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LONGTIME ROUFUSPORT FIGHTER ANTHONY “SHOWTIME” PETTIS BECOMES GYM PARTNER; TEAMS UP TO LAUNCH NEW TV SHOW
Roufusport teams up with WI National Guard for “WI MMA Today”
Press Release – November 6, 2012 (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA): Roufusport, one of the top MMA fight gyms in combat sports today, announced today that UFC featherweight contender Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, a longtime member of the Roufusport family, has become a partner alongside Head Coach Duke Roufus and General Manager Scott Joffe in their endeavors with the Roufusport MMA Academy and NAFC (North American Fighting Championships) businesses.
In addition, Pettis has joined Roufus, Joffe, and the Wisconsin National Guard in unveiling their latest collaborative effort, the “WI MMA Today” television show, which is debuting Saturday, November 10th, 2012 on WCGV TV My 24 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and surrounding coverage areas.
“For me to become part owner of the gym that started my career in the UFC means the world to me,” exclaimed Pettis. “I get to give other fighters the opportunity that Duke’s gym gave me. I’m sure there will be a lot of new responsibilities, but I’ve been running gyms since the age of 16, so it will be nothing new. I’m looking forward to new challenges, including the television show.”
“I would like to thank Duke Roufus and Scott Joffe for the opportunity, and my family and friends for supporting me while I achieve my goals.”
“WI MMA Today” will premier it’s first of 13 episodes on Saturday, November 10th, 2012 at 10:30 PM on My 24 with online rebroadcast of each episode on NAFC’s YouTube channel (NAFC.tv) set for the subsequent Monday following its television airing.
Focusing on the state’s amateur adult mixed martial arts and youth Pankration competitors and training facilities, “WI MMA Today” will seek to bring an increased amount of exposure to this rapidly growing segment of the Badgerland population.
“What an awesome opportunity this is to help grow the sport of MMA in Wisconsin,” stated Roufus. “That is so important to me and the rest of the Roufusport family. I’d like to thank our partners for helping to achieve this.”
“WI MMA Today” hosts Scott Joffe, Duke Roufus, and Anthony Pettis will be joined by WI Combat Sport’s Paul Fladten in bringing viewers fight highlights, human interest features, training tips from the pros and a multitude of other exciting programming centered around MMA.
“’WI MMA Today’ was made possible from strong partnerships we have developed with groups and companies like the Wisconsin National Guard, CONCEDE, Showtime Sports Bar, Tiffin Mats, and of course, support from the fans,” said Joffe. “Without the fans’ interest, and in some cases, subsequent participation in MMA and Pankration, we wouldn’t have a reason to produce the show.”
“Stagnant economy or not, we felt the timing couldn’t be more perfect than now to launch WI MMA Today,” continued Joffe. “Mixed martial arts participation and viewership continues to rise and ‘WI MMA Today’ plans on giving Wisconsin’s strong base of fighters and camps a chance to really shine in the limelight on television in Wisconsin and globally online.”
Footage from November 3rd’s NAFC “Armageddon” MMA show at the WI State Fair will be featured in “WI MMA Today’s” first season’s run. Both adult and youth bouts will be showcased.
WCGV-TV, digital channel 25 (virtual channel 24.1), is a television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, affiliated with MyNetworkTV Its signal covers most of southeastern Wisconsin, including the cities of Racine, Kenosha, Sheboygan, and Waukesha. The station is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group as part of a duopoly in Milwaukee with WVTV, and the station’s transmitter site is on Milwaukee’s northwest side, co-located with WVTV on the Milwaukee Public Television broadcast tower. It is available digitally over the air, on Time Warner Cable, Dish Network and DirectTV.
In partnership with the Wisconsin National Guard, “WI MMA Today” is powered by CONCEDE (concedemma.com). Sponsors include Pabst Blue Ribbon beer (pabstblueribbon.com), Roufusport MMA Academy (roufusport.com), Showtime Sports Bar & Grill (showtimemke.com), and Tiffin Mats (tiffinmats.com). Media partners of the show include FM 102 One (fm1021milwaukee.com), Minuteman Press Waukesha (mmpwaukesha.com), Shepherd Express (expressmilwaukee.com), and WCGV TV My 24 (my24milwaukee.com). “WI MMA Today” theme song “Leaders of the Revolution” performed by Milwaukee’s Well Informed Citizens.
For more information on Roufusport, please visit http://roufusport.com/. You can also find them on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/roufusport, and on Twitter @RoufusportMMA.
About Roufusport
Roufusport is run by famed kickboxer and MMA trainer Duke Roufus and his business partners Scott Joffe and Anthony Pettis. It is a world class brand that includes a state-of-the-art training facility, fight team, and MMA promotion, the North American Fighting Championship.
Duke Roufus is one of the most recognizable MMA and striking coaches in North America, and is considered to be one of the top trainers of Muay Thai kickboxing outside of Thailand. Roufus also runs the Roufusport Fight Club team, which includes UFC stars Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, Alan “The Talent” Belcher, Erik “New Breed” Koch, Chico “King” Camus, and Germany’s Pascal “Panzer” Krauss, in addition to Olympic wrestler and Bellator Fighting Championship Welterweight World Champion Ben “Funky” Askren.
Former students include former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver, The Ultimate Fighter season one star Stephan Bonnar, and UFC veterans Pat Barry, Matt Mitrione, Ben Rothwell, and Jesse Lennox.