Featured Post

Thank You, Axl Rotten (And R.I.P.)

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

WORLD EXTREME CAGEFIGHTING® ANNOUNCES REMAINING BOUTS FOR WEC®: TORRES VS. TAPIA

Courtesy of World Extreme Cagefighting:

For Immediate Release
November 26, 2008


Live From The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino In Las Vegas, Wednesday, Dec. 3

SHANE ROLLER vs. MICHAEL BUDNIK
HIROYUKI TAKAYA vs. CUB SWANSON
BART PALASZEWSKI vs. ALEX KARALEXIS
DIEGO NUNES vs. COLE PROVINCE
MARK MUNOZ vs. RICARDO BARROS
JOHNY HENDRICKS vs. JUSTIN HASKINS

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – World Extreme Cagefighting® today announced the remainder of an already stellar fight card for WEC®: Torres vs. Tapia, live from The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Wednesday, December 3. Featured on the undercard will be Shane Roller vs. Michael Budnik, Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Cub Swanson, Bart Palaszewski vs. Alex Karalexis, Diego Nunes vs. Cole Province, Mark Munoz vs. Ricardo Barros and Johny Hendricks vs. Justin Haskins.

World Extreme Cagefighting will be televised live nationally on VERSUS beginning at 8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT. All live WEC events will be presented in Hi-Definition (HD) where available. For more information and how to find VERSUS in your local viewing area, visit http://www.versus.com/findversus.

Tickets for World Extreme Cagefighting are on sale and are priced at $225, $175, and $75 (not including applicable services or taxes). Tickets are available at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino box office and all Ticketmaster locations. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available online through www.wec.tv or www.ticketmaster.com.

Las Vegas trained fighter Shane Roller (5’10”/155 lbs.) won’t have to travel far when he faces Brooklyn, NY native Mike Budnik (5’8”/155 lbs.). The former three-time Oklahoma State All-American wrestler looks to build on the submission victory in his WEC debut and stop the undefeated Budnik (8-0), who earned a triangle-choke submission win in his first WEC fight.

It’s tough to be called a veteran at 25, but with a 12-2 mixed martial arts record and three WEC fights already under his belt, Cub Swanson (5’7”/145 lbs.) has the experience to ascend right up the featherweight division. The Orange County, California fighter dropped his last match to a rejuvenated Jens Pulver but now focuses his attention on Chiba, Japan’s Hiroyuki Takaya (5’6”/145 lbs.), who looks to rebound from his debut loss to featherweight contender Leonard Garcia.

In what could be an immediate Fight of the Night candidate, MMA veteran Bart Palaszewski (5’9”/155 lbs.) puts his 29-11 record up against Boston native Alex Karalexis (5’8”/155 lbs.). If the two heavy-handed fighters decide to stand and trade, this one could be an instant classic.

With both fighters still claiming undefeated records, there’s plenty on the line when Diego Nunes (5’8”/145 lbs.) meets up with Oklahoma’s Cole Province (5’9”/145 lbs.). Brazil’s Nunes (11-0) will make his WEC debut, but already has six submission victories with five coming via guillotine choke. But Province (6-0) won’t be lost on the ground; the 27-year-old was a four-time NCAA Division II national wrestling champion at the University of Central Oklahoma.

In a light heavyweight matchup, Sacramento, California’s Mark Munoz (6’0”/205 lbs.) puts his 4-0 record on the line against Brentwood, California’s Ricardo Barros (6’1”/205 lbs.). Barros, a Sao Paulo, Brazil born fighter, is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt that has compiled a 4-1 MMA record and makes his WEC debut against the former NCAA Division I national champion wrestler.

Speaking of top-level wrestlers on this fight card, Las Vegas’ Johny Hendricks would have to be thrown into the mix as well. The Ada, Oklahoma born fighter was a two-time NCAA national champion and a four-time All-American at Oklahoma State University and now puts his 3-0 MMA record up against Red Bank, New Jersey native Justin Haskins in what will be both fighters’ WEC debuts. Haskins, who carries a 5-1 record, now trains out of Jupiter, Florida and holds a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt under UFC fighter Kurt Pellegrino.

The WEC also announced that, starting in 2009, the organization will focus on four weight classes: welterweight (170 pounds), lightweight (155 pounds), featherweight (145 pounds), and bantamweight (135 pounds). The WEC will no longer actively promote light heavyweight and middleweight fights after the Dec. 3rd event. This increased attention to the sport’s lighter divisions makes the WEC the undisputed home of the most exciting lighter weight fighters in mixed martial arts.

All bouts subject to change. For more information about WEC: Torres vs. Tapia and current WEC fight news, visit www.wec.tv.

About World Extreme Cagefighting

The WEC brand is recognized as one of the premier mixed martial arts organizations in the United States. Founded in 2001, the WEC features many of the most prominent athletes in the sport of mixed martial arts today. Owned and operated by WEC Holdings LLC., and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., the WEC produces live and taped events annually that are distributed through the Versus network. In addition to its U.S distribution, WEC programming is shown on the TSN network in Canada and Cadena Tres in Mexico. For more information and current WEC fight news, visit www.wec.tv. World Extreme Cagefighting® and WEC® are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by WEC Holdings, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions and are licensed to WEC Productions, LLC.

About VERSUS

VERSUS celebrates real competition across all platforms (VERSUS.com, VERSUS on Demand and VERSUS HD). Now in more than 73 million homes, the network is the national cable home of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Stanley Cup Playoffs as well as best-in-class events such as The Tour de France, Davis Cup Tennis, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), the Indy Racing League and Professional Boxing. The network also offers collegiate sports featuring nationally-ranked teams from top conferences such as the Pac-10, Big 12, Mountain West and Ivy League. VERSUS features the best field sports programming on television and is a destination for sports fans, athletes and sportsmen to find exclusive, competitive events and original programs, such as TapouT, Sports Soup and THE CONTENDER that audiences can't find elsewhere. VERSUS, a wholly owned company of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK), is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.