Press Release – REVEL BEACH, N.J. (Feb. 13, 2013) –World Series of Fighting announced today that it will deliver a stacked, world-class Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight card, headlined by a heavyweight showdown between superstars Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski (19-9) of Minsk, Belarus and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (15-3) of Boca Raton, Fla., at Ovation Hall at Revel in Atlantic City, N.J. on Saturday, March 23, live on NBC Sports Network.
In the bantamweight (135 pounds) co-main event, red-hot 29-year-old star Tyson Nam (12-4) of Portland, Ore. will face off with two-time national Muay Thai champion and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt Marlon Moraes (9-4) of Jupiter, Fla. via Nova Friburgo, Brazil.
Tickets, priced from $39, go on sale at 10 a.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 15, and will be available for purchase at all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000) and at Ticketmaster.com.
“We are excited to bring the World Series of Fighting brand of MMA to Atlantic City, where some of the greatest fights in history have taken place,” said World Series of Fighting President and six-time world kickboxing champion and two-time Hall of Famer, Ray Sefo. “Andrei Arlovski, Anthony Johnson and Marlon Moraes are all coming off superb performances on our inaugural fight card, and Tyson Nam has been on fire of late, so we felt that it was essential to showcase these stars at the top of our first card on the East Coast.”
Also slated for action on the five-bout TV card are welterweight (170 pounds) sensation Josh Burkman (24-9) of Salt Lake City, Utah, who will collide with former UFC star Aaron “A-Train” Simpson (12-4) of Phoenix, Ariz., and former PRIDE Fighting Championships superstar and WEC champion Paulo Filho (23-4) of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who will face off with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt David Branch (11-3) of Brooklyn, N.Y. in a middleweight (185 pounds) bout.
Explosive finisher J.Z. Cavalcante (16-6) of Deerfield Beach, Fla. via Brazil will take on unbeaten, emerging star Justin Gaethje (7-0) of Greeley, Colo. at lightweight (155 pounds).
Coming off his second consecutive victory, a unanimous decision over Mike “300″ Hayes on Dec. 16, Arlovski, a 33-year-old, 6-foot-4, former UFC heavyweight champion, shined in the main event of the inaugural World Series of Fighting card on Nov. 3, crumbling fellow power puncher Devin Cole with a barrage of punches in the first round (2:37) of action.
Likewise, the 28-year-old, 6-foot-2 Johnson dominated D.J. “Da Protégé” Linderman in the first-ever World Series of Fighting co-main event, scoring a first round (3:58) KO on Linderman with a punch. The victory was Johnson’s fourth straight.
Nam made waves on Aug. 25 when he pulled off a stunning upset on reigning Bellator Bantamweight Champion Eduardo Dantas, scoring a first round (1:36) KO (punch) on Dantas in a non-title bout in Brazil. Nam will put a four-fight win streak on the line in his World Series of Fighting debut.
The 24-year-old Moraes shocked the world on the first World Series of Fighting card, beating former WEC champion Miguel Torres to the punch repeatedly for the majority of three rounds before being awarded a split decision victory. The win was Moraes’ third straight.
A six-bout preliminary card will be topped by a featherweight (145 pounds) collision between streaking Duke Roufus protégé Rick “The Gladiator” Glenn (12-2) of Milwaukee, Wisc. and undefeated submission specialist Alexandre “Pulga” Pimentel (12-0) of Rio de Janeiro.
Waylon Lowe (13-4) of Philadelphia, Pa. will square off with Cameron Dollar (11-4) of Colorado Springs, Colo. in a featherweight tilt.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and welterweight upstart Igor Gracie (5-3) of Rio de Janeiro will face an opponent to be announced as will welterweight Ozzy Dugulubgov (3-1) of Hackensack, N.J.
Battle-tested Danillo “Indio” Villefort (13-4) of Coconut Creek, Fla. will square off with a middleweight opponent to be announced.
Additional preliminary card bouts will be announced soon.
Doors at Ovation Hall at Revel will open at 5:30 p.m. EST and the first preliminary card bout will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The live NBC Sports Network telecast of the World Series of Fighting event will begin at 9:30 p.m. EST/6:30 p.m. PST.
ABOUT WORLD SERIES OF FIGHTING
Based in Las Vegas, Nev., the fight capital of the world, World Series of Fighting is a professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight promotion dedicated to delivering an incredible, action-packed entertainment experience for fight fans by producing the best possible matchups between elite fighters from around the globe. For more information please visit www.MMAWSOF.com. Follow World Series of Fighting on Twitter @MMAWorldSeries and World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo @SugarRaySefo.
ABOUT REVEL
Revel is smoke-free and features more than 1,800 rooms with sweeping ocean views. A member of the American Express Gold Hotel Collection, the resort houses a 130,000-square-foot casino with more than 2,000 slot machines, nearly 100 table games, electronic tables and a Poker Room. Designed to embrace its natural surroundings, Revel curates a collection of daylife and nightlife experiences crafted to bring the outside in and the inside out. Indoor and outdoor pools, gardens, lounges, and a 32,000-square-foot spa provide guests with a relaxing resort, while an outstanding collection of 14 restaurant concepts from award-wining chefs and restaurateurs, live entertainment featuring marquee acts and international artists, nightclubs, a casino that feels like a theatre and a collection of boutiques in The Row tailor to each guest’s passions. Revel was most recently named one of the Best Hotels in the Northeast by Amtrak’s Arrive magazine and one of the Top 10 Best New Hotels in the U.S. by Gayot.com.
To start your Revel journey, visit www.revelresorts.com. To receive the latest updates on Revel, become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/revel and follow @revelresorts on Twitter and Instagram. Revel is located on the Boardwalk at Revel Blvd in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
ABOUT NBC SPORTS NETWORK
NBC Sports Network, part of the NBC Sports Group, is dedicated to serving passionate sports fans. Now in nearly 80 million homes, the network is the cable television home of the Summer and Winter Olympics, National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS), IZOD IndyCar Series, Tour de France and the 34th America’s Cup. In addition, NBC Sports Network features college football, college basketball, college hockey, horse racing surrounding the Triple Crown, Fight Night boxing, Ironman, the Dew Action Sports Tour and USA Sevens Rugby. The network is also home to original programs such as Costas Tonight, NFL Turning Point, Caught Looking, NBC Sports Talk, and Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports Network is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.