MORE POPULAR THAN SLICED BREAD? KIMBO GETS
LONG AWAITED SHOWDOWN WITH TANK ABBOTT FEB. 16
Slugfest Highlights EliteXC’s “Street Certified” Live MMA Event in Miami;
Sensational Undercard at BankUnited Center Features Big Foot, Scott Smith & More
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 9, 2008) – Are you ready for some February Fireworks? The Street Fight of the Year will take place inside a cage.
In what will be a thrilling heavyweight brawl and South Florida homecoming, the incredibly popular Kimbo Slice (1-0) of Miami will face hard-hitting David “Tank’’ Abbott (9-13) in the main event of “Street Certified” on Saturday, Feb. 16, at the BankUnited Center at the University of Miami.
Tickets for a spectacular 10-bout event, presented by Los Angeles-based
ProElite, Inc.’s EliteXC, start at $35 and are available at all Ticketmaster
locations, online at _www.ticketmaster.com_ (http://www.ticketmaster.com/) and at the BankUnited Box Office at the University of Miami. Doors open at 7 p.m. The first live fight is at 7:30.
SHOWTIME will televise five fights including the Kimbo-Tank showdown live at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast), while five non-televised undercard matches will be streamed live on the leading MMA internet site, ProElite.com
“There are a lot of fans who’ve waited a long time for two legendary,
slugging fighters who built their reputations as street brawlers before turning to mixed martial arts to get it on, and EliteXC is proud to be the ones who finally were able to make it happen,” EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw said.
“I’d hate for longtime, hardcore MMA fans not to get to see the Kimbo-Tank fight come off. It is going to be as thrilling a fight as one can be for as long as it lasts. It may not be fun for one of the fighters, but, from a fans’ point of view, Kimbo versus Tank was a long time coming and sure will be fun to watch.
“From top to bottom, this card is stacked. All the fights are competitive,
non-stop action fights with no clear-cut winners. It is what EliteXC is all
about. We expect to sell out the BankUnited Center and look forward to putting on a great show for those in attendance and those tuning in on SHOWTIME.” In addition to Kimbo-Tank, the SHOWTIME telecast will include: Antonio “Big Foot” Silva (9-1), a highly touted Brazilian who lives in Coconut Creek, Fla., and is considered one of the world’s top heavyweights, versus tough contender Ricco Rodriguez (27-7), of Staten Island, N.Y., England's James “The Colossus” Thompson (16-7) battles unbeaten Brett Rogers (7-0) of St. Paul, Minn., in a heavyweight match, Australian Kyle “The Ozzie” Noke (14-3-1), the bodyguard of the late Steve “Crocodile Hunter’’ Irwin, meets Scott “Hands Of Stone’’ Smith (14-4), of Sacramento, Calif., in a compelling contest at 185 pounds; and Edson “Little Tiger” Berto (14-4-1), of Tampa, Fla., faces Yves Edwards (32-13-1) of Conroe, Tex., in a scrap at 160 pounds.
A non-televised undercard, which will be streamed live at ProElite.com, will include: Rafael Feijao (4-1), of Brazil, vs. John Doyle (6-2), of Allentown, Pa., at 205 pounds; Mike Bernhard (3-0), of Miami, vs. Lorenzo Borgameo (2-0), of Miami, at 170; Eric Bradley (2-1), of Las Vegas, Nev., vs. Mikey Gomez (6-3), of Orlando, Fla., at 170; Mario Rinaldi (6-2), of Miami, vs. Dave Herman (9-0) of Indiana at 265; and Jon Kirk (10-2), of Houston, vs. Yosmany Cabezas (4-0), of Tampa, Fla., at 185 pounds.
Fighter pages (non-televised bouts): Borgameo
