Hawaiian Punch: Lawler Knocks Out Rua To Win EliteXC Title

Diaz, Carano, Shields And Villasenor Also Triumph On "Uprising"

September 15, 2007

Blaisdell Arena

Honolulu, Hawaii

HONOLULU – In dramatic and convincing fashion, “Ruthless’’ Robbie Lawler captured the EliteXC

middleweight championship with an exciting third-round TKO over defending champion Murilo “Ninja” Rua in

the EliteXC main event Saturday on SHOWTIME.

The biggest, most noteworthy Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event in Hawaii’s history took place at Blaisdell

Arena and was presented by Los Angeles, Calif.-based ProElite's respected live fight division, EliteXC,

Hawaii-based promoters ICON Sport and ROTR (Rumble On The Rock), and SHOWTIME.

“We promised an ‘Uprising’ and that’s what fans at the arena and those viewing on SHOWTIME got tonight

from start to finish,” said EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw. “This was a spectacular night of fights,

exactly the type that fans of EliteXC have learned to expect.

“This organization vowed from the beginning to present the best fights and the best fighters. Everyone saw

that tonight. There were no losers. Everyone was a winner tonight, especially the fans.

“All the fighters fought their hearts out, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.

“This was truly a historic night for EliteXC, ICON Sport and Rumble On The Rock. We are all very excited

about how the fights went and are already looking forward to doing it all over again in  Hawaii. The fans here

in Hawaii were into it from the get-so, and are exceptionally knowledgeable.’’

In featured fights on an action-packed undercard, Team Gracie (Nick Diaz, Jake Shields) went 2-0 against

Team Penn (“Charuto” Verissimo, Mike Aina) in the first-ever fights between the rival, highly respected

camps. Diaz registered a hard-earned split decision over the hard-trying Aina in an exhausting, bloody

slugfest and the streaking Shields scored a first-round TKO over Verissimo.

The Golden Girl of MMA, Gina Carano remained unbeaten with a victory by submission over Tonya Evinger,

and Joey Villasenor outlasted Riki Fukuda to take a split decision in other televised bouts.

Said Rua (murilorua.proelite.com), of Rio de Janiero, Brazil: “My strategy was not very good tonight.’’

Making his EliteXC debut and first start in six months, southpaw Diaz (15-6, 1 NC), of Stockton, Calif.,

survived an early knockdown and a cut right eye to outpoint the local favorite, Aina (9-6-1), by the scores of

30-27, 29-28 and 28-29.

Aina, who was as courageous as anyone could expect, landed the more powerful punches, but Diaz

connected more often with gyrating jabs and left hands. Diaz was on the verge of choking out Aina at the end

of the second round, but Aina was saved by the bell.

“I know I could have fought better, said Diaz  (nickdiaz.proelite.com). “I feel good, but I am really

disappointed in the way I performed. I should have started a lot faster because Aina fought me with

everything he had.

“I don’t know if the layoff had anything to do with it, but I did some stupid things like standing in front of him

and getting knocked down.  But I wasn’t hurt. The bell definitely saved Aina at the end of the second round. 

I know I can prepare better. I am looking forward to getting back into the cage.

Carano (5-0), of Las Vegas, was making her first start since her history-making performance Feb. 10, 2007,

on SHOWTIME.

“This is such a relief for me because there was a lot of pressure coming into this fight,’’ said Carano

(ginacarano.proelite.com), who won by submission (choke-out) over Evinger (5-2) at 2:53 of the first round.

“When she got me down, I knew I couldn’t freak and had to keep my composure.  After reversing her, I

considered standing up.  But I’ve been practicing working on top, so I just went through with it.’’

Offered Evinger (tonyaevinger.proelite.com), of Oak Grove, Mo.: “I made a lot of mistakes.  I wrestled terribly.

Gina doesn’t hit or kick as hard as they say.  I try to work on limiting my mistakes, but I just made too

many.  I would love to fight her again.” 

Villasenor (24-6), of Albuquerque, N.M. won a hard-hitting battle that featured numerous exchanges on the

ground and standing up by the scores of 29-28 twice and 28-29.

“I am happy and very relieved,’’ said Villasenor (joeyvillesenor.proelite.com), who was taken to a nearby

hospital for precautionary reasons. “I think I showed what I am about: tough and gritty.  This is very important

for me to win and prove to myself that I am one of the best middle weights in the world.”

Fukuda (8-3), a lefthander from Japan, landed his fair share of kicks and fists, but fell short.

“I can’t argue with the decision,’’ said Fukuda (rikifukuda.proelite.com). “I don’t know if I was nervous with

this being the first major fight I’ve had in the United States, but I won’t make any excuses.  I could have

pressured him more.  I would love to fight him again.” 

In the opening bout of the SHOWTIME telecast, Shields (19-4-1), of San Francisco, made surprisingly quick

work of Verissimo (8-5). The referee stopped the fight at 4:00 with Shields on top of Verissimo and landing a

series of unanswered punches. Shields is unbeaten since December 2004.

“I was hoping to win in the first round, but in a way I wanted it to go a little longer.  I am happy, but never

satisfied,” Shields (jakeshields.proelite.com) said. “If Frank Trigg wants to fight me at a catch weight I will be

happy to fight him next.  If not, I feel I deserve a shot at the title.  I have scored two dominate wins now in a

row.”

Said Charuto (renatoverissimo.proelite.com): “I can’t believe it.  He got me in a mount.  I tried to get out of it

but couldn’t. This is disappointing.  Everything was fine until he took me down.  I have no one to blame but

myself.”

EliteXC announcer Mauro Ranallo called the “Uprising” play-by-play with world wrestling star Bill Goldberg

and Stephen Quadros, The Fight Professor, serving as color analysts. The executive producer of the telecast

was David Dinkins, Jr. with Bob Dunphy directing.

Following the SHOWTIME telecast, five undercard fights were streamed live on the Internet on the premier

mixed martial arts social networking and entertainment site, ProElite.com, In scheduled  three, 3-minute

round fights: Kala Kolohe Hose (4-1) scored a 20-second, first-round TKO over  Jeff “Pee Wee’’ Fox (1-0-1) at

195 pounds; Mark Kurano (1-0) won by first-round submission over Jose “The Bomber” Diaz (1-1); Mark

Oshiro (9-1) won by first-round submission (rear-naked choke) over Nui Wheeler (2-0) at 135 pounds;

Brandon Wolff (6-2) won a decision over Chad Klingensmith (4-1) and Tyson Nam (4-1) won a four-round

decision over Albert “Always Bad’’ Manners (7-7).

In results of fights not shown on SHOWTIME or ProElite.com, Justin Buchholz (7-1) rallied from a

knockdown to register an exciting TKO over Ikaika Choy-Pu (1-2), and Chico Cantiberos (3-3) scored a first

round submission vs. Elias Delosryes (1-1).

With the exciting triumph, Buchholz earned a spot on the Oct. 26 ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series on

SHOWTIME.

“What Gary Shaw said came as an absolute total surprise.  I was supposed to go right back to work after

this fight.  I work as an oil refinery laborer in Alaska.  Now I am not sure how I am going to handle everything,

but I am definitely fighting on October 26.”

SHOWTIME will re-air EliteXC: Uprising during the premium network’s FREE PREVIEW WEEKEND on

Saturday, Sept. 29 at 2:30 p.m. ET/PT.

From Friday, Sept. 28 through Sunday, Sept. 30, SHOWTIME will be available to non-subscribers

(approximately 54 million homes nationwide, a record for the network).  So if you missed the live telecast

and do not subscribe to SHOWTIME, tune in during FREE PREVIEW WEEKEND on Sept. 29 for EliteXC:

Uprising.

EliteXC: Uprising will also replay on SHOWTIME this week at the following times (all times ET/PT):

Also on Sept. 29, SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING returns to the ring with undefeated World Boxing

Council (WBC) Light Heavyweight Champion “Bad” Chad Dawson (24-0, 1 NC, 16 KOs) making his second

world title defense against fellow unbeaten WBC No. 1-ranked contender Adrian “The Shark” Diaconu (24-0,

15 KOs), live at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

EliteXC returns to SHOWTIME in November.

For more information on EliteXC, ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series and other MMA-related stories, including

bios, videos, photos, stats and more, please visit EliteXC.com.

About Pro Elite, Inc. (ProEliteInc.com)
ProElite Inc. [PELE.PK] delivers the most exciting entertainment experience in the world of mixed martial

arts (MMA) with live arena-based entertainment events, cable television programming on Showtime Networks

and community-driven interactive broadband entertainment via the Internet.  ProElite embraces MMA with the

highest levels of honor, integrity, discipline and self-esteem all the while remaining inclusive for fighters, fans

and schools (elitexc.com).  ProElite’s live fight division, EliteXC, delivers spectacular live MMA fight events

that showcase the world’s top fighters. ProElite’s interactive business, ProElite.com, capitalizes on the

growing popularity of the sport of mixed martial arts by building a community of mixed martial arts

enthusiasts.  In addition to streaming the most exciting live fights to the web, ProElite expands the fan base

of the sport by providing a comprehensive set of online social networking tools for fans, fighters and

organizations.  ProElite.com – Empowering the Fight Community ^TM

About Showtime Networks Inc.

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 - From Showtime with a little editing from us (color, etc...)

 - Photos courtesy of Tom Casino/EliteXC

  (9/15/07)