MCMANN CLIMBS THE WORLD RANKINGS

ProElite’s Hawaii Fights Deliver Shining Moments
for The New Wave of Fighters

HONOLULU, HI (January 21, 2012) – ProElite (PK:PELE) held another successful event in the beautiful state of Hawaii as Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove (14-9) dominated all three rounds in his main event tilt with Japanese MMA legend Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa (51-33-8). With effective stand up and picture perfect back control, Grove took the score 30-27 on all three judges’ score cards. “I put my own pressure on myself. Minowa has very dangerous leg locks and I know if I gave him the opportunity, he would have broken my leg.” Grove said about going the distance in his bout.

In the co main event of the evening, Sara McMann (5-0) continued her dominance in the 135 pound women’s weight class with her unanimous decision over #5 ranked Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano (18-9). McMann used her extensive wrestling pedigree to complete some cage shaking slams throughout the bout. Sara addressed what she wants next by saying “I won’t call out individuals in my class because I want everyone in it. I want to fight the best.” With this win you can certainly expect Sara to be ranked well above the #9 spot she held before this fight.

The semifinals of the heavyweight Grand Prix saw two men emerge from their bouts who cannot wait to square off in the final. First Ryan Martinez (7-1) used solid kicks to welt the ribcage and thighs of Cody Griffin (5-3) on his way to a unanimous decision. On the other side of the bracket, Richard “The Black Eagle” Odoms (7-0) overcame a tough first round that saw him get slammed to the canvas and controlled on the ground by Jake Heun (2-2). In the second round Odoms took over the fight and ended it with a rear naked choke at 1:56 of the second round.

The card started off with two great opening round finishes. In the first bout of the night Brent Schermerhorn (5-1) showed off the dynamite he contains in his hands by blasting B.J Penn trained fighter Kaleo Gambill (1-1) with a left hook that put him to sleep at 45 seconds of the very first round. After the victory Schermerhorn said “That’s what happens when I put my hands on someone, they go to sleep.” The second bout of the card showcased wrestling standout Pat Cummins (2-0), who submitted a very game Tasi “The Tyrant” Edwards (2-1) with an arm triangle at 4:01 of round one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today on the MMA Hour with host Ariel Helwani, President of fight operation’s for ProElite TJay Thompson announced that ProElite which is based out of Hawaii, will be partnering with the Japan MMA Promotion DREAM.The partnership will involve fighter exchanges between the promotion, possibly bringing DREAM events to the United States and/or taking ProElite events to Japan. Also announced was Tatsuya Mizuno of DREMA has been added to this weekends ProElite 3 card.  Dream is the largest Japanese MMA Organization, and hold’sWorld-class fighters such as Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Hiroyuki Takaya and Gegard Mousasi. Headquartered in Tokyo, DREAM is the only major Japanese major mixed martial arts organization started in 2008 and has held 20 events since. This could very will be the start of helping ProElite become one of the hand full of MMA Organization to compet and hold there own against the UFC.

Also announced today is the match up betweenDREAM Light heavyweight tournament runner-up Tatsuya Mizuno who will take on Ilima Maiava of Oahu. Tatsuya Mizuno currently holds a record of 10-7 and has been in the cage with fighter’s the like’s of Mirko Cro Cop,Melvin Manhoef,Gegard Mousasi, Sergei Kharitonov, and most recently a win over Trevor Prangley at Dream 17.Ilima is one of Hawaii’s top Light Heavyweight fighter’s with win’s over Vince Alama,Matt Eaton, and most recently a first round Knock out over Bradley Arakaki at Oahu’s Up-N-Up Stand Alone event. This might be Maiava’s chance to finish get the exposure that he truly deserves.

While the always exciting voice of Japanese MMA, Lenne Hardt, will be joining the shows as the fighter walk out announcer. The ProElite main fight card will be televised live on HDNet at 10:00 P.M. EST. Tickets are on sale at the Neal Blaisdell Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000), www.ticketmaster.com, and www.proelite.com.

 

When Sara McMann decides to do something, there’s no stopping her. With a relentless training regimen and desire to succeed, McMann pushed herself to become the nation’s best female wrestler. In 2004 she became the first American woman to win an Olympic silver medal in freestyle wrestling. Throw in a silver and two bronzes at the World Championships and a couple golds at the Pan American Games and it was clear she had accomplished her goal.

Now, with wrestling behind her, McMann has set another lofty goal: to become the best female mixed martial artist in the world. “I’m not in a hurry. Things are progressing very well right now,” McMann said. “I don’t have to fight the top names in the sport right away, I’m patient. But from the moment I decided to do this, the top women had targets on their backs.”

McMann’s idea of patience is a little more fast-paced than normal. She turned professional in mixed martial arts in 2011 and in less than three months posted four victories, including a win over Tonya Evinger, then the No. 9-ranked woman at 135 pounds. To open 2012, she will fight No. 5-ranked Hitomi Akano in Honolulu on Jan. 21 as part of a televised ProElite event on HDNet.

“Sara may be the most focused fighter I’ve ever worked with,” said longtime MMA manager Monte Cox. “She sets her goals, maps out the course to go after them, and gets the job done. Will she make it to the top of women’s mma? I sure wouldn’t bet against her. It won’t be long until the best in the world are looking over their shoulders — if they aren’t already.”

For her efforts in 2011, McMann moved up to No. 9 in the world rankings byMMArising.com and she received the “Mighty” Mia Hayes Inspirational Female Fighter of the Year Award last month. The award is named in honor of courageous amateur fighter “Mighty” Mia Hayes, who lost her lengthy battle with cancer last year. It recognizes a fighter who has provided inspiration to others by persevering through adversity. McMann’s brother, Jason, was murdered in 1999 and shortly after her Olympic success, she suffered the loss of her then-fiancé, Steven Blackford, in an automobile accident.

“My life is really filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows,” McMann said. “I’ve come to accept the fact that that’s the way it’s going to be whether I like it or not.”
It was a tough start in MMA too, as opponents found a variety of reasons to turn down or back out of fights. At one point, Cox says nine straight scheduled opponents found a reason not to get into the cage. “I had promoters tell me they called all over the country and couldn’t get a replacement,” Cox said. “They said we should take down Sara’s wrestling videos on YouTube because she was scaring everybody off.”

Things took an upswing last year when McMann signed on to fight for ProElite. With a solid budget and a TV deal, the promotion has been able to keep McMann busy. “Sara is the real deal and I think she will be the best in the world, if she isn’t already,” said ProElite promoter T.Jay Thompson. “We were going to bring her along slowly and let her get experience. But she’s so good we had to change our plans. Now she is co-headlining our next show and fighting the No. 5-ranked woman in the world. There’s no holding her back.”

When not training and fighting, McMann, now 31, managed to secure a master’s degree and become a mother. Her daughter, Bella, was born in 2009. She also does volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity and Safe Homes and traveled to Sri Lanka with some Olympic teammates to help victims of the Tsunami rebuild homes.

Meet Maui’s own Sean Rush

The January 21st Pro Elite-MMA show at the Blaisdell will also feature a battle between two of Hawaii’s own premier Welterweights Sean Rush from Maui vs. Oahu’s undefeated Zane Kamaka. I had a chance to interview “Rush” about this upcoming fight and here’s what he had to say.
Lia: Aloha Rush! So you’re about to make your Pro- debut here in Honolulu after earning a 3-0 amateur record. Can you tell the fans here at MMAABSOLUTE.com how you got started in MMA?
Rush: I started wrestling in my early years of high school and then started doing Jiu Jitsu. I’ve been doing MMA for 3 years now
Lia: Who do you train with on Maui?
Rush: I train with Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove at his gym Straight Rootless Jiu Jitsu formerly I&I and also with Wayne Cambra. Donovyne Moleta is my boxing coach here on Maui.
Lia: How has your training camp been going? I interviewed your coach Kendall Grove last week and he is confident that you’re going to beat Kamaka, in fact he said that you’re one of the top welterweights in Hawaii right now.
Rush: Trainings been going very good, I feel that I have the best training partners that constantly push me in every aspect of the game.
Lia: How would you describe your fighting style?
Rush: I feel I’m well rounded and am always ready for wherever the fight goes. I think I bring a technical approach that a lot of fighters haven’t seen before and I plan on showing that January 21st.
Lia: What do you know about your opponent Zane Kamaka? Do you see any holes in his fighting game?
Rush: I know he likes to stand and I know he’s undefeated but I plan on putting a stop to his winning streak. I see holes in everything he does.
Lia: Any last words or shoutouts?
Rush: Just shoutouts to my coaches and training partners and all the people that support me.
Lia: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, we wish you good luck on your upcoming fight. This is sure to be an exciting matchup for the fans!