 |
|
|
| APEX: FREEDOM FIGHT 2006: 5 Fight teams + Undercard |
| MMA News Written by MMARR | |
| Thursday, 08 December 2005 | |
 APEX Entertainment Group and Freedom Fight Productions are proud to announce the five Canada vs. USA team fights that will be presented on January 14th, 2006 at the Palais des Congres in Hull, Quebec. Captained by Carlos “The Ronin” Newton, Team Canada’s Stephan “Rudeboy” Potvin will be headlining the main event. Potvin will be facing off against Team Quest member Matt “Suave” Horwich. Horwich will be representing Team USA, who will be captained by the “New York Bad Ass” Phil Baroni. The second team fight will be BJJ champion and Team Canada member Wagnney Fabiano. Fabiano will be stepping up in competition and facing U.S.A veteran Ryan Ackerman in a bout that will test Fabiano’s skill level against one of the top featherweights in the world. Freedom Fight 2005 local hero Craig “Farmer” Brown will once again be stepping into the ring, but this time he will be representing Canada against the talented John Clarke from Connecticut BJJ. Farmer Brown is remembered for his devastating knockout of Ricardo Francois, the man who defeated Wes Simms at APEX: Genesis. Clarke, a submission specialist, can also throwdown, boasting a victory by TKO in his MMA debut. This fight will surely set off fireworks with the crowd. Added as a special team fight will be a kickboxing bout between two of the world’s top kickboxers. Team Tompkins member Nick “The Italian Stallion” Rondinelli will take on one of the future stars in kickboxing in, “The Hitman” Kevin Engel. Engel will be representing Finney’s Kickboxing in St-Louis, while Rondinelli will be waving the Canadian flag, representing his hometown of London, Ontario. Rondinelli and Engel have faced each other once before, dueling in the amateur ranks in an exciting four round battle with Engel winning the decision. This time, Rondinelli is looking for some sweet revenge while Engel in looking to KO the Team Tompkins standout. The fifth and final team fight will have Freedom Fight veteran Art "Pachuco" Santore returning to represent Team USA, while facing one of Canada’s rising stars in Travis Galbraith. Santore gave a spirited effort against Joe Doerksen at the last Freedom Fight event and looks to go back home this time with a victory for Team USA. Santore proved to the Freedom Fight faithful that he is tough as nails and will give any fighter on the planet a run for their money. Galbraith has a new focus in training and is tipping the scales at over 200 pounds. He is eager to show MMA fans in Canada his new look and style. Both fighters are known for their heavy hands and this fight will not go the distance. Headlining the non-team fights will be a battle between Martin "The Hammer" Grandmont of Team Bergeron and the return of MMA icon Pain Peters. Just imagine the sparks as two of MMA’s bad boys will be banging away. Also on this card is the highly anticipated return of Wojtek “Kazz” Kaszowski. Kazz is coming off a big win at the last APEX event against one of Quebec’s top kickboxers, Serge Lafond. Undefeated MMA fighter, Nabil Khatib, is also on the card, fighting in front of his hometown fans. Ottawa isn’t the only city being represented on this card as fighters from Drummondville, Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto, Brampton, Kingston, Burlington, Hawkesbury, Oakville, Strathroy, London and Barrie will be representing and hopefully earning a spot on future Freedom Fight Cards. The broadcast team is once again anchored by Michael Landsberg, one of the best-known personalities in the world of Canadian broadcasting. A cross between Bill Maher and Bob Costas, Landsberg brings a wealth of broadcasting experience to this event. Landsberg started his broadcasting career in 1984 as an anchor on TSN’s SportsCentre. He went on to broadcast more than 5,000 episodes, becoming one of Canada’s most trusted sports voices along the way. He left SportsCentre in the fall of 1997 to host TSN’s Off The Record. In 2001, he co-anchored Full Contact Fighter, a weekly television show centered around MMA for TSN. He anxiously returns for another installment as the host of Freedom Fight. Joining him in the booth is none other than the voice of Mixed Martial Arts in Canada, “Showdown” Joe Ferraro. Showdown Joe has established himself over the years as one of the most well educated and intelligent broadcasters in the sport. Working for APEX on their previous events, as well as Freedom Fight 2005, Ferraro has proven that his journalistic pedigree is unmatched in this country. His well known approach to analyzing MMA fights have garnered him international acclaim. His addition alongside Michael Landsberg promises TSN fans the ’best of the best’ in combat sports broadcasting. Due to an unfortunate injury, one of Canada’s top young prospects Claude Patrick will be unable to compete in this edition of Freedom Fight. Instead, he will have a role in the broadcast portion of the event for TSN. Patrick’s personality and charisma is unmatched in the sport and should be as good on the microphone as he is in the ring. He will be joined by popular radio host Gabriel Morency, from the Team 990 in Montreal, in doing fighter interviews. Morency is at times controversial but always entertaining and thus, will bring his unique brand of broadcasting to the APEX: FREEDOM FIGHT arena. This historic event will take place at the beautiful Palais Des Congres in Hull, Quebec. This spectacular venue is located only meters from Hull’s main transit depot, 2 blocks from the event hotel and 5 minutes from Ottawa’s downtown core. This venue is easily accessible from Hull, Ottawa, Montreal and anywhere that fight fans will be traveling from. The Holiday Inn Plaza la Chaudiere Gatineau is once again the official hotel of APEX: FREEDOM FIGHT 2006! Conveniently located in the heart of Gatineau’s business district and minutes from downtown Ottawa, this 4 star facility offers 232 spacious rooms, pool, whirlpool, sauna, restaurant, bar, parking and more. Call 800-567-1962 or 819-778-3880 for more information, and be sure to mention that you’re coming for FREEDOM FIGHT 2006 to get your discounted rate of $99.00 per night. The hotel is located at 2,rue Montcalm, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, JBX 4B4. BOOK EARLY TO GUARANTEE YOUR SPECIAL RATE! TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT TICKETMASTER.CA OR BY CALLING 613-755-1111 APEX: FREEDOM FIGHT 2006 is proudly sponsored by BUDWEISER, HOLIDAY INN GATINEAU, EAU COOL, FAIRTEX GEAR, 106.6 THE BEAR, THE OTTAWA SUN, DIVINITIVE.COM, HARD ROCK CAFÉ, MAGIC DRAGONMIST, UTAN, SHOWDOWN ENTERTAINMENT, ARCTIC TAN WHOLESALE, OTTAWAENTERTAINMENT.CA and ITGC.ca,. Please take the time to visit these sponsors, who help support MMA! APEX: FREEDOM FIGHT 2006 – CONFIRMED FIGHTS LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT MAIN EVENT – CANADA VS USA FEATHERWEIGHT TEAM BOUT – CANADA VS USA LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TEAM BOUT – CANADA VS USA MIDDLEWEIGHT KICKBOXING TEAM BOUT – CANADA VS USA LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TEAM BOUT – CANADA VS USA WELTERWEIGHT SPECIAL BOUT – QUEBEC VS ONTARIO HEAVYWEIGHT KICKBOXING BOUT MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT – QUEBEC VS ONTARIO LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT WELTERWEIGHT BOUT WELTERWEIGHT BOUT Also expected to compete are Jamie Helmer (Ronin MMA), Serge Lafond (Team Bergeron), Pascal Tessier (Team Bergeron) and Nuri Shakir (Team Elite). |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
|
||||||
| |
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
|