FEROCIOUS FINISHER TREY HOUSTON REPLACES INJURED JOSH BRYANT IN BATTLEGROUNDS MMA: O.N.E. TOURNAMENT FRIDAY, JUNE 27 IN TULSA, OKLA.
Jun 14, 2014 Comments
(PRESS RELEASE) -- TULSA, OK – BattleGrounds MMA
(www.battlegroundsone.com) announced today that hard-hitting
finisher Trey
Houston (11-2) of Bixby, Okla. will replace an injured Josh Bryant
(14-4) of Broken Arrow, Okla. in the highly-anticipated one-night,
eight-man welterweight (170 pounds) tournament that will award it’s
winner a grand prize of $50,000 at BOK Center in Tulsa on Friday,
June 27.
In addition, a tournament reserve matchup between undefeated prospect Marcus Sanchez (4-0) of Tulsa and Anderson Silva sparring partner Jordan Smith (18-6) of Kaysville, Utah has been confirmed for the event. In the event that one of the tournament’s quarterfinal stage winners is unable to re-enter the cage for the semifinal stage due to injury, the victor of the reserve matchup will take the injured combatant’s place in the tournament.
“We want to wish Josh Bryant
a full and speedy recovery. We are saddened that he will not be
able to participate in this landmark event for BattleGrounds MMA,
but are excited to be able to give another one of Oklahoma’s finest
up-and-coming mixed martial artists – Trey
Houston - the biggest opportunity of his career,” said
BattleGrounds MMA President and Olympic wrestling gold medalist
Kenny
Monday.
Unlike many of his fellow fighters, the 26-year-old, 5-foot-11 Houston, an explosive fighter who has produced all 11 of his professional victories by either (T)KO or submission, did not grow up competing in sports. It wasn’t until he was 15 years old that he began playing rugby while living in Germany where his father, a U.S. Army serviceman, was stationed. After moving back to Okla., Houston went on to play for the University of Tulsa rugby team and even enjoyed a stint with the U.S. national rugby squad.
Only six months after he was introduced to MMA by a friend, Houston competed in and won his first amateur bout by submission inside the first minute of the first round.
Joining Houston in the one-night, eight-man BattleGrounds MMA tournament are fellow submission aces Dennis Hallman (53-14-2, 1 NC) of Yelm, Wash. and Cody McKenzie (15-4) of Spokane, Wash.; undefeated upstart and 2012 NCAA national wrestling championships runner-up Chris Honeycutt (4-0) of Fresno, Calif.; two-time, one-night tournament winner Brock Larson (37-8) of Brainerd, Minn.; Luigi Fioravanti (24-11) of St. Louis, Mo.; Urijah Faber protégé David Mitchell (14-4) of Lower Lake, Calif.; and Roan Carneiro (16-9) of Atlanta, Ga.
The tournament affair marks the first one-night, eight-man, single-elimination MMA contest in Tulsa since UFC 4 on Dec. 16, 1994.
In non-tournament, Superfight action on the card, Ryan Couture (7-3) of Las Vegas, Nev. will collide with Jonny Carson (11-6) of San Francisco, Calif. in a lightweight (155 pounds) showdown and seasoned veteran Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (8-7) of Tulsa, Okla. will battle Jen Aniano (0-2) of Kalamazoo, Mich. in an atomweight (105 pounds) scrap. Additional bouts will be announced soon.
Tickets for the BattleGrounds MMA event, priced from $65, can be purchased online at www.bokcenter.com as well as at Arby’s Box Office at the BOK Center, all ticket outlets, or by calling 1-800-7-BOKCTR.
Doors at BOK Center open at 6 p.m. CST on June 27. The first preliminary bout will begin at 7:15 p.m.
About BattleGrounds MMA BattleGrounds MMA (www.battlegroundsone.com) is a world championship professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion designed to place combative sports athletes on a major stage in the most challenging and exciting format possible: one-night, single-elimination tournaments that reveal the toughest competitors in their respective weight divisions. Launched by Olympic wrestling legend Kenny Monday and Bryan O’Rourke in 2012 as a regional organization in Tulsa, OK to unearth promising new talent in one of MMA’s biggest hotbeds, the promotion is quickly capturing the hearts of fans nationwide as it brings about an exciting new era in the world’s fastest growing sport.
About the BOK Center: The BOK Center is Tulsa’s state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue that opened in fall 2008. The 19,199-seat arena is home to the WNBA Tulsa Shock and the CHL Tulsa Oilers. The BOK Center was designed to host major concerts, family shows, ice shows, and other world class entertainment. Owned by the City Of Tulsa, the BOK Center is part of Vision 2025, a project to grow economic and community infrastructure for future generations. In 2011, the BOK Center won the prestigious International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) Venue Excellence Award.
About SMG Founded in 1977, SMG provides management services to more than 230 public assembly facilities including convention and exhibition centers, arenas, stadiums, theatres, performing arts centers, equestrian facilities, science centers and a variety of other venues. With facilities across the globe, SMG manages more than 14.4 million square feet of exhibition space and over 1.75 million sports and entertainment seats. As the recognized global industry leader, SMG provides venue management, sales, marketing, event booking and programming, construction and design consulting, and pre-opening services for such landmark facilities as McCormick Place & Soldier Field in Chicago, Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, Houston’s Reliant Park and the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. SMG also offers food and beverage operations through its concessions, catering and special events division, SAVOR, currently servicing more than 100 accounts worldwide. For more information visit www.smgworld.com.
In addition, a tournament reserve matchup between undefeated prospect Marcus Sanchez (4-0) of Tulsa and Anderson Silva sparring partner Jordan Smith (18-6) of Kaysville, Utah has been confirmed for the event. In the event that one of the tournament’s quarterfinal stage winners is unable to re-enter the cage for the semifinal stage due to injury, the victor of the reserve matchup will take the injured combatant’s place in the tournament.
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Unlike many of his fellow fighters, the 26-year-old, 5-foot-11 Houston, an explosive fighter who has produced all 11 of his professional victories by either (T)KO or submission, did not grow up competing in sports. It wasn’t until he was 15 years old that he began playing rugby while living in Germany where his father, a U.S. Army serviceman, was stationed. After moving back to Okla., Houston went on to play for the University of Tulsa rugby team and even enjoyed a stint with the U.S. national rugby squad.
Houston holds a master’s degree in geophysics from the University
of Tulsa and has a full-time career as a field geologist for an oil
company.
Only six months after he was introduced to MMA by a friend, Houston competed in and won his first amateur bout by submission inside the first minute of the first round.
Joining Houston in the one-night, eight-man BattleGrounds MMA tournament are fellow submission aces Dennis Hallman (53-14-2, 1 NC) of Yelm, Wash. and Cody McKenzie (15-4) of Spokane, Wash.; undefeated upstart and 2012 NCAA national wrestling championships runner-up Chris Honeycutt (4-0) of Fresno, Calif.; two-time, one-night tournament winner Brock Larson (37-8) of Brainerd, Minn.; Luigi Fioravanti (24-11) of St. Louis, Mo.; Urijah Faber protégé David Mitchell (14-4) of Lower Lake, Calif.; and Roan Carneiro (16-9) of Atlanta, Ga.
The tournament affair marks the first one-night, eight-man, single-elimination MMA contest in Tulsa since UFC 4 on Dec. 16, 1994.
In non-tournament, Superfight action on the card, Ryan Couture (7-3) of Las Vegas, Nev. will collide with Jonny Carson (11-6) of San Francisco, Calif. in a lightweight (155 pounds) showdown and seasoned veteran Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (8-7) of Tulsa, Okla. will battle Jen Aniano (0-2) of Kalamazoo, Mich. in an atomweight (105 pounds) scrap. Additional bouts will be announced soon.
Tickets for the BattleGrounds MMA event, priced from $65, can be purchased online at www.bokcenter.com as well as at Arby’s Box Office at the BOK Center, all ticket outlets, or by calling 1-800-7-BOKCTR.
Doors at BOK Center open at 6 p.m. CST on June 27. The first preliminary bout will begin at 7:15 p.m.
About BattleGrounds MMA BattleGrounds MMA (www.battlegroundsone.com) is a world championship professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion designed to place combative sports athletes on a major stage in the most challenging and exciting format possible: one-night, single-elimination tournaments that reveal the toughest competitors in their respective weight divisions. Launched by Olympic wrestling legend Kenny Monday and Bryan O’Rourke in 2012 as a regional organization in Tulsa, OK to unearth promising new talent in one of MMA’s biggest hotbeds, the promotion is quickly capturing the hearts of fans nationwide as it brings about an exciting new era in the world’s fastest growing sport.
About the BOK Center: The BOK Center is Tulsa’s state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue that opened in fall 2008. The 19,199-seat arena is home to the WNBA Tulsa Shock and the CHL Tulsa Oilers. The BOK Center was designed to host major concerts, family shows, ice shows, and other world class entertainment. Owned by the City Of Tulsa, the BOK Center is part of Vision 2025, a project to grow economic and community infrastructure for future generations. In 2011, the BOK Center won the prestigious International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) Venue Excellence Award.
About SMG Founded in 1977, SMG provides management services to more than 230 public assembly facilities including convention and exhibition centers, arenas, stadiums, theatres, performing arts centers, equestrian facilities, science centers and a variety of other venues. With facilities across the globe, SMG manages more than 14.4 million square feet of exhibition space and over 1.75 million sports and entertainment seats. As the recognized global industry leader, SMG provides venue management, sales, marketing, event booking and programming, construction and design consulting, and pre-opening services for such landmark facilities as McCormick Place & Soldier Field in Chicago, Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, Houston’s Reliant Park and the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. SMG also offers food and beverage operations through its concessions, catering and special events division, SAVOR, currently servicing more than 100 accounts worldwide. For more information visit www.smgworld.com.
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