2008 NAAFS National Amateur Champions Crowned;

”Smokin” Joe Remains Unbeaten

(12/11/08 - Cleveland, OH) – The 2008 NAAFS National Amateur season came to an exciting and

controversial close at Night of Champions in Cleveland, OH. There were new champions crowned in an

amazing night of mixed martial arts action. Add to the mix a fight of the year candidate in the main event, it

was definitely a night to remember.

The main event of the card was a Pro Series bout between 2006 Fighter of the Year “Smokin” Joe Heiland

and 2007 Fighter of the Year Torrance “The Tyrant” Taylor. With the accolades of both competitors entering

this fight, fans were almost guaranteed to see a fight to remember and it was just that. Heiland controlled the

action early on, using his wrestling background to secure repeated takedowns on Taylor in the first round.

The second round was a complete contrast, as Taylor controlled the pace of the fight with his stand-up game

to win the round. The controversy began in the final round, which saw Taylor as the aggressor early on, but

ended with Heiland rebounding and unleashing a fury of his own. The end result was a unanimous decision

victory for “Smokin” Joe Heiland, who now improves to 11-0. Both Joe Heiland and Torrance Taylor proved

that they are two of the best fighters in any organization and could easily add another fight of the year to

both of their resumes.

Adam Saal made history by becoming the first ever NAAFS National Amateur Bantamweight Champion,

defeating Josh Castro in an exciting back and forth fight by split decision. The NAAFS plans to further

expand on the Bantamweight division in 2008, giving the lighter weight classes an opportunity to shine.

In a rematch from Rock N Rumble, Lyle Sansoucie gained a measure of revenge with his win over Eric Noel

to capture the 2008 National Amateur Featherweight title. Sansoucie began the year competing on the

NAAFS Club Series circuit and finished the year climbing all the way to the top of the division. He forced the

more experience Noel to tap out to a rear naked choke in round 1, bringing the gold back to Team DNA.

The National Amateur Lightweight champion is USA Martial Art’s Josh Johnson, who won the title by

defeating LA Hampton in the finals. Johnson shot in early for a takedown that resulted in Hampton landing

awkwardly on his arm, dislocating his elbow. It was a freak accident and the end result is Johnson remains

unbeaten (9-0) and is now known as champion.

Aaron Maynard completed his run at Night of Champions, defeating Sean-Paul Veilleux by triangle choke in

the first round to capture the 2008 National Amateur Welterweight title. Maynard rebounded after a loss to

Nick Duell at Rock N Rumble with a win over Russ Halsey at Midwest Combat Challenge 5 to earn the title

shot. He then rose to the occasion with a win over a very tough Veilleux for the right to be called champion.

Instigator Fight Team’s AJ Aeschlimann remained undefeated (6-0) with his unanimous decision victory over

Chris Lozano to win the 2008 National Amateur Middleweight title. Aeschlimann used his size advantage and

wrestling prowess to control the fight and walk out with the gold. After the win, Aeschlimann made his

intentions known that he plans to make the move to the Pro Series at some point in 2009.

Dane Bonnigson became the first ever independent fighter to win NAAFS National Amateur gold, when he

defeated Marc Strickland by TKO in the first round to became the National Amateur Light Heavyweight

champion. Bonnigson remained a quiet unknown for most of the year, but kept racking up victories and

hasn’t stopped.

The 2008 National Amateur Heavyweight title fight between Adam Farrell and John Hawk ended with a high

level of controversy and as a result, there is currently no champion. A point deduction to Farrell in round two

changed the landscape of the judge’s score cards when it was time render a decision. Instead of it being

unanimous for Farrell, the fight was ruled a majority draw. The NAAFS is currently investigating into the

matter and will render a decision on who will be the 2008 National Amateur Heavyweight champion.

Complete Results:

Joe Heiland over Torrance Taylor – Unanimous Decision

Frank Carabello over Ben Pettit -TKO/RSC rd1

Nicholas Duell over Jason Nickoson - Submission rd2

John Hawk vs Adam Farrell was declared a draw

Dane Bonnigson over Marc Strickland - TKO/RSCrd1

Alan Aeschlimann over Chris Lozano – Unanimous Decision

Aaron Maynard over Sean Paul Veilleux - Submission rd1

Josh Johnson over Roger Hampton - TKO/RSC rd1

Lyle Sansoucie over Eric Noel - Submission rd1

Adam Saal over Josh Castro - Split Decision

Nick Kilian over Chris Melillo - Submission rd2

Jessica Eye over Barb Honchack – Split Decision

Zach Sutek over John Rohn - Submission rd1

Steve Kosarko over Alvaro Vallejo – Unanimous Decision

The 2008 NAAFS National Amateur Series has come to a close and focus has already begun on 2009 and

beyond. This event wouldn’t have been possible without all the great athletes who competed, the excellent

training centers, and our wonderful sponsors: Bloody Buddy Fight Gear, United States Army, Don’s Brooklyn

Chevrolet, Dillards Department Stores, BetonFighting.com, Karrington Group, SportsTime Ohio,

SportsTalkNETWORK.com, Hard Rock Café of Cleveland, and John P. Lennon.

Tickets are on sale now for the 2009 NAAFS Season Opener (Midwest Combat Challenge 6 sponsored by

Gatsby’s Pub) scheduled for January 10th in Akron , Oh. For a complete fight card, tickets or information log

on to www.NAAFS.tv or call 330-280-8442.

About the NAAFS

The North American Allied Fight Series is the region’s premiere mixed martial arts organization. The

television program NAAFS Cage Fighting can be seen domestically every Sunday night at 10pm EST on the

television home of the Cleveland Indians, SportsTime Ohio , nationally via Direct TV and Dish Network Sports

Packaging and internationally on GTV. NAAFS Radio can be heard Tuesday nights at 10pm EST online at

www.SportsTalkNETWORK.com and Friday nights at 11pm EST on SportsRadio 1350 AM WARF. For more

information on the NAAFS, log onto www.NAAFS.tv.

- From Greg Kalikas (Pro Karate Weekly) with a little editing from us (color, etc...)

- Photo courtesy of Greg Kalikas (Pro Karate Weekly)

(12/13/08)