Dynamite!! USA Produces Electrifying Fights, Surprising Upsets in Front of Record MMA Crowd

Dynamite!! USA Produces Electrifying Fights, Surprising Upsets in Front of Record MMA Crowd

Gracie exacts revenge against longtime foe Sakuraba; Lesnar victorious, Morton knocked out in MMA debuts

LOS ANGELES, June 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Los Angeles Coliseum had never hosted an MMA event in its 74-year history until Saturday night, but it was well worth the wait. An early estimated total attendance of 54,000, the largest to witness an MMA event in U.S. history, saw 10 wildly exciting fights as part of FEG's Dynamite!! USA in association with Pro Elite. Celebrities such as Dennis Rodman, Nicholas Cage and recent UFC champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson were on hand to see the fight card, which also was televised live on Showtime and Showtime PPV.

In one of the featured bouts of the evening and most anticipated fights in years, Royce Gracie defeated Kazushi Sakuraba with a 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 decision. To nobody's surprise, the two MMA legends punched and grappled their way through three rounds reminiscent of their memorable match from 2000. Both Gracie and Sakuraba held positions on the mat and against the ropes, as Gracie looked to force the bout to the ground. He was successful at times, but Sakuraba would not submit and the fight turned into a stalemate on the ropes. In the end, Gracie showed his superiority and avenged the loss to Sakuraba from seven years earlier.

"I'm satisfied with the fight, Sakuraba is still dangerous, he's still strong and still on top," said Gracie. "This is the largest fight in America for MMA, we were part of history."

The co-main event saw MMA newcomer Brock Lesnar take down South Korean Min Soo Kim with a submission in the first round. Lesnar immediately wrestled Min to the mat and the two fighters grappled for several minutes. In that time, Lesnar delivered a number of powerful blows to Min's head, enough to force a tapout. The winning match was Lesnar's MMA debut after a successful amateur and pro wrestling career.

"I'm absolutely happy about how this fight went," said Lesnar. "I was totally prepared for my first MMA fight and looking forward to doing this again. There's no holding me back."

In a stunning and impressive knockout, Bernard Ackah of the Ivory Coast put former NFL and USC football star Johnnie Morton out cold with a right hook to Morton's head. The knockout occurred 38 seconds into round one after the two fighters exchanged a number of kicks and punches. Morton had Ackah on the mat early before Ackah delivered the deciding blow, sending Morton crumbling to the mat and out of the ring on a stretcher. Morton, competing in his first MMA competiton, signaled to his hometown fans to announce he was ok after leaving the ring.

"Johnnie was a very good puncher, he made me change my tactic as the match began," said Ackah. "Johnnie is a big guy with muscles who is much faster than I thought, but he definitely needs more experience."

A matchup of two American warriors saw local favorite Mighty Mo take out Warpath with a powerful undercut blow to the left eye while holding his opponent to the mat. The TKO occurred at 38 seconds in the first round after the two fighters went toe-to-toe on the ropes.

"Warpath was a strong fighter and gave me a strong match, I was just looking for that last punch," said Mighty Mo. "It was nice to be here and win in front of my countrymen showing my skills."

With a large Korean fanbase behind him, Dong Sik Yoon of South Korea won a hard-fought second round victory against Melvin Manhoef of the Netherlands. The fight went back and forth, from the ring mat to the ropes, with each fighter claiming supremacy at various times. Dong finally took down Manhoef midway through the second round with a submission and Manhoef tapped out to end the fight.

A hotly contested lightweight fight between Hideo Tokoro of Japan and British brawler Brad Pickett was won by Tokoro with a tapout submission in the first round. Both fighters delivered a share of kicks and body blows during the early part of the round before Tokoro wrestled Pickett to the ground and held his opponent helpless on the mat.

"I am more comfortable on the ground and once we got down there, it was the turning point of the submission," said Tokoro. "I was slow to start but in the end I was able to fight my own way."

Elite XC fighter Jake Shields continued his successful young MMA career by taking out Ido Pariente with a first-round submission. Bay Area native Shields, weighing in at 170 pounds, brought Pariente to the mat and held ground on the 168-pound Israeli fighter.

"I wanted a knock out, but I am very happy to win another fight by submission," said Shields. "I am ready to go back in the ring and fight again because I want to take the title."

An All-American bout saw Tim "Big Perm" Persey fall to Jonathan Wiezorek 50 seconds in the second round. Both fighters struggled through the first round, but Wiezorek was able to take Persey to the mat and deliver numerous blows to Persey's head before the referee stopped the fight.

"My game plan was to jab and take him down because I am best on the mat," said Wiezorek. "I thought I could take him in the first round. He fought back, and I finally rolled him over."

Another fight that went the maximum three rounds saw Katsuhiko Nagata of Japan win a split decision against Isaish Hill of the U.S. Both fighters delivered their share of kicks and body blows, yet judges decided upon Nagata based on his ability to keep Hill on the ropes. The final decision in favor of Nagata went 29-28, 29-28 and 27-30.

In the first, and shortest, match of the evening, J.Z. Calvan of Brazil took out Garden Grove, Calif. native Nam Phan with a TKO 26 seconds in the first round. Calvan immediately took Phan to the mat and delivered an array of punches before the referee called the fight.

Dynamite!! USA marked the first U.S. MMA event by Japanese-based FEG, which brought the event to Los Angeles in hopes for continued popularity of the sport. The previous record for an MMA event in the U.S. was 19,049 for an event in Columbus, Ohio.

"We had hoped that people would be excited to witness a first-class mixed martial arts event in the Los Angeles Coliseum, and that is exactly what they saw," said Sadaharu Tanikawa, president of FEG. "This event showed that MMA is here to stay and FEG is excited to grow our presence in the U.S. with more events to come."

"Although there were a lot of naysayers out there, in the end, it proves that two great MMA organizations can come together for a spectacular event, as well as an entertaining night of television," said Elite XC President Gary Shaw.

FEG's Heroes MMA events in Japan and Korea have routinely sold out major arenas and stadiums, including the 74,000-seat Tokyo Dome. The inaugural Dynamite in August of 2002, held at Tokyo National Stadium, drew a record crowd of 92,000 fans.

About FEG

Formed in 2003, FEG, Inc assumed the role of K-1 Corporation in production and management of K-1 events that at the time were enjoying 13 years of success. In addition to K-1 Events, FEG, Inc's goal was to expand the company's presence into the world of Mixed Martial Arts as it saw the overwhelming demand from the viewers and fans. In 2005 FEG, Inc started the production of the Hero's events in Japan. Under the current corporate structure, FEG, Inc is responsible for the production and promotion, as well as all other aspects of business from fighter contracts to event marketing of both the K-1 and Hero's (Mixed Martial Arts) events all over the world.

About ProElite

ProElite Inc. delivers the most exciting entertainment experience in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) with live arena-based entertainment events, cable television programming on Showtime Networks and community-driven interactive broadband entertainment via the Internet. ProElite embraces MMA with the highest levels of honor, integrity, discipline and self-esteem, all the while remaining inclusive for fighters, fans and schools. ProElite's live fight division, EliteXC, delivers spectacular live MMA fight events that showcase the world's top fighters. ProElite's interactive business, ProElite.com, capitalizes on the growing popularity of the sport of mixed martial arts by building a community of mixed martial arts enthusiasts. In addition to streaming the most exciting live fights to the web, ProElite expands the fan base of the sport by providing a comprehensive set of online social networking tools for fans, fighters and organizations.

   ProElite.com - Empowering the Fight Community (TM).    For more information, contact:   Kevin Burke - Hill & Knowlton        Whitney Ashley- ProElite   (t) 714.313.6863                     (t) 310.280.3710   kevin.burke@hillandknowlton.com       whitney@therosegrp.com  

Source: FEG

CONTACT: Kevin Burke of Hill & Knowlton, +1-714-313-6863,
kevin.burke@hillandknowlton.com, Whitney Ashley of ProElite, +1-310-280-3710,
whitney@therosegrp.com, both for FEG

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Profile: International Entertainment