Jesse Gross – image via The Score Fighting Series
Press Release – TORONTO, September 17, 2012 – Two more fights have been confirmed for The Score Fighting Series (SFS) event Sarnia, Ontario on Friday, October 19th. Jesse “The Ghost” Gross will battle Seiji Sugiman-Marangos in a main card featherweight tilt while Joel Paquette will take on Ronnie Phillips in a preliminary bout.
Gross (6-3) is an SFS veteran who started his career with six straight wins but has since dropped his last three. His most recent loss was to Daron Cruikshank, who went on to compete in the Ultimate Fighter and is now in the UFC.
Originally from Wallaceburg, Ontario, Gross will have strong local support at his first fight since taking time off to hone his skills at the Adrenaline Training Centre in London, Ontario where he works out alongside UFC veterans Chris Clements, Mark Hominick and Sam Stout as well as SFS competitors Jesse Ronson and Chris Horodecki. This has led to a leaner physique and a new weight class resulting in his first fight at featherweight.
A very well rounded fighter, Gross is known for pushing the pace and brutal ground and pound with all six of his wins coming via T/KO. He predicted a similar outcome for his fight with Sugiman-Marangos.
”Someone needs to have Tylenol on standby because Seiji’s going to have one hell of a headache when he regains consciousness after this fight,” he said.
Sugiman-Marangos was born and raised in Toronto but has spent the last nine years living in Hamilton, Ontario where he attends McMaster University. He is currently in the final year of a PhD in biochemistry.
“Despite his recent hiccups, Jesse is a very dangerous opponent and I’m very excited to be facing him in October,” he said. “This fight hearkens back to the early days of Canadian MMA as we are two young fighters coming out of two of the oldest MMA camps in Ontario.”
Sugiman-Marangos has been training with Shah Franco for the past seven years at Shah Franco Martial Arts/Innercity MMA and with Marco Costa of Body of Four BJJ. Inside the cage he sports a 5-1 record and is on a four-fight win streak. Outside of MMA, Sugiman-Marangos has competed extensively in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, where he won the Ontario Provincial Championships at Purple belt in 2009 and Brown/Black in 2011. He also took second place at Naga Toronto 2011 and won a superfight against Shaun Krysa on the SubX show, also in 2011. He is currently a Brown belt in BJJ.
In undercard action Joel Paquette (0-1) will be competing for the first time since a submission loss to Jason Meisel in December. Ronnie Phillips (0-1) will also be looking for his first win after being TKOed by Oliver Vadnais in April.
Gross and Sugiman-Marangos joins Lyndon Whitlock and Rick Glenn on the main card for the event, which will be televised live in Canada on theScore Television Network and in the US on AXS TV beginning 10:00pm EST. Tickets are on sale now starting at $29.95 and can be purchased through the RBC Centre box office and rbccentresarnia.com. Additional fights will be announced soon.
About Score Media Inc.
Score Media is a media company committed to delivering interactive and authentic sports entertainment. Score Media’s primary asset, theScore Television Network (“theScore”), is a national specialty television service providing sports news, information, highlights and live event programming in more than 6.6 million homes across Canada. The Company’s digital media assets include theScore.com and the industry leading mobile sports applications ScoreMobile, ScoreMobile FC and SportsTap which reach over three million unique users per month. Growing from a team of 60 in 1997 to over 290 employees in 2012, Score Media is a revolutionizing interactive media company.
About The Score Fighting Series
The Score Fighting Series (SFS) is a mixed martial arts promotion operated by Score Fighting Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Score Media Inc. The Series features both established veterans and the sport’s best young athletes with a focus on creating the most exciting match-ups possible. It can currently be seen across Canada on theScore on Mondays at 6pm ET, Fridays at 11pm ET and Saturdays at 1pm ET. Individual fights are also available in the MMA section on theScore.com and at scorefighting.com.