COLE KONRAD ADDED TO MATRIX FIGHTS 1
Jan 30, 2010
(PRESS RELEASE) -- In a major announcement, the Philadelphia-based
Matrix Fights (www.MatrixFights.com) promotion revealed today that
former two-time NCAA heavyweight champion Cole Konrad
has been added to the promotion’s inaugural event on Saturday, Feb.
27 at The Arena in Philadelphia, PA.
Konrad is one of UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar’s training partners who made his professional MMA debut on Jan. 23 in Fargo, ND. With Lesnar in his corner, Konrad submitted Gary Hamen via polar bear choke at 1:13 of round 1. The highly anticipated debut has become a YouTube sensation and the dominant victory solidified Konrad’s standing as the top unsigned prospect in mixed martial arts.
“The addition of a fighter with the pedigree of Cole Konrad is a
tremendous coup for Matrix and a strong example of our intent to
become the premier MMA organization in the city of Philadelphia,”
said Matrix Fights President Jimmy Binns Jr. “We were very
satisfied with the existing card we had in place but with this
being our first event, we wanted to really make a statement.
Landing Cole Konrad’s second-ever professional MMA bout is about as
big of a statement that a regional promotion can make.”
Konrad is currently being pursued by major fight organizations such as the Tokyo-based DREAM and U.S.-based Bellator Fighting Championships organization. Despite having a potential lucrative contract at stake, Konrad will be facing a stiff test against Joel Wyatt, 5-2, out of Richmond, Virginia.
In addition to training with Lesnar in Alexandria, MN, Konrad also trains under Greg Nelson in Minneapolis, MN at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, home to top fighters such as former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk, UFC heavyweight Chris Tuchscherer, former BodogFIGHT welterweight champion Nick Thompson, former NCAA All-American Paul Bradley, and highly rated middleweight prospect Brett “The Natural Disaster” Stevens.
The Konrad vs. Wyatt bout is being billed as a “special attraction,” with the night’s main event featuring EliteXC veteran Matt Makowski (5-2) of Philadelphia, PA taking on former IFL draft finalist LeVon Maynard (9-5) of Virginia Beach, VA in a clash of welterweight prospects. The fight will serve as a long-awaited MMA-rules rematch to their 2006 Muay Thai encounter at the WKA Championships in which Makowski was the victor.
In addition to Konrad vs. Wyatt and Makowski vs. Maynard, Matrix Fights 1 (card subject to change) will also feature pro bouts between Aaron Miesner of Philadelphia, PA vs. Francois Ambang of Richmond, VA; Will Martinez in his Philadelphia debut vs. Mitch Lyons of Dayton, OH; and former United States Marine Julio Rosario vs. Steven Baker of Wilmington, DE.
Tickets for the Feb. 27 event remain on-sale at MatrixFights.com with premium seats priced at $75 and general admission tickets costing just $45.
Contact: Phil Migliarese at [email protected]
ABOUT MATRIX FIGHTS (www.MatrixFights.com): Launched in 2009, Matrix Fights is one of the leading Mixed Martial Arts promotional entertainment companies on the East Coast. Founded by both the noted Migliarese and Binns families, Matrix Fights is owned and operated by Jimmy Binns Jr. and Phil Migliarese. Binns Jr. is long-time boxing promoter and former executive with the World Boxing Association. He is also the son of former Pennsylvania Boxing Commissioner and noted Philadelphia attorney Jimmy Binns Sr. With his brother and 3-time world jiu-jitsu champion Ricardo Migliarese, Phil Migliarese is the owner of Balance Studios, one of the premier jiu-jitsu academies in the United States. He began studying Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at the age of 12 and was ultimately promoted to black belt by the legendary Relson Gracie.
ABOUT COMBAT SPORTS MEDIA (www.CombatSportsMedia.net):Combat 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, Matrix Fights, 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 and 365 Fight Management.
Konrad is one of UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar’s training partners who made his professional MMA debut on Jan. 23 in Fargo, ND. With Lesnar in his corner, Konrad submitted Gary Hamen via polar bear choke at 1:13 of round 1. The highly anticipated debut has become a YouTube sensation and the dominant victory solidified Konrad’s standing as the top unsigned prospect in mixed martial arts.
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Konrad is currently being pursued by major fight organizations such as the Tokyo-based DREAM and U.S.-based Bellator Fighting Championships organization. Despite having a potential lucrative contract at stake, Konrad will be facing a stiff test against Joel Wyatt, 5-2, out of Richmond, Virginia.
“Joel Wyatt is a purple belt in jiu-jitsu and rated by UltMMA.com
as a top 15 unsigned heavyweight prospect. This is not some setup
fight for Cole. It is a prospect vs. prospect bout that I expect to
be very competitive,” said Matrix Fights promoter Phil Migliarese.
“Cole is taking a major risk here but as bad as we wanted him on
the show, we did not want to do our fans a disservice by trying to
pad his record. Make no mistake, Cole will be tested and there are
no guarantees he’s going to pass.”
In addition to training with Lesnar in Alexandria, MN, Konrad also trains under Greg Nelson in Minneapolis, MN at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, home to top fighters such as former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk, UFC heavyweight Chris Tuchscherer, former BodogFIGHT welterweight champion Nick Thompson, former NCAA All-American Paul Bradley, and highly rated middleweight prospect Brett “The Natural Disaster” Stevens.
The Konrad vs. Wyatt bout is being billed as a “special attraction,” with the night’s main event featuring EliteXC veteran Matt Makowski (5-2) of Philadelphia, PA taking on former IFL draft finalist LeVon Maynard (9-5) of Virginia Beach, VA in a clash of welterweight prospects. The fight will serve as a long-awaited MMA-rules rematch to their 2006 Muay Thai encounter at the WKA Championships in which Makowski was the victor.
In addition to Konrad vs. Wyatt and Makowski vs. Maynard, Matrix Fights 1 (card subject to change) will also feature pro bouts between Aaron Miesner of Philadelphia, PA vs. Francois Ambang of Richmond, VA; Will Martinez in his Philadelphia debut vs. Mitch Lyons of Dayton, OH; and former United States Marine Julio Rosario vs. Steven Baker of Wilmington, DE.
Tickets for the Feb. 27 event remain on-sale at MatrixFights.com with premium seats priced at $75 and general admission tickets costing just $45.
Contact: Phil Migliarese at [email protected]
ABOUT MATRIX FIGHTS (www.MatrixFights.com): Launched in 2009, Matrix Fights is one of the leading Mixed Martial Arts promotional entertainment companies on the East Coast. Founded by both the noted Migliarese and Binns families, Matrix Fights is owned and operated by Jimmy Binns Jr. and Phil Migliarese. Binns Jr. is long-time boxing promoter and former executive with the World Boxing Association. He is also the son of former Pennsylvania Boxing Commissioner and noted Philadelphia attorney Jimmy Binns Sr. With his brother and 3-time world jiu-jitsu champion Ricardo Migliarese, Phil Migliarese is the owner of Balance Studios, one of the premier jiu-jitsu academies in the United States. He began studying Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at the age of 12 and was ultimately promoted to black belt by the legendary Relson Gracie.
ABOUT COMBAT SPORTS MEDIA (www.CombatSportsMedia.net):Combat 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, Matrix Fights, 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 and 365 Fight Management.
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