Press Release:
World Fighting Alliance Follows Up With One-Two Punch By Announcing Next Show, Signing International MMA Superstar Heath Herring To Fight Pedro Rizzo The “Texas Crazy Horse” Leads a Series of International MMA Battles For The WFA’s Next Show, “WFA: King of the Streets II — USA vs. Brazil,” On December 9th At the Aladdin Theater Located in the Future Home of the Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas, NV
LOS ANGELES, November 2, 2006 — The World Fighting Alliance (WFA) announced today that it has set December 9th, 2006, at the Aladdin Theater located in the future home of the Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas, NV, as the date and location of their next event, “WFA: King of the Streets II — USA vs. Brazil.” Along with that news, comes the official announcement that the “Texas Crazy Horse” Heath Herring (25-11-0) against Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo (14-7-0) will headline the card featuring five USA vs. Brazil-themed matches.
Herring is a highly-touted heavyweight fighter with a strong wrestling background and fierce striking power. His last match was an impressive TKO victory over “Big Daddy” Gary Goodridge earlier this year in Japan. Prior to that, Herring was involved in a controversial no contest decision when he knocked out Yoshihiro Nakao just before their match after Nakao, seemingly in an attempt to psyche out Herring, kissed him. Much like another WFA fighter, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (who is also scheduled to fight at “King of the Streets 2”), Herring's WFA debut will mark a return to the U.S. fight scene after a lengthy and successful MMA career abroad.
Herring was quoted as saying “I know Jeremy Lappen, who is CEO of the company, and I think there are some intelligent people behind the company that know what they are doing. There's also some major players involved so it looks like a good deal.”
Herring's match against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, and MMA champion Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo is one of several themed fights between representatives of North and South America. The other USA vs. Brazil bouts will be:
At 145 lbs., “The California Kid” Urijah Faber (15-1-0), who currently holds titles in King of the Cage, Gladiator Challenge, and World Extreme Cagefighting vs. Fabio Mello (4-4-0) from the famed Brazilian Top Team; At 155 lbs., “Razor” Rob McCullough (11-3-0) vs. Fabiano Iha (9-5-0), in a very personal battle between former friends and training partners; At 205 lbs., undefeated Lyoto Machida (7-0-0) vs. Alex Stiebling (17-9-0); At 170 lbs., Carlos Condit (17-4-0) vs. Jose “Pele” Landy-Johns (21-11-0);
In addition to the USA vs. Brazil fights, other special match-ups scheduled for the event are: At 205 lbs., Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (25-6-0) looks to avenge an early career loss to Marvin “Beastman” Eastman (13-6-1); At 205 lbs., Jeremy “178” Williams, the former boxing star and head coach on ESPN's THE CONTENDER (41-5-1 with 35 ko’s in boxing mostly at heavyweight), will make his long-awaited MMA debut against jiu jitsu specialist John “Machine Gun” George (2-2-0); Kit Cope (2-3-0) will take on Shad Smith (7-5-0); and Antonio McKee (17-3-2) squares off against fellow wrestler Zach Light (4-3-0).
The WFA's growth in 2006 continues in the direction of providing MMA fans with exciting battles between the most engaging, charismatic fighters in the world. Leading by example with its “fighter-first” philosophy, the WFA strives to showcase its roster of talent via compelling match-ups, in-depth interviews and features highlighting the challenges and obstacles they face along the difficult path to MMA success.
After a six-year hiatus, the WFA held their return show “WFA: King of the Streets,” on July 22nd, 2006 at The Forum in Los Angeles. The event was well-received by the MMA community and drew an estimated 8,000 fans. That night marked the return of “El Guapo” Bas Rutten, who emerged from a seven-year retirement to defeat Ruben “Warpath” Villarreal (who took the fight on a 48-hour notice), via TKO. Also on the card, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson bested Matt “The Law” Lindland in a close split decision that many fight insiders proposed as a Match of the Year candidate.
Tickets for “WFA: King of the Streets 2” at the Aladdin Theater located in the future home of the Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas, NV will go on sale INSERT DATE HERE and will be available at all Southern California (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernadino and Ventura Counties) and Las Vegas, NV Ticket Master outlets, online at Ticketmaster.com and at WFA.TV.
The event will also be shown live on pay-per-view.
For more information on the WFA and “WFA: King of the Streets II — USA vs. Brazil,” December 9th at the Aladdin visit www.wfa.tv.
