back defeated Darran Apels in the first round by TKO. In his only other fight, Maurer drew with Chris Harker at the Ultimate Martial Arts Championship 1 last April. His opponent will be Roger Hollett, who is regarded by many in Atlantic, Canada, to be one of the region’s better up and coming lightheavyweights. Hollett has gone 3-0 to begin his career, with all three of the fighter’s victories coming way of submission. Adam Braidwood, Maurer’s teammate from the Eskimo’s, will be making his MMA debut against Ryan Jimmo. For Jimmo, who comes from a well accomplished competition background in Karate, he will also be looking to make his first MMA fight a successful one, in his bout with the heavyweight lineman. In another notable fight scheduled for Saturday night’s action, Ryan McGillivray (2-0), who is a member of the Pro-Camp team which currently includes Jason Macdonald and Victor Valimaki, will be taking on Aaron Gallant (1-0) in a welterweight clash. Jason Day had been scheduled to fight Yan Pellerin in a lightheavyweight bout, but Pellerin recently incurred an injury training, and as a result the fight has been cancelled. Vigneault Out, Schulte in, to face Goulet at TKO 28 Steven Vigneault has injured his knee and will be unable to fight Jonathan Goulet for the TKO Welterweight Championship at TKO 28 on February 9th, to be held in Montreal, Quebec. As a result, the TKO website is reporting that the title bout between the two has been moved to June 1st. Goulet will still look to improve his record of 16-7 that night, as Thomas Schulte (13-5) from New Mexico’s Team Jackson will head north to take on Goulet instead. The TKO 28 card still has two championship bouts lined up for the upcoming event. Hatsu Hioki (11-1-1) will look to defend his TKO Featherweight title against Mark Hominick (13-5), after taking the Team Tompkins’ fighter’s belt away last May at TKO 25. Hominick’s teammate, Sam Stout (10-2-1), will look to defend his TKO Lightweight Championship against Brazilian Top Team Canada’s head Jiu-Jitsu instructor, Fabio Holanda (4-4). |
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From the event’s promoter: SHAMROCK VS. GRACIE: COUNTDOWN TO DESTINY 30-Minute, High-Octane Program Premieres This Week Only On SHOWTIME! LOS ANGELES (January 30, 2007) — Shamrock vs. Gracie: Countdown To DESTINY, a new 30-minute show previewing the highly anticipated debut telecast of the newest phenomenon in mixed martial arts–EliteXC, is currently airing on SHOWTIME (next play on SHOWTIME EXTREME 7:50 p.m. ET/PT) and will air regularly through Feb. 10, across the premium network’s multiplexes and On Demand outlets (see air dates and times below). Countdown To DESTINY details the impending match-up between legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) pioneers Frank Shamrock and Renzo Gracie, which will air live on SHOWTIME on Feb. 10 at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Viewers will get one step closer to ‘DESTINY’ with extensive interviews and an in-depth look at the two fighters who are at the center of one of MMA’s fiercest rivalries. Complete with fight footage and interviews from Shamrock, Gracie, SHOWTIME announcers Bill Goldberg and Mario Lopez as well as other experts, Countdown To DESTINY provides ringside access to the fighters and the amazing history behind this high-stakes duel. Discover what makes the fighters tick and what to expect when the two clash in the main event of an eagerly awaited, five-bout television event. The special also showcases exclusive footage and interviews with KJ Noons, Gina Carano and Charles "Crazy Horse" Bennett, who will be featured on the televised undercard. Shamrock, the first fighter to successfully incorporate wrestling, jiu-jitsu and kickboxing into one fluid art form, looks to cement his legacy as one of the world’s best with a win over Gracie. Gracie, on the other hand, looks to clear his family name with a definitive win over Shamrock, who last year knocked out Renzo’s cousin, Cesar, in just 21 seconds. Viewers will learn more about Carano, the leading lady of MMA, and meet multi-talented boxing/MMA star, Noons, as he prepares for the gallop of his life against the unpredictable "Crazy Horse." Carano’s talents and looks have quickly made her one of MMA’s most popular personalities. Trained in Muay Thai at the famous Master Toddy’s gym in Las Vegas, Carano has parlayed her stardom into a stint on the Oxygen Network’s reality television show, "Fight Girls," and is the featured fighter in an episode of Warrior Nation now airing on MSNBC. Noons is one of the only athletes to have fighting contracts for both MMA and boxing. He boasts a 7-1 pro boxing record with six knockouts, a 3-0 MMA record with three knockouts, and a 13-1 Muay Thai record with 10 knockouts. For more information on EliteXC, Showtime Networks Inc., and ProElite, Inc., please visit www.ProElite.com and www.SHO.com. Shamrock vs. Gracie: Countdown To DESTINY Airdates/Times
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