SANTA ANA, California (February 6, 2007) – New Era Fighting (NEF), the evolving mixed martial arts organization combining the raw brutality of UFC with the entertainment value of WWE, will promote the ‘World’s Toughest Man’ contest, NEF president Ron Kort announced today. NEF will hold a series of international level tryouts, tentatively scheduled to begin June 15-17,at a venue in Orange Country, California. Each tryout in the proposed series will be conducted during a three-day tournament. Combat fighters selected will advance to the next round, where they will fight each other in a tournament format to determine 10 survivors.The 10 tryout survivors as well as fighters already signed to NEF promotional contracts will compete on a show in either California or Las Vegas. The winner will be crowned ‘World’s Toughest Man’ and be offered an anticipated $1,000,000 winner-take-all purse to fight living legend Kimo Leopoldo, headlining a full card for a pay-per-view broadcast live from in Las Vegas at a date to be determined. ‘More details are still being worked out,’ Kort explained. ‘We want to prove to the MMA world that NEF has the best street-fighting heavyweights. The challenge is open to anybody who weighs a minimum of 205 pounds, if they have what it takes to be an NEF warrior. We will be organizing a set of rules to keep the action going for these tryouts. The goal is to test the fighters’ abilities in a safe environment and keep the audience entertained every minute of the event.’ Kimo is the undisputed superstar of New Era Fighting. ‘The reason I am part of New Era Fighting is I’m tired of fighting good fighters in a political environment,’ Kimo said. ‘When I fought (Ken) Shamrock and he kneed me in the face, I fell on my back and immediately rolled onto all fours. I did NOT tap-out, I did NOT get choked out, and I did NOT get knocked out. They just randomly decided to stop the fight. When I beat ‘Tank’ (Abbott), I knew better. ‘Tank’ tapped-out twice before the ref stopped the fight. I made sure the ref had to pull me off so there was no mistake, so everyone knew I won and that it wasn’t by accident. These guys wanted to promote another fighter beating me because it made them look tougher. ‘I want to fight the best of the best and give someone else an opportunity to step into my fame and glory. I just feel bad that they will be on the losing end of the stick. The bottom line is that I would love to find a REAL fighter that’s tough enough to step up, fight me in a non-political arena, and beat me. I don’t think he exists! I am a pioneer in this industry and set precedence by physically damaging the creator of MMA in the USA, Royce Gracie. Yeah, I’m ready to beat the best fighter this world has to offer. Bring on the winner of the ‘World’s Toughest Man’ contest, but make sure he wears a diaper because I’m going to knock the ____ out of him.’NEF Stable of FightersKimo Leopoldo Huntington Beach, CAAaron Brink Huntington Beach, CALiron Wilson Fresno, CAFrederick Steen Valinda, CAChristopher Scheminder Chadron, NEJohn George Corona, CAJoel Garcia Pomona, CARick Arballo San Diego, CALuis Figueroa San Diego, CAEric Denham Santa Ana, CAEthen Cox Long Beach, CAMychal Clark Seattle, WAAlan Garcia Castillo Santa Ana, CAOdsar Borboa Whitter, CAMarlon Timothy Bonds Los Angeles, CASean Belote Covina, CAFor more information about New Era Fighting go on line to www.newerafighting.com.
