It appears as if Alistair Overeem’s wish has come true, after campaigning to fight for the vacant DREAM heavyweight title, DREAM officials confirmed earlier today that he and Todd Duffee would in fact be fighting for the vacant DREAM Heavyweight Interim Title.
Both men will square off at the Dynamite!! 2010 event at the Saitama Super […]
It appears as if Alistair Overeem’s wish has come true, after campaigning to fight for the vacant DREAM heavyweight title, DREAM officials confirmed earlier today that he and Todd Duffee would in fact be fighting for the vacant DREAM Heavyweight Interim Title.
Both men will square off at the Dynamite!! 2010 event at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan in the ninth bout of the night.
Overeem was happy with the official news that the bout would be fore the vacant title.
“It is good to be here. I am happy they found an opponent. I am happier it is for the title. I will show you a great fight tomorrow, and I wish you all the best for 2011.”
While Duffee was more focused on the fight and his opponent rather than the title.
“I’m excited to be in Japan. I plan on having a good fight tomorrow. I don’t think Alistair has ever fought someone like me before, so it will be interesting.”
Overeem was recently crowned the K-1 World GP champ earlier this month, he’s only fought twice in the past year. He successfully defended his Strikeforce title against Brett Rogers by earning a first round TKO win at last May’s Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery event, and he knocked out Kazuyuki Fujita with a big knee at last years “Dynamite!! 2009″ show.
Duffee’s last MMA bout was a third round knockout loss to Mike Russow at UFC 114, ending his six fight unbeaten streak. Duffee was cut from the UFC in September for unknown reasons. He had been scheduled to face “TUF 10″ alumni Abe Wagner next month at a Titan Fighting Championship event but has since been replaced after taking the fight with Overeem.
Replacing Duffee at the Titan Fighting Championship 16 event, set for Jan. 28, will be former UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia (28-6). He’ll face Wagner (6-3) in the shows main event at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. The bout will be televised live on HDNet.
On Thursday Titan Fighting CEO Joe Kelly noted that “We’re very fortunate to be able to add Tim to Titan FC 16 on such short notice. By letting Todd take the fight against Overeem, we are allowing ourselves to get to work with Tim on our Jan. 28 show and then still get to book Todd on a future show.”
Sylvia has had a resurgence in his career winning four straight after his 9 second knockout loss to former boxer Ray Mercer in June of 2009. He is currently the Powerhouse World Promotions heavyweight champ and is scheduled to defend that title in February to Pedro Rizzo.
Wagner is 1-1 since his time on the “TUF 10″ show earning a first round win at a Fight to Win event in November. The loss was an 8 second knockout to Travis Brown at a Victory Fighting Championship show in February.
Press Release
The Titan Fighting Championships (www.TitanFighting.com) confirmed today that a middleweight encounter has been added to its scheduled broadcast debut on HDNet (www.HDNetFights.com) for January 28 between UFC veteran Drew McFedries (8-6) and rising prospect Gary Tapasua (6-1).
The McFedries vs. Tapasua matchup joins the previously-announced main event for Titan Fighting Championships 16 between UFC veteran […]
Press Release
The Titan Fighting Championships (www.TitanFighting.com) confirmed today that a middleweight encounter has been added to its scheduled broadcast debut on HDNet (www.HDNetFights.com) for January 28 between UFC veteran Drew McFedries (8-6) and rising prospect Gary Tapasua (6-1).
The McFedries vs. Tapasua matchup joins the previously-announced main event for Titan Fighting Championships 16 between UFC veteran Todd Duffee (6-1) and Ultimate Fighter season ten veteran Abe Wagner (6-3).
McFedries, who fought for the UFC eight times during a nearly three-year span from 2006-2009, will be returning to active competition for the first time since his last UFC bout in September of 2009. The long-time Miletich Fighting Systems product garnered a strong fanbase thanks in large part to an aggressive fighting style that led to highlight reel first round finishes of Jordan Radev, Marvin Eastman, and Xavier Foupa-Pokam during his UFC tenure.
“Drew was scheduled to make his return to the cage this past September but had to pull off the show due to injury. However, when his fight was first announced, we took great notice at the strong fan reaction from his inclusion on that card,” commented Titan Fighting Championships CEO Joe Kelly. “Fans are going to be excited to see his return live on HDNet on Jan. 28 because they know they are guaranteed to see fireworks.”
While McFedries may have more recognition than his opponent, Tapasua, he will be subjecting himself to a stern challenge in his first fight in over a year.
Tapasua is a Kansas City-area native of Samoan descent and is considered one of the market’s most popular fighters. After a strong amateur career in which he amassed a 3-0 record with three first round (T)KOs, Tapasua made his professional debut last November during a Strikeforce Challengers event, suffering a close split decision loss to fellow middleweight prospect Darryl Cobb.
Since the loss to Cobb, Tapasua has fought six times, finishing all six of his opponents via (T)KOs and establishing himself as one of the most feared prospects at 185 lbs. in the Midwest.
“Gary is very popular in this area and will have a lot of fan support at Memorial Hall on Jan. 28. Gary made his debut on a big show but this will be the first time he’s fought on television so we expect his fans to come out in droves to support him,” said Kelly. “We’re excited to have Gary on this card because Titan’s goal is to feature a mix of fighters that are familiar to the casual MMA fan while also exposing fans to some of the best new talent in the sport. Those who do not know the name Gary Tapasua will know his name come Jan. 28.”
With both fighters notorious for a smash mouth style of fighting, the outcome of the McFedries vs. Tapasua fight is one that will likely make an indelible mark on those in attendance at the event and watching at home on HDNet.
“Win or lose, those that tune in to see Gary fight Drew will not be disappointed as these two were tailor made for each other,” stated Kelly. “As a promoter, you never want to see one of your fighters get seriously hurt but the reality is that a brutal knockout between Gary and Drew is simply inevitable. Their respective fighting styles simply won’t allow for anything else.”
The live national televised broadcast of Titan Fighting Championships 16 will begin at 10:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. CT with the local undercard starting at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT. Tickets for the event, which will emanate from the historic Memorial Hall (www.MemorialHallKC.com), are currently on-sale at Ticketmaster.com, all local Ticketmaster outlets, and the Memorial Hall box office.
For additional information on Titan Fighting Championships 16, please visit www.TitanFighting.com or www.HDNetFights.com. You can also follow the Titan Fighting Championships on Facebook (search: Titan Fighting).
ABOUT THE TITAN FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
(www.TitanFighting.com): The Titan Fighting Championships is a Kansas City-based full-time Mixed Martial Arts promotion headquartered out of the historic Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. Owned and operated by veteran fight promoter Joe Kelly, the Titan Fighting Championships has promoted events since 2006. The goal of TFC is to promote and develop the top up-and-coming fighters in the world and provide a platform allowing them to take their respective careers to the next level. Fighters who have gotten their start with Titan include Mike Johnson, Jay Hieron, L.C. Davis, Rob Kimmons, Lee Gibson, Alan Belcher, Bobby Voelker, Zak Cummings, Rudy Bears, and James Krause.
ABOUT TITAN ENTERTAINMENT:
Titan Entertainment is a full-service entertainment company that holds an exclusive lease on the historic Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. The company promotes and produces events such as rock concerts, professional boxing, professional wrestling, and mixed martial arts. Titan has promoted sporting events that have been featured on ESPN, Fox Sports Net, SHOWTIME, and HDNet.
ABOUT COMBAT SPORTS MEDIA
(www.CombatSportsMedia.net): Combat Sports Media is a partner to Titan Entertainment and The Titan Fighting Championships. Owned and operated by Sam Caplan, CSM is an outsource business-to-business solution for companies in the combat sports industry. CSM provides an array of services on a contract basis such as public relations, television research production, website design and management, Internet video streaming, and matchmaking consulting. Its past and present client list includes M-1 Global, SHOWTIME, the Titan Fighting Championships, the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts, ChokeOutPoker.net, NameDrop.com, and FightMetric.com. CSM is also the parent company of the popular Mixed Martial Arts content website FiveOuncesOfPain.com (www.FiveOuncesOfPain.com) and is a shareholder in the Titan Fighting Championships.
It appears as if Alistair Overeem’s wish has come true, after campaigning to fight for the vacant DREAM heavyweight title, DREAM officials confirmed earlier today that he and Todd Duffee would in fact be fighting for the vacant DREAM Heavyweight Interim Title.