Take On Productions Announces Official Event for 2013 in NYC

 “TAKE ON MUAY THAI XIX”

KICKS OFF 2013 AT RESORTS WORLD CASINO IN NEW YORK CITY

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013

TICKETS NOW ON SALE

New York, NY (January 17, 2013) – TaKe On Productions, New York’s premiere Muay Thai promotion announced the first event of 2013 to take place at Resorts World Casino on Friday, February 22 ,2013. This historic occasion will mark the first Muay Thai event at the first ever Casino in New York City.

  

Tickets start at $45.00 and go on sale Friday, January 18, at www.TakeOnProductions.com, and at Muay Thai and MMA gyms throughout NY, NJ, CT and PA. Full event information along with fight card, event details, fighter information, and other exciting content can also be found at www.TakeOnNYC.com.

 

After closing out 2012 at the legendary Madison Square Garden with “Muay Thai at the Mecca 2”, the 2013 season is building up to bring more high octane events and new and exciting venues. “Leading off the 2013 season at the first ever casino in New York City is just a taste of what is in store for the year ahead” said Eddie Cuello, Take On President.

 

“Take On Muay Thai XIX” will feature the area’s top pro fighters including Brooklyn’s own Turan “the Tornado” Hasanov, the devastating up and coming cruiser weight Wayne Barrett, and New York fan favorite Sean Hinds. Three title fights will highlight this much anticipated fight card as Take On 145 lb. champ Sean Fagan, WKA champ Stoney “Bacalao” Morales, and WKA champ Prairie Rugilo all look to defend their crowns.

 

“After bringing championship-level boxing back to it’s rightful home here in New York City, Resorts World Casino New York City is thrilled to debut Muay Thai kickboxing to New York City’s first and only casino. This historic first night of Muay Thai at Resorts World Casino is an undeniable sign of great things to come, as we pick up the mantle as the home for the best possible mix of entertainment New York City has to offer” said Christian Goode, Senior Vice President of Development of Genting Americas, Inc.

 

“We are excited to add this new and exciting venue to our roster after successful events at venues including Madison Square Garden and Bally’s Atlantic City in 2012. Consistently forging ahead for our fighters, our fans, and for the sport of Muay Thai has been our main goal. We are proud to be able to deliver top notch fights at top notch venues” stated TaKe On CEO Mike Gasparski.

 

Several of the marquee names featured on “Take On Muay Thai XIX,” which will include representatives from 22 premiere Muay Thai kickboxing gyms, are:

 

Jess Ng (8-1) – coming off an impressive victory in Thailand and has gone 7-0 in her last 7 fights to include a WKA and TBA title!

Angela Hill (10-0) – Steamrolling through opponents, undefeated Hill will be facing a very tough and also undefeated California native Ariana Gomez (5-0)

 

Freddy Cheung (6-1) – The Take On Rising Stars 155lb. champ will face undefeated Manny Casais (6-0). Casais is the top fighter out of Coban’s Muay Thai right here in NYC.

 

Robinson Marte (8-0) – Undefeated Marte will be facing always fearless Cornell Ward who hails from renowned  Five Points Academy in NYC.

 

Joe “Avatar” Bastone (3-0) – Bursting onto the fight scene in impressive fashion, Bastone has two of the most vicious knockouts in Take On history 

 

Others top fighters appearing on the fight card include: Joey Hernandez, 7-3 (Mushin MMA); Rich Brattole, 10-0 (Weapons 9); Kate “Rock” Allen, 3-1 (Cool Hearts/PA), and Omar Estevez, 7-3 (Sitan Gym NY).    

 

Visit www.TakeOnProductions.com for the full fight card, highlights from past events, fighter features and more.

 

About TaKe On Productions

TaKe On Productions burst onto the fight scene in 2009, and rapidly became the top Muay Thai fight promotion company on the East Coast. TaKe On has brought fight fans eighteen exciting Professional and Amateur Thai boxing events, including the US’s largest event in history “Muay Thai at the Mecca”, “Muay Thai at the Mecca 2”, the legendary “Battle at the Beacon”, “Battle at Bally’s 2” in Atlantic City, and the $10K Pro Tournament where 8 Pro fighters competed in a one night to take home the title and the prize. Take On events always showcase the best local, national, and international talent, from up and coming prospects to seasoned veterans of the sport. For more information, visit www.TaKeOnProductions.com 

 

ABOUT Resorts World Casino New York City

Resorts World Casino New York City (Resorts World Casino) is the first entertainment destination of its kind in the five boroughs of New York City. Resorts World Casino is operated by the Genting Group, a global company founded in 1965, and the world’s largest Destination Resorts operator. Genting has Resorts World-branded properties in Asia, Europe, North America and on all four oceans through the 50% ownership of Norwegian Cruise Line and Star Cruises brands. Genting’s international strategic partners include Universal Studios and Simon Property. The company has a combined market capitalization of $45 billion and employs more than 50,000 people worldwide.

Give Your Body a Break AND Train Like the Pros

Most full-time fighters aim to step into the Octagon three times a year, maybe even four if they’re a workhorse. That means these athletes train nearly year-round. The upside? More paychecks. The down? A busy UFC fighter has almost no off-season, no opportunity to heal his joints, invigorate his muscles, or rejuvenate his mind. This is where the mini off-season comes in, otherwise known as the “deload week.”

A deload period is typically a one-week stretch utilized scheduled into a fighter’s strength program. It works like this: Every four to six weeks, the fighter takes a break from pushing heavy weights and lets his muscles and central nervous system recover, but without falling into total lethargy. He’ll still perform many of the same exercises, he’ll simply cut back the weight by 50 to 60 percent.

“When I do a deload week I have a lot of energy,” says middleweight contender Alan Belcher, who is set to rematch Yushin Okami at UFC 155 December 29. “Everything is firing a lot better. I feel a lot stronger. If you keep on training hard with a ‘more is better’ mentality then you’ll always plateau.”

Making It Work for You
For the average weightlifter who works out but isn’t a professional athlete, a deload strategy can

Alan Belcher; photo: Jamie Morton

take many forms, says Andy Hennebelle, NASM-CPT, CSCS, USAW, a strength coach at the UFC Gym in Corona, Calif. Bodyweight exercises can be substituted for lighter weights, or the deload can be performed on a smaller scale, such as utilizing one deload day a week.

The key is to stay ahead of the overtraining curve by purposefully easing off before your body is forced to take a break.  “The most important part of the deloading strategy is to make sure you don’t plateau,” says Hennebelle.

“The biggest success stories I have seen is when an athlete is coming off several weeks of big lifts,” he adds. “I have seen guys bench 285, 295, 305 but they can’t hit 315. They go through a deload week and take a break. They don’t feel like they are breaking themselves down and they have more energy. The next week they go back to the bench press and they put up 315, no problem.”

Deloading is the Difference

Alan Belcher; photo: Jamie Morton

Belcher’s trainer, Lyle Henley, who owns The Athlete Factory in Daphne, Alabama, has Belcher on a block periodization program. That means this his training is split into multi-week blocks that focus on individual athletic assets.

First they build a base of strength, then they work on power, then speed, and then conditioning. Belcher, who trains with some of the heaviest weights among the fighters in his division, will perform a deload week between blocks to reboot his body and mind. It is a tactic that can pay dividends for any type of athlete or gym-goer, but works best when the training is specific in terms of the loads that are lifted.

The fight between Belcher and Okami will be an interesting testimonial to Belcher’s training methods. The Japanese fighter took a decision from Belcher back at UFC 62, back when Belcher was adhering to a helter-skelter regimen that jammed striking, grappling, and strength training into nearly every day of the week. The Mississippi native feels that adopting a smarter, more organized approach to strength training, has helped him constantly improve.

“The only way to take it up a notch is through recovering and then building on that. Then you recover again and build a little higher, and keep on taking it up and up and up,” says Belcher. “I am trying to take it up just a little bit more because I am already at the highest level. Most people consider me a top-five contender. If I can take it up just a teeny bit on my strength or speed, then that will be enough to be a world champion.”

 

CFC Welcomes UFC fighters “Brutal” Johnny Bedford and Will Campuzano today at 3 PM

Presented by Muay Thai Fightclub

DFW’s Campuzano to make UFC debut

By Michael Wolman

In October, Zuffa made official what most had suspect for some time; the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) would absorb World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) at the close of 2010. As a result the UFC will inherit deep bantam and featherweight divisions, and merge the lightweight division into an already cavernous field of combatants. The most popular WEC fighters, such as Urijah, Faber, Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz, were the trophies of the merger. The other, more contested fighters were signed to the UFC as needed, and the less fortunate will be released into an unsure future. Dallas area fighter, Will Campuzano, was one of the fighters that will transition over into the UFC. The soft spoken Bantam weight will make his UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighter 12 finale, Dec. 4 at the Palms Casino, against Nick Pace.

Although the normally coy fighter does not use his fame as a pulpit to voice many of his opinions, he does have some very deep thoughts about his place in mixed martial arts, the UFC merger, Latinos in MMA and philanthropy.

 

Jeff Sherwood of Sherdog

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Will Campuzano, who can compete at both the flyweight and bantam divisions, will make his UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighter 12 finale.

The twenty four year old spent his first two years in Acapulco, Mexico. With fighters like Cain Velasquez and Tito Ortiz proudly (and many times loudly) putting on display their Mexican heritage to their fan’s delight, it would seem natural for Campuzano to do the same. Instead, he has decided to take a much quieter approach.

“I grew up with Mexican pride, my fighting does my talking for me,” he said. “I used to go back a lot (to Acapulco) until I started fighting. I grew up watching boxing … and my family all root for América (referring to the famous soccer club in Mexico City).”

Campuzano began training in mixed martial arts in the city of Mount Pleasant, TX under the tutelage of professional mixed martial artist Marcus Lanier. He later moved his training to the more diverse Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and took residency at Allen Mohler’s academy, where he still currently trains.

“I’ve been with Mohler for three years,” said the fighter, which is also the home to his wrestling coach and fellow bantam weight Jason Sampson. He explains Sampson’s credentials simply as “he wrestled three years in division one (NCAA).”

The one year Campuzano has spent in the WEC has seen its highs and lows. He took his first fight on a week and a half notice as a last minute replacement, and lost to Damacio Page. His second fight against Greg Jackson camper Coty Wheeler turned out more positive, as it gave him his first WEC win and fight of the night honors.

“I fought Wheeler with a torn left rotator cuff,” he said. “I led with the right and made it happen with knees and elbows.”

His third fight took him to the Great White North of Canada to take on Indiana wrestler Eddie Winland. Campuzano would get KO’ed in the second round, but would use the fight to analyze his deficiencies.

“I learned a lot from that fight … where I needed to train more,” he said. “I mentally broke in Canada.”

He would retool his game and work on his wrestling with the understanding that solid takedowns and position control was what separated a mid-level WEC fighter from title contenders. To do this, Campuzano would take a break from the WEC and compete at regional promotion, King of Kombat (KOK) 9, to re-sight his new weaponry.

“I wanted to be more fluent in wrestling. My game plan was to shoot in. It was effortless,” he said.

He would win shooting in almost a dozen times during the fight and would control the distance with sweeping Muay Thai leg kicks. For his efforts he is now a much more complete fighter, ready to take on the UFC.

One odd side note that came out of the fight at KOK was his contracted weight. Campuzano was competing in a 135-pound fight, but due to clerical error, was accidentally contracted at 130 pounds. While it was troublesome to the fighter that he was contracted to fight at five pounds less than his opponent, it was not a problem.

“I made 128 [pounds] without trying,” he said. “I was at a buffet the night before. I could have made 125 in two hours.”

It sets up rather nicely for him as Dana White has expressed at least some interest in adding a flyweight (125 pounds) division to the UFC.

When pressed on the possibility of competing at flyweight, Campuzano alludes to competing in both bantam and flyweight.

“At 125 I’m the one to look out for,” he said. “It’s easy to compete in both.”

One name that jumped out as a possible opponent at 125 pounds was Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, who recently dispatched Damacio Page.

“Johnson at 125 would be a hell of a fight,” he said. “When 125 is there, we’ll meet. But I’ll fight anyone.”

When asked about any potential jitters in competing in Las Vegas, Campuzano’s tranquil optimism for fighting in the UFC is apparent.

“I like to get out of town to fight. I’m relaxed,” he said. “The UFC is taking over; it’s taking over the world!”

The Mexican-born fighter keeps his mind quiet and understands that while the UFC is paramount to his career, there are many other, more immediate causes he can champion. One such cause is the work he does with Eric Lyons at ‘Hope for the Silent Voices,’ a charity whose goal is to build special needs facilities in countries lacking the resources to build such structures themselves.

“Eric’s a great guy,” said the fighter. “He does some great work.”

William Campuzano has passed the bar and ascended to the pinnacle of his sport at the age of 24. The good news is that he will have the opportunity to face top level competition every time the cage closes. The bad news is, he has to face top level competition every time the cage closes. His quiet demeanor, newly-refined wrestling skills and charitable nature will be displayed below an inconspicuous, but perfectly embodied, Mexican flag in Las Vegas on Dec. 4.

Will Campuzano vs. Nick Pace in the works for The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale

by John Morgan on Nov 05, 2010 at 3:55 pm ET

The WEC imports are coming fast and furious, and bantamweights Will Campuzano (8-2 MMA, 1-2 WEC) and Nick Pace (5-1 MMA, 0-1 WEC) are the latest lighter-weight fighters making their way to the UFC.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned that Campuzano and Pace have verbally agreed to meet at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale, and bout agreements are expected to be finalized soon.

Featuring a light heavyweight contest between Stephan Bonnar and Igor Pokrajac, as well as the finale of this season’s Spike TV reality series, The Ultimate Fighter Finale takes place Dec. 4 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

The Campuzano vs. Pace matchup is expected to take place on the evening’s preliminary card.

Campuzano returns to the Zuffa, LLC umbrella after an August split-decision win over Steve Garcia in the regional King of Kombat organization. The Texas native took the fight with the company’s blessing after a 1-2 stretch in the WEC promotion that saw him suffer losses to Eddie Wineland and Damacio Page.

Campuzano’s lone WEC victory came in a “Fight of the Night” win over Coty Wheeler.

Meanwhile, Pace seeks his first win under the Zuffa, LLC banner.

The Team Tiger Schulmann product debuted for the WEC in a unanimous-decision loss to Demetrious Johnson at WEC 51 in September. The previously undefeated Pace had opened his career with five-straight wins while fighting under the Ring of Combat and Bellator Fighting Championships banner.

UFC, WEC Join Forces Starting in 2011

By Mike Whitman
Sherdog.com
Archive

Come next year, World Extreme Cagefighting will be no more.

Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White on Thursday announced that the WEC will merge with the UFC in 2011.

“It’s time,” White said during a UFC conference call. “As we continue to grow globally, we’re doing enough fights to fold [the WEC] into the UFC. It’s always been in the cards to grow this sport and add every weight class.”

All WEC talent will be retained, White said, including the 135- and 145-pound champions. WEC featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo will be recognized as the new UFC champion, and the same will go for the winner of Dominick Cruz‘s title defense against Scott Jorgensen at the promotion’s final event, WEC 53, in December. White also confirmed that Aldo will defend his new UFC title on Jan. 1 at UFC 125 “Resolution,” though his opponent was still not set in stone.

In regard to the lighter weight classes headlining future UFC events, White was optimistic.

“[The lighter champions will be] main and co-main events. As we grow and go into new countries, you’re going to see a lot of talent coming into those divisions,” White said. “A lot of people haven’t seen how exciting these guys are. I’d like to [eventually] have a 125-pound championship, too.”

But what about the WEC lightweights? The UFC already has its own 155-pound title and a deep stable of fighters to go with it. White said he intends to fold all the WEC lightweights into the UFC talent pool, unifying the two belts with a miniature tournament of sorts.

“The winner of Ben Henderson’s [Dec. 16 title defense against Anthony Pettis] will automatically face the winner of Frankie Edgar versus Gray Maynard,” said White.

Maynard and Edgar will fight at UFC 125 on New Year’s Day. Soon, the speculation as to how the 155-pounders from the WEC will fare in the big show will finally become reality.

“The way it works is you win fights, and you stick around. Or if you’re incredibly exciting, you stick around for a while,” White said. “We’re looking for great fighters and exciting fighters. If you’re one of those, you’re going to stick around.”

Also of note was White’s assertion that the UFC’s Octagon would not decrease in size to accommodate the smaller fighters. Additionally, White announced that the UFC just penned a new contract with Versus to air four events on the network in 2011. While technically that doubles the UFC’s exposure from 2010, the loss of several WEC events on Versus actually decreases the total number of Zuffa-owned shows airing on the network.

“It’s a positive. We got [more] UFC on Versus,” White said. “We’re not looking at it like we lost two fights [per year]. If you ask Versus, they were happy with the WEC’s ratings, but the UFC is going to pull bigger ratings.”

Job security is not exclusive to the WEC’s fighters, White said, as the employees behind the scenes will also have their services retained. This includes WEC general manager Reed Harris and matchmaker Sean Shelby.

“Every employee from the WEC is staying with the UFC,” White said. “We have so much work to do that nobody is going to be sitting around.”

Report: Chael Sonnen Failed UFC 117 Drug Test

Michael David Smith, Lead Blogger

In a blockbuster development that will have far-reaching ramifications for both the way we view one of the biggest fights of 2010 and the potential for a rematch of that fight in 2011, Chael Sonnen has reportedly been informed that he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs after his loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 117.

Sonnen will presumably be suspended, and a second middleweight title fight between Sonnen and Silva — which undoubtedly would have been among the biggest fights for the UFC next year — may need to be scrapped.

“[Sonnen] received his notice yesterday,” California State Athletic Commission Executive Officer George Dodd told Sherdog.com.

There is no word on which banned substance Sonnen took, but it was reportedly a performance-enhancing substance and not a drug of abuse.

Sonnen, who gained widespread attention for his constant trash talk leading up to the fight with Silva, has not commented on the story. But there’s no doubt that this will change his reputation among MMA fans. Sonnen was viewed after fighting Silva as the hard-nosed fighter who took it to the UFC’s most unbeatable champion for five rounds, and even though Sonnen did tap out in the fifth round, he was widely acclaimed for the way he dominated Silva for 22 minutes leading up to that submission. Now he’ll be viewed as a cheater.

UFC 119 Aftermath

Pay-Per-View Bouts
Frank Mir def. Mirko Cro Cop via knockout
Ryan Bader def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira via unanimous decision
Chris Lytle def. Matt Serra via unanimous decision
Sean Sherk def. Evan Dunham via split decision
Melvin Guillard def. Jeremy Stephens via split decision

Spike TV Preliminary Bouts
CB Dollaway def. Joe Doerksen via submission (guillotine)
Matt Mitrione def. Joey Beltran via unanimous decision

Chael Sonnen Q&A Highlights

Life through the eyes of Chael Sonnen explained as only he can.  You have got to admire someone who speaks on life exactly as they see it.

UFC 118 Spotlight Deserved by Frankie Edgar in Rout of Legendary Penn

8/29/2010 9:32 AM ET By Mike Chiappetta

BOSTON — Once again, the headlines were stolen from Frankie Edgar, this time by an out-of-shape boxer who was quite predictably beaten.

All Edgar did at UFC 118 was beat the guy considered the best lightweight of all time … again.

All he did was silence any believers that BJ Penn was the better fighter the first time around, and that he’d never figure out a way to fool the judges twice.

Edgar didn’t just shut out Penn; he hurled a perfect game.

The UFC lightweight champion held on to his belt by outworking the legend everywhere. He outlanded Penn 155-53. He took him down four times. His foot movement and hand speed had Penn swinging at air. By the end, he’d captured all five rounds on all three judges’ scorecards. Only Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94 had beaten Penn more soundly, and St. Pierre is the most celebrated resident of a higher weight class.

The performance left UFC president Dana White effusive and Penn nearly speechless.

“This kid just beat the s— out of BJ Penn for five rounds,” White said after the fight. “Dominated him in every facet of the fight: on the ground, on top, on bottom, standup, everything.”

“Frankie fought a great fight,” Penn said. “He’s the man. I have nothing bad to say. He’s the man. What else can you say?”

Edgar? The soft-spoken father of two was his usual, understated self.

Asked in the post-fight press conference how important it was to get a statement win over Penn in the wake of the more controversial UFC 112 decision, Edgar shrugged.

“I think it was more important for you guys than it was for me,” he said. “I go in to every fight trying to win and trying to do my best. That’s all I can do, but that should help get some of you guys off my back for sure.”

Edgar has been maligned as a lightweight since entering the UFC. Thought to be undersized, he upset Tyson Griffin in his debut and rolled to wins in his first three fights before losing a decision to Gray Maynard, the man who will ironically oppose him in his next title defense.

Prior to Saturday night, Edgar had won four straight, but even after a razor-close matchup in his first fight with Penn, the champ was a sizeable underdog in defending the belt. But this one had barely a moment of doubt. Edgar took Penn down seconds into the fight, one of two takedowns in the opening five minutes. He captured the round and as the fight went on, they began to pile up as Edgar built a lead that seemed insurmountable as the minutes passed.

“I felt him fade a little bit, but whether he faded or not, I wanted to push the pace and keep backing him up,” Edgar said.

If there was one sequence that showed the champion’s resolve it came in the fifth. Penn was down all four rounds on the scorecards and came out for the round with energy, taking Edgar down immediately.

Penn punched Edgar with rights while looking to pass Edgar’s guard; meanwhile, Edgar worked to get to his feet. Penn quickly took Edgar’s back, a dangerous spot as Penn has finished five of his fights via rear naked choke. In an instant, though, Edgar created a scramble and ended up on top in Penn’s guard. With Penn’s last hope extinguished, it was on to the final bell, on to Maynard, on to the respect he’s deserved all along.

“The kid’s got a heart as big as this room,” White said. “He comes from wrestling, but his boxing is unbelievable, his jiu-jitsu was great tonight, his wrestling was sick. He picked BJ up and power slammed him. I guarantee you BJ Penn is banged up right now.”

Edgar, of course, had little more to say. The work stood for itself.

“I think every fighter should fight with a chip on their shoulder,” Edgar said. “I believe in myself. I know my team believes in me. If it takes time to get you guys to believe in me, I’ll do that, too.

“I definitely wanted to make it decisive so there were no questions,” he continued. “You guys ask me questions, that maybe the first fight didn’t go my way. No one can say anything now.”

Settled then, by Edgar himself, the belt around his waist can no longer be considered a fluke or a judges’ mistake. Maybe he didn’t get the solo spotlight a champion deserves at UFC 118, but at least in routing the best lightweight in history, “The Answer” can be questioned no more.