LOS ANGELES, Calif. (October 24, 2011) – 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.
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(www.ticketmaster.com) and www.proelite.com
In the first bracket of the Grand Prix, 2009 NCAA heavyweight wrestling champ Mark Ellis (1-0) takes on the ever exciting Ryan Martinez (5-1). Mark made his MMA debut at Proelite 1 on August 27, 2011 with a thrilling win via rear naked choke against the very tough Jake Heun. The 6-foot-3, 25-year-old Ellis, who trains out of the famed American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose, California with the likes of current UFC Heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez, 2-time Olympic wrestling and current Strikeforce Grand Prix finalist Daniel Cormier and a stable of other outstanding talent, looks to remain undefeated in his MMA career with an exciting finish in this upcoming bout. His opponent, Ryan Martinez, might have other plans
Making his Proelite debut in the upcoming Grand Prix, Ryan Martinez has not had a single fight make it to the final bell. Known for his exciting fights and go for broke fighting style, the 5-foot-11 wrestler hailing out of Greenley, Colorado wants to show the world he has arrived by taking out such a highly touted prospect in Ellis. In his last fight on August 20 of this year, Martinez choked Brandon Endriss unconscious (guillotine choke) in the first round (3:45).
Continuing on to the second match up of the Grand Prix, hard-hitting Justin Frazier (5-0) takes on Illinois own James Bosler (3-1). The 6-foot, 260 pound Frazier is a very heavy handed fighter with four of his five wins coming via first round TKO due to punches, including his last fight in on October 1, 2011 for Bellator Fighting Championships against Liron Wilson (1:50). Training out of Without Limits MMA in Batesville, Arkansas, Frazier is always looking for the finish and expects this contest not to reach the final bell. His opponent might be thinking the same thing but with the outcome being in his favor.
Hailing from Sandoval, Illinois, Bosler will be the home town favorite in this fight. Standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 264 pounds he has the power and submission skills to end the fight at any point. Training out of Finney’s HIT Squad with the likes of Strikeforce veteran Jesse Finney and world renowned coach Andre Benkei, Bosler has the skill set to advance in the Grand Prix tournament. His last bout came to a screeching halt at 1:46 of the first round when he knocked Steve Campbell out with a punch.
Headlined by former 2-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim
“ The Maine-iac” Sylvia (29-7) taking on Germany’s own Andreas “Big Daddy” Kraniotakes (12-4). Also on the card is another exciting heavyweight fight featuring former UFC heavyweight champion Andre “The Pitbull” Arlovski (16-9) versus 300+ fight veteran Travis “The Ironman” Fulton (247-48-10). Rounding out the Proelite 2 fight card is the returning Reagan Penn (1-0) to battle it out with Evan Cutts (2-0).
Proelite 2: Big Guns will be televised live on HD NET at 8 P.M. CST
