ELITEXC’S “RETURN OF THE KING’’
FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES & THOUGHTS
THURSDAY, June 12, 2008,
King Street Cafe, Honolulu
One night after it replays the history-making, first-ever primetime mixed martial arts event on network television, SHOWTIME will offer an outstanding card tomorrow, June 14 (10 p.m., ET/PT, delayed on the west coast) that will feature an EliteXC lightweight championship fight between defending champ and former Big Island resident, KJ Noons (5-1) of San Diego, Calif., and rejuvenated, world-class Yves Edwards (34-13-1) of Coconut Creek, Fla.
Preceding a main event matchup of excellent 160-pound strikers will be a terrific live televised card that will include world-class Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu black belt Nick Diaz (16-7) of Stockton, Calif., and dangerous, up-and-coming ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series alum Muhsin Corbbrey (13-2) of Hilton Head, S.C., in the co-feature.
In other SHOWTIME televised fights: former EliteXC 185-pound champ Murilo “Ninja” Rua (15-8-1) of Brazil will meet Australian-born, Las Vegas-based Tony Bonello (16-0-1, 1 NC) in a compelling matchup at 185; Brazil’s highly regarded Rafael Feijao (5-1) meets Wayne Cole (11-6) of Norman, Okla., at 205 pounds and heavyweight prospect Dave “Pee Wee” Herman (10-0) of Bloomington, Ind., takes on Ron Waterman (15-5-2) of Greeley, Colo.
The event, billed as “Return of the King’’ will emanate from the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, and is presented by Los Angeles-based ProElite, Inc.’s live fight division, EliteXC, led by Gary Shaw.
Today, Friday, June 13, at 11 p.m. ET/PT, SHOWTIME will re-broadcast the inaugural “CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS’’ that were shown on May 31 on the CBS Television Network It, too, was presented by EliteXC.
Tickets for June 14 start at $25 and are available at all Ticketmaster locations, online at http://www.ticketmaster.com, at the Blaisdell Arena and at all Times supermarkets. Doors open at 2:30. The first live fight is at 3 p.m. The SHOWTIME portion of the card begins at 4 p.m. Hawaiian time.
With the exception of Noons-Edwards, which won’t be lacking for punch or excitement and is scheduled for five, 5 minutes rounds, the fights are slated for three, 5-minute rounds.
In the top undercard fight streamed live and for free at ProElite.com, Kala Kolohe (6-1) of Waianae, Hawaii, will face Bubba McDaniel (11-4) of Wichita Falls, Tex., at 185 pounds.
The other undercard fights will feature fighters from Hawaii: Mark Oshiro (10-1) of Honolulu vs. Chris “Red Bull’’ Willems (2-1-1) of Hilo at 140 pounds; Kaleo Kwan (8-8) of Waimanalo vs. Mike Aina (9-6-1) of Hilo at 160; Lolohea Mahe (4-0) of Kahuluia, Maui, vs. Chris Barnard (1-3) of Waianae at 265 pounds and PJ Dean (1-3) of Waianae vs. Dean Lista (3-1) of Honolulu. All the fights are set for three, 5-minute rounds.
Non-televised bouts (three, 3-minute rounds): Russell Doane (1-1) of Waipahu vs. Dwayne Haney (1-0) and Kepa Madeiros (debut) vs. Carl Barton (1-0) at 185. The latter three fighters are from Honolulu.
DOUG DELUCA, Executive Chairman, ProElite, Inc.
“I really want to thank the fighters, the athletes, who are part of the ProElite family. We have always stood behind our fighters; we did for the CBS show and we stand behind them for this fight card. We have some of the best fighters in the world and we're here to stay.
“On Saturday, you are in for a great night of fights.”
KJ NOONS
“In terms of my career, I think other people are more surprised than I am. But what’s happened to me has happened so fast, even I have to pinch myself. I always try and get into a zone, a groove, before a fight, but since being back in Hawaii, seeing myself on the fight poster, defending the EliteXC title in the main event, with a lot of family and friends in attendance and the rest watching on SHOWTIME is, well, really exciting.
“I’m in a great spot and looking forward to Saturday. It will be a great event. I'm back where I grew up. My father fought here in the 1970s. My first MMA fight was at the Blaisdell and now I'm back. All of that makes this feel really good, especially to be in my hometown.
“I have a never-give-up mentality. That is how I've always been. People could have given up on me after my first loss, but I didn't and that is what matters.
“Yves is an amazing opponent and a guy that I used to look up to. That is very special for me.
“Someone asked me why people should watch the show on Saturday. My answer really is that what you will see on Saturday is MMA in its purest form. Saturday will bring integrity to this sport; the fighters will. After it, people will really see it as a major sport.’’
YVES EDWARDS
“You can never really get comfortable against KJ. You need to be in complete control before you can relax. Otherwise, he will turn things around in a hurry.
“This is going to be a very exciting fight and great exposure for both of us. For sure, nobody is going to quit. You have two guys with a lot of heart that want it – and I have to take it.
“The fact we are old friends, he is the champion -- all of that goes out the window once the fight starts.
“It’s easier for me to fight somebody I respect, and I certainly respect KJ.
“Expect to see the best Yves Edwards ever on Saturday. I do not wish KJ any bad will. I just want to hurt him enough so he won’t want to fight anymore on that night.
“So I'm sorry that I have to take your gold (looking at KJ jokingly). But, really, I know I am not the local (fighter). Please support your guy; just don't boo me too much. That stuff really hurts.’’
NICK DIAZ
“I’m glad to have an opponent and to be here fighting. It is great to be here on the island fighting again. It is such a great environment. I really want to thank everybody at EliteXC – Rich Chou, JT Steele, JD Penn, Jeremy Lappen, Gary Shaw – everybody.
“I feel stronger and bigger. I feel bigger than anybody.’’
MUHSIN CORRBREY
“Everybody knows this is the biggest fight of my career, but I have to treat it as just another day at the office. He (Nick Diaz) is a big name, but what it comes down to is I just have to get the job done. That is the big thing for me, to go in and do my job. The pressure for me is in the gym, the training. I can't wait to get in there and fight. I'm looking forward to Saturday.’’
MURILO “NINJA” RUA
“I want to fight for EliteXC title again. I promise a good show for the all the fans. I have worked very hard. I promise to win by knockout.’’
TONY BONELLO
“I thank Ninja for taking this fight. These are the kinds of fights I want. I look forward to fighting someone of Ninja's experience.’’
DAVE “PEE WEE’’ HERMAN
“I train at my house. People tell me I am making a mistake, but I am still unbeaten so I am not going to mess with a good thing. The only thing I know about my opponent is he’s an old guy.
“I am looking forward to this fight and fighting for EliteXC. I am totally focused.’’
RON WATERMAN
“Age is not a factor. I still have things I want to accomplish in this sport. I feel as good now at 42 as I did at 22. I’ve really stepped up my cardio and my weight is down 25 pounds. Having eight weeks to train has been great.
“I am not sure about his ground game so I feel confident I can put him down and keep him down; maybe, submit him early,
“I want to win, but I also want to win impressively.’’
RAFAEL FEIJAO
“Thank you to Wayne for accepting this fight against me. I love Hawaii. It is a beautiful place with beautiful people. I want to stay here a long time.’’
WAYNE COLE
“EliteXC changed my life a lot. For my first fight for them on SHOWTIME, I trained in the garage at my house. Now, I am opening my own gym and fighting on SHOWTIME again.
“The plan all along was to eventually go to 205 pounds and I feel great at the weight. I’ve seen a few of his fights so I know Feijao is tough.
“He is an explosive, in-your-face type of guy who likes to fight in the middle of the cage – same as me. You can bet there are going to be a lot of fireworks.
“This is going to be a really good fight. If there will be a fight of the night, it will be ours.’’
KALA KOLOHE
“I watched a few clips of him; he is a tough guy. We are going to do what we can to give you a great show.’’
BUBBA MCDANIEL
“I'm ready to get out there and get in it. I know he (Kala Kolohe) has a devastating right hand and I will be doing my best to stay away from that.’’
