Alvarez, Prangley Victories Highlight Bodog Fight's American Debut

July 16, 2007

Following unforgettable mixed martial arts events in Vancouver, Canada and St. Petersburg, Russia, Bodog Fight finally made its much-anticipated American debut last night in Trenton, New Jersey.

Bodog Fight: Eddie Alvarez vs. Matt Lee proved a hit with the crowd at the Sovereign Bank Arena, with local favorite Eddie Alvarez of nearby Philadelphia improving to 11-1 after scoring a unanimous decision over Boston's Matt Lee, who falls to 9-6-1.

After losing his Bodog Fight welterweight championship belt last April to Nick "The Goat" Thompson in Russia, Alvarez was keen to get back to his winning ways. Lee was no pushover though, using his reach advantage to tag the former champ several times. But the explosive Alvarez gave more than he took and with Thompson sitting at ringside, Alvarez eventually sent the crowd into raptures by earning a hard fought victory.

"It feels great," said Alvarez following the fight. "It was important to me after the loss to Nick to come back here and win in front of my home fans."

The special event, which is scheduled to air in more than 90 million U.S. homes on ION Television at a later date, also featured a pair of Bodog Fight championship bouts, including a middleweight title fight between South African star Trevor Prangley and MMA legend Yuki Kondo of Japan.

With less than ten seconds left in the second round, Prangley landed a devastating punch that dropped his opponent to the canvas, and though the bell sounded to end the round, during the break ring doctors declared Kondo unable to continue due to a cut.

"It's unbelievable," declared Prangley, after winning the title. "It feels like everything I've worked for has come to this."

The new champion improves to 16-4, while the 31-year-old Pancrase veteran falls to 46-20-6.

After receiving his belt, Prangley was challenged by top middleweight fighter Matt Lindland, who entered the ring to congratulate the new champion. "Matt has been wanting the belt for a long time," Prangley responded, "and he's going to have to fight me to get it. It's not going to be easy for him."

The second title fight on the card featured undefeated Kelly Kobold taking on New Jersey's own Tara LaRosa for the Bodog Fight women's 135-pound championship belt. The fight lasted four rounds before LaRosa sunk in an armlock and Kobald was forced to tap out.

LaRosa, who improves to 12-1, was thrilled to win the title in front of her hometown fans, and was even keen on a rematch with the hard-hitting Kobold, who drops to 16-1-1.

"It was a great fight," said LaRosa. "We had a lot of fun. A couple more fights, and she and I will do this again."

Other bouts include:
David Love (16-7-1) def. Eben Oroz (4-2-0) by split decision.
Mark Burch (9-2-1) def. Kazuo (Yoshiki) Takahashi (28-22-3) by KO at 3:45 in RD1.
Chael Sonnen (17-8-1) def. Amar Suloev (23-7-0) by TKO at 3:33 in RD2 . Jorge Masvidal (11-2-0) def. Yves Edwards (31-13-1) by TKO at 2:59 in RD2. Branden Lee Hinkle (13-9-0) def. Roman Zentsov (16-11-0) by unanimous decision.
Blair Tugman (2-0-0) def. Dan Hawley (4-1-0) by unanimous decision
Nick Agallar (18-5-0) def. James "Binky" Jones (3-2-0) by split decision.

For more information, visit http://www.BodogFight.com.

About Bodog Entertainment

Founded in 1994, Bodog Entertainment, with its head office located in the Caribbean nation of Antigua, is one of the world's fastest growing media and digital entertainment giants. Bodog offers a host of entertainment services, including online gaming; an international record label, Bodog Music; a million-dollar band search competition, Bodog Battle of the Bands; a publishing division (with an online magazine, Bodog Nation, and blog, Bodog Beat); and an international television production division (Bodog TV), which has produced reality television series such as Bodog Fight, Calvin Ayre Wildcard Poker and Bodog Salutes the Troops. For more information, contact Media Relations at 1-866-892-3371, or press@tv.bodoglife.net. BODOG is a registered trademark of Bodog Entertainment Group.