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Monday, March 31, 2008

Bodog Fight Opens 'Vault' To Showcase Middleweight Tournament

Courtesy of Bodog TV Press:

For Immediate Release
March 31, 2008

Although the sport of mixed martial arts has been steadily growing in popularity over the past few years, tournaments in which fighters are required to fight more than once on the same card have largely been restricted to underground spectacles or amateur events.

However, with athletic commissions starting to demonstrate a willingness to sanction them, MMA tournaments are beginning to appear at mainstream events.

One such tournament took place as part of a recent Bodog-sponsored Strikeforce event in San Jose, Calif., where a full house packed the HP Pavilion to witness what was, in fact, the first-ever sanctioned MMA tournament in the Golden State.

Scheduled to fight were Jorge Santiago (14-7), Yuki Sasaki (21-13-1), Falaniko "Niko" Vitale (24-7) and Bodog Fight middleweight champion Trevor Prangley (16-4). Due to a failed medical, however, Sasaki was replaced with UFC veteran Sean Salmon (14-4).

Scheduled to take place over the course of a 10-bout fight card, each tournament bout was scheduled for two five-minute rounds, with a draw forcing an overtime round to determine a victor.

Prangley, whose fifth straight victory was a second-round stoppage of Japan's Yuki Kondo at Bodog Fight: New Jersey on July 14, said before the event that stamina would play a factor in the tournament, with the winners of the first bouts having to fight two times during the evening.

"I've fought twice in one night before," said Prangley, referring to Oct. 26, 2002, when he beat Brett Shafer and Manny Valera on the same night in Mexico.

"I won't lie; it isn't easy, especially if you take a couple of kicks to the legs or shots during the first fight. Your body can stiffen up going into the next fight. As tough as it is physically, I think the real test is mental. Physically most fighters can do it, but not everyone has the mental toughness to do it. I like to test myself. That's why I fight, to see just how far I can push myself."

Prangley faces Vitale in the tournament's opening round. Can the Bodog Fight champ win and advance to the finals?

Tune into Bodog Fight's groundbreaking online mixed martial arts series The Vault at fight.bodoglife.net/thevault this Saturday, April 5 to find out.

To see Salmon and Santiago do battle in the other tournament bracket, tune in Tuesday, April 1.

Bodog Fight: The Vault offers streaming video of all-new, never-before-seen fights each Tuesday and Saturday, commercial free. Each webisode is fully downloadable and iPod-ready, featuring a previously unaired bout from the Bodog Fight archives.

This exclusive Bodog TV footage is only available online at bodoglife.net/fight, twice honored at the 2007 Digital Marketing Awards.

Can‘t get enough hard-hitting MMA action?

Visit our Bodog e-Store and pick up a copy of Bodog Fight: St. Petersburg, The Complete Second Series.

The four-disc set includes the show’s thrilling second season, filmed on location in Russia, plus the historic pay-per-view event Bodog Fight: Clash of the Nations featuring undisputed heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko and U.S. Olympic wrestling champion Matt “The Law” Lindland.

For a limited time, purchase Bodog Fight: St. Petersburg, The Complete Second Series at bodoglife.net/store and get 25% off Bodog Fight: The Complete First Series, which features big brawls and small bikinis from sunny Costa Rica, plus a bonus limited edition CD featuring tracks from Bodog Music artists.

Available now at better retailers everywhere and online at bodoglife.net/store

About Bodog Fight

Since its inception in 2006, Bodog Fight has become one of the heavy-hitters in the world of mixed martial arts. Created by billionaire entertainment mogul and longtime MMA enthusiast Calvin Ayre, Bodog Television's Bodog Fight series offers viewers a unique combination of action and allure from exotic locations throughout the world. Bodog Fight can be viewed online at bodoglife.net, along with other Bodog Television programs including: a poker lifestyle and reality show, Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker, and an international million-dollar band search competition, Bodog Battle. For more information, contact Media Relations at 1-866-892-3371, or fightpr@bodoglife.net. BODOG is a registered trademark.