Tweet The Illinois State Professional Athletic Commission reversed their decision to deny German heavyweight Andreas ‘Big Daddy’ Kraniotakes (12-4) a license to compete at the upcoming ProElite show. On Thursday, sources close to ProElite told MMAFighting.com that the Illinois Commission would now grant Kraniotakes a license to fight former UFC champ Tim Sylvia on November […]
The Illinois State Professional Athletic Commission reversed their decision to deny German heavyweight Andreas ‘Big Daddy’ Kraniotakes (12-4) a license to compete at the upcoming ProElite show.
On Thursday, sources close to ProElite told MMAFighting.com that the Illinois Commission would now grant Kraniotakes a license to fight former UFC champ Tim Sylvia on November 5th.
Just one day before, the Commission had denied ‘Big Daddy’ his license on the grounds that many of his 16-pro bouts were not sanctioned, all of which took place in Europe where the sport is still new to many countries.
The ProElite: Big Guns event is set for Nov. 5 at the iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois and besides featuring the Sylvia vs. Kraniotakes bout, includes the opening round of the promotions Heavyweight Tournament.
Kraniotakes, who has been training in the U.S. for this match, has won three straight and is 5-1 in his last six fights. All of his twelve victories have come by stoppage, eight by KO and four by submissioin.
Sylvia is 1-1 in his last two and is 5-1 in his last six matches. He was last in action this past August, earning a first round TKO finish. ‘The Maine-iac’ has competed at weights higher than 265 lbs in his last seven, so it will be interesting to see if the former champ can make the heavyweight limit.
Tweet Press Release – LOS ANGELES, Calif. (October 26, 2011) – As a special thanks to the people who protect and serve our country, we are offering a $10 discount to all members of the armed forces, police department, and fire department on tickets in any price range. Just bring a valid form of service […]
Press Release – LOS ANGELES, Calif. (October 26, 2011) – As a special thanks to the people who protect and serve our country, we are offering a $10 discount to all members of the armed forces, police department, and fire department on tickets in any price range. Just bring a valid form of service identification (Badge, I.D. card, etc.) at the time of purchase to apply the discount to your tickets.
Tickets for “ProElite 2:Big Guns” are on sale to the general public at the i wireless Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800)745-3000, Ticketmaster online and www.proelite.com.
ProElite Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is proud to present the first round of their Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament on November 5, 2011 from Moline, IL. This tournament consists of some of the best up and coming heavyweights in the world and the winner will be pushed into the upper tier of the heavyweight division.
ProElite 2: Big Guns will be televised live on HD NET at 8 P.M. CST
Tweet Mere days after announcing that German heavyweight Andreas ‘Big Daddy’ Kraniotakes (12-4) as the replacement for main event fighter Pedro Rizzo, the ProElite promotion has run into another snag and is set to name another opponent for former UFC champ Tim Sylvia. On Wednesday, sources close to ProElite spoke to MMAFighting.com telling them that […]
Mere days after announcing that German heavyweight Andreas ‘Big Daddy’ Kraniotakes (12-4) as the replacement for main event fighter Pedro Rizzo, the ProElite promotion has run into another snag and is set to name another opponent for former UFC champ Tim Sylvia.
On Wednesday, sources close to ProElite spoke to MMAFighting.com telling them that the promotion had run into problems with the Illinois State Professional Athletic COmmission in getting Kraniotakes licensed. They would approve him due to “a lack of sanctioned fights on his record.”
All of Kraniotakes’ bouts have taken place in Europe.
The website noted that the ProElite promotion is set to announce a new opponent but was unable to license him on Wednesday due to the Illinois office being closed at that time.
Kraniotakes took to video to voice his disappointment at the licensing failure.
“?Eventually, the commission wouldn’t give me a license for some reasons no one understands,” Kraniotakes said. “I think the people making those decisions probably don’t know anything about the sport. I did everything I could do, my management did everything it could do, ProElite did everything it could do to make the fight happen. But the commission just said no.”
Kraniotakes, who had come to the States to train in San Diego leading up to the fight, said he is unsure what his next move will be, but he’d like to get a fight in 2011.
“I thought this was the moment in my career where all the suffering and the hard stuff I’ve put into it, all the training and all the work, finally paid off,” Kraniotakes said. “And now I stand here and don’t really know what to think. It’s kind of tough for me. I don’t really know where to go from here, but I know this eon’t hold me down.”
Filed under: News, ProEliteIt’s nothing short of a soap opera script.
Less than 24 hours after main event heavyweight Andreas Kraniotakes was denied a license to fight Tim Slyvia in the ProElite 2 main event on Nov. 5, Sylvia has his new opponent.
Less than 24 hours after main event heavyweight Andreas Kraniotakes was denied a license to fight Tim Slyvia in the ProElite 2 main event on Nov. 5, Sylvia has his new opponent.
After his fight with Pedro Rizzo was scrapped due to an injury, and Kraniotakes wasn’t approved by the Illinois State Professional Athletic Commission just Wednesday, Sylvia’s new opponent will be … Andreas Kraniotakes.
In a somewhat surprising reversal, the Illinois commission, according to sources close to ProElite, took another look at the fight and decided to grant Kraniotakes a license after all. In a story first reported by MMA Fighting, the commission had initially denied Kraniotakes a license because of a lack of sanctioned fights on his 12-4 record, many of which have taken place in his native Germany, which has only a short history with legalized mixed martial arts.
Sources told MMA Fighting that ProElite had indeed lined up a replacement fighter for Slyvia on Wednesday and anticipated that new opponent being approved by the Illinois commission on Thursday for a fight on just nine days notice. Now that won’t be necessary, and Sylvia-Kraniotakes is back on.
In addition, HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon took to his Twitter feed on Thursday to say the fight would indeed remain as the main event of the show, which will take place at the iWireless Center in Moline, Ill., on Nov. 5. The main card will air live on HDNet. MMA Fighting first reported last month that the card moved from Atlantic City to the Quad Cities area in western Illinois and would feature a main event between Sylvia and Rizzo with a co-main event of Andrei Arlovski vs. Travis Fulton.
But less than two weeks ago, Rizzo pulled out of the fight with an injury and Kraniotakes, who has cracked the Top 100 heavyweights in the world in some rankings, was tapped as the replacement.
Early Thursday, Kraniotakes, who has been training for the Sylvia fight in San Diego, took to his official website to voice his disappointment in being pulled from the card.
“?Eventually, the commission wouldn’t give me a license for some reasons no one understands,” Kraniotakes said. “I think the people making those decisions probably don’t know anything about the sport. I did everything I could do, my management did everything it could do, ProElite did everything it could do to make the fight happen. But the commission just said no.”
Perhaps everything that could be done eventually was enough, even if it is a day later.
A message asking for comment left for the Illinois commission’s director of athletics, Ron Puccillo, was not immediately returned on Thursday.
ProElite’s second fight card since returning to the major mixed martial arts landscape has hit another snag.
Just 10 days after main event heavyweight Pedro Rizzo had to pull out of his fight against former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia with an injury, Rizzo’s replacement, Andreas Kraniotakes, now also is off the card.
Sources close to ProElite on Wednesday told MMA Fighting that Kraniotakes’ fighter license was not approved by the Illinois State Professional Athletic Commission, which oversees MMA in the state. That leaves ProElite scrambling for a replacement to fight Sylvia on what will be less than 10 days notice for ProElite 2 at the iWireless Center in Moline, Ill., on Nov. 5.
According to sources close to the event, the reason behind the state commission’s refusal to approve Kraniotakes stems from a lack of sanctioned fights on his record. Though the German heavyweight is 12-4, the bulk of his 16 career fights have come in Europe, leaving him without any sanctioned fights in the United States for the commission to base its decision on.
ProElite is said to have a replacement fighter lined up to face Sylvia, and attempted to present that fighter to the Illinois commission on Wednesday – only to find the board had closed up shop for the business day. A decision on Sylvia’s new opponent is expected Thursday, which will give him nine days to prepare for the fight – and Slyvia nine days to prepare for what will be his third opponent since signing on for the event.
Kraniotakes, who had come to the States to train in San Diego leading up to the fight, said he is unsure what his next move will be, but he’d like to get a fight in 2011.
“I thought this was the moment in my career where all the suffering and the hard stuff I’ve put into it, all the training and all the work, finally paid off,” Kraniotakes said. “And now I stand here and don’t really know what to think. It’s kind of tough for me. I don’t really know where to go from here, but I know this eon’t hold me down.”
ProElite has not yet announced its third event, though it is not likely to take place this calendar year. Its first event since folding up shop in late 2008 took place in August in Hawaii, and a return to the Aloha State would seem possible – and may prove to be an easier road to getting Kraniotakes a license than in Illinois, a state commission that has not been without trouble in the past.
In March, the Chicago Tribune reported that the commission’s No. 2 official was put on administrative leave so the state could investigate complaints he used his position to benefit, in part, political campaigns run by his wife and his brother’s work as a boxing judge.
Last month, MMA Fighting was first to report Sylvia in the main event of ProElite 2 against Rizzo on a card that was moved to the Quad Cities area of western Illinois from its original planned home in Atlantic City. Sylvia, a Maine native, has lived in the Quad Cities for years, training with the Pat Miletich team during his UFC run as heavyweight champion.
But just 10 days ago, Rizzo had to pull out of the fight with an injury and Kraniotakes was tapped as his replacement. Though Kraniotakes is largely unknown outside of Europe, he is ranked in the Top 100 of some MMA heavyweight lists.
Slyvia (29-7) has won five of his last six. In August, he beat Patrick Barrentine (9-6) on a show in Rockford, Ill., a fight which was approved by the Illinois commission.
ProElite 2 features a co-main event between former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski and Travis Fulton, a veteran of more than 300 career fights. BJ Penn‘s brother Reagan meets Evan Cutts, and former UFC fighter Waylon Lowe fights Floyd Hodges. In addition, a ProElite heavyweight tournament gets underway with four quarterfinal bouts, including one featuring NCAA wrestling standout Mark Ellis (1-0).
Tweet After making a successful mixed martial arts debut last August as part of ProElite’s inaugural return to the sport, Reagan Penn (1-0) is set to meet Evan Cutts (2-0) at the promotions second show next month. ProElite: Big Guns is scheduled to take place on November 5th at the iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois. […]
After making a successful mixed martial arts debut last August as part of ProElite’s inaugural return to the sport, Reagan Penn (1-0) is set to meet Evan Cutts (2-0) at the promotions second show next month.
ProElite: Big Guns is scheduled to take place on November 5th at the iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois. The Penn vs. Cutts bout will be featured as part of the live HDNet televised broadcast.
The event features six heavyweight bouts on the main card, four of which are part of ProElite’s Heavyweight Tournament.
Penn, brother to former UFC champ BJ Penn, made short work of his opponent in August, by earning a 70-second submission win over Paul Gardiner at last August’s ProElite 1 event in Hawaii. Penn and brother BJ, have both been show training together in his brother’s “Road to UFC 137″ video blogs.
Cutts has two wins under his belt, both submission victories on the smaller mma circuit. The Texas based fighter has also won three of his four amateur victories by submission.
The Illinois State Professional Athletic Commission reversed their decision to deny German heavyweight Andreas ‘Big Daddy’ Kraniotakes (12-4) a license to compete at the upcoming ProElite show.
ProElite’s second fight card since returning to the major mixed martial arts landscape has hit another snag. 