6/22/06 Cleveland, OH: After weeks of uncertainty, the Ohio Athletic Commission voted unanimously this week to resend the recent moratorium on mixed martial arts in the state of Ohio and reinstate the sport affective immediately. “We are ready to move forward with MMA in Ohio and continue to build on what has been a very successful beginning” said Bernie Profato, the executive director of the Ohio Athletic Commission. “With the help of allot of good people, the sport has come a long way in this state over the past year and we feel that Ohio can be one of the leaders in advancing the safety and competition levels of the sport.”
A standard set of rules have been put into place for amatuer and professional mixed martial arts competition conducted in the state of Ohio which all fighters and promoters will be required to follow. These rules are now posted and will always be available on the official Ohio Athletic Commission web site at www.aco.ohio.gov.
Along with the return of MMA to the buckeye state, the North American Amateur Fight Series (NAAFS) announced this week its return to Akron for round four of its 2006 amateur series. “Thursday Night Fights” will take place on August 3rd, 2006 at the Chaparell’s Community Center in Akron, Ohio. With only three remaining series events until the NAAFS finals this December, the competition is expected to be intense as fighters take one more step towards the 2006 NAAFS titles. “We are excited to be back in Akron for what will no doubt be our best NAAFS card to date” said NAAFS spokesman Jake Digman.
Many of the of the NAAFS’s top amateurs will be in action including Pennsylvania’s Josh McBride, West Virginia’s Jason “The Wrecking Ball” Jones and hometown favorite Carl Dean Roff who will look to climb to the top of the NAAFS lightweight division.
The nights main event will feature the unbeaten “Smokin” Joe Heiland (3-0) of Cleveland’s Strong Style Fight Team who is currently ranked number one by the NAAFS in the welterweight division. Heiland will battle with Jamestown, New York’s Dustin Bloom (2-2) of Team Air-Gadfly who is unbeaten in two NAAFS appearances.
The complete “Thursday Night Fights” line-up will be released next week and available on www.Prokarateweekly.com, the official home of the NAAFS along with ticket info and directions to the venue. For media credentials or sponsorship info contact Greg Kalikas at 330-324-3034 or via email at Greg@Prokarateweekly.com. Downloadable fighter applications are now available on Prokrateweekly.com for any fighters interested in participating in future NAAFS events.