ART OF FIGHTING

PROFESSIONAL MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

PRESS RELEASE

ART OF FIGHTING 7: PAY DAY APRIL 3, 2010 USF SUN DOME TAMPA, FL

HEAVYWEIGHT SENSATION DAVE “PAY ME” YOST IN MAIN EVENT

SUPERHEAVYWEIGHTS TO HEADLINE APRIL 3 FIGHT CARD IN TAMPA

AOF TO HOST AMATUER EVENT AT THE RITZ IN YBOR

Main Event: Dave “Pay Me” Yost-

Very few heavyweights in the state of Florida have had such an explosive mixed martial arts career as Dave “Pay Me” Yost, who will fight in the Main event on April 3. Yost is a hometown sensation raised in Seminole, only a stone's throw across the Howard Franklin from Tampa. The popular heavyweight got his nickname as a collector for a bookie, a past life that he has since forgotten in pursuit of his goals as a professional athlete. His fighting career started at a young age often fighting in bar hosted fights for free drinks, “I always drank for free” Yost stated.

His entrance into the professional realm was as a fill in as he devastated 290 lbs. veteran professional fighter Shane Mclure with a first round TKO via strikes. Yost has racked up an impressive 6-1 record in mixed martial arts, his only loss coming via a shoulder injury he sustained during a remarkable judo toss in his fifth bout. Yost's two previous fights can be viewed on Fight Zone TV airing on SunSports. Coming off of two straight first round victories Yost is ready for the spotlight as the main event in the aptly named “Pay Day” event on April 3 in Tampa. Possible opponents include UFC Veteran and WFO world champion Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz and DJ “The Protege” Linderman, who stunned Florida fight fans with a come from behind victory against world ranked grappler Mario Rinaldi in his last AOF appearance.

Co-Main Event: Imani Lee-

328 lbs. K1 tournament veteran, and WWE wrestler Imani Lee recently signed to the April 3 Art of Fighting 7: Pay Day fight card at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa. Imani displayed his striking ability in Art of Fighting 5 in Sarasota where he spun the right kneecap of Sal Farnetti 180 degrees, earning him a first round TKO via leg kick. "Very few super heavyweights will have answers for Imani Lee's offensive attack, he's the type of fighter who can lead a division that for some reason doesn't exist in any organization" quotes promoter Nathan Smith "He has the size but also possesses speed, he is dangerous." Imani later said  "Not only that... I'm pretty too!." this will be Imani Lee's first fight in his new hometown of Tampa, Florida. Possible opponents for the super heavyweight include France's Sofian, a former M-1 fighter looking to make his debut in the United States.

World First Super Heavyweight Division in MMA-

Art of Fighting will be the first professional mixed martial arts promotion boasting a super heavyweight division. Other organizations claim such a division will be filled with out of shape heavyweights with lack luster fighting skills. AOF will prove that these guys are for real and you will get a glimpse of that on April 3 in Tampa. “We don't pull guys off the street and put them in our cage, these are professional athletes coming from experienced gyms and trainers. I assure you the Super Heavyweight division will be filled with phenomenal athletes such as Imani Lee.” stated matchmaker Nick Smith. The promotion hopes to include at least one super heavyweight bout on each of its upcoming fight cards in 2010, with a title bout slated for early next year.

First Female Bout in Promotional History-

To date there have been zero female fights in the Art of Fighting, that may change in April at the USF Sun Dome. Currently AOF is looking into several female bouts that could look to be an exciting addition to the already bolstering roster of AOF professional fighters slated to appear in April. AOF President Nathan Smith stated “We have always wanted to do female fights, a lot of people ask us about the possibility before each event. It's just a matter of numbers really, there are a lot more male fighters out there, so making interesting match ups is easy, now that the number of female fighters is on the rise we have some very interesting match ups we would like to see in 2010.”

Rumble at the Ritz, January 30, 2010-

Art of Fighting will be hosting an amateur ISKA kickboxing and submission grappling event on January 30 at the Ritz (formerly Masquerades) in Ybor City, in hopes of establishing a legitimate amateur league to get fighters experience before entering a professional cage. To date there is no amateur mixed martial arts despite rumors of the possibility in early 2010.

Art of Fighting Matchmaker Nick Smith stated, “It's an unfair advantage to out of state fighters that come fight in the state of Florida. Some of these fighters have 30 fights before they go professional and are matched up against someone stepping into the cage for the first time. Florida fighters deserve the same opportunity in experiencing fighting before it goes against their professional record permanently. We want to establish a way for mixed martial arts fighters to gain experience via the ISKA before they make a life altering decision to become a professional fighter. You are going to see some hungry fighters in the ring on January 30, there are some great fighters just looking for the experience they need to be confident as a professional.”

Special guests at the event will include the previously mentioned Dave “Pay Me” Yost and Imani Lee. The two will give some insight into their training and upcoming fights at the Sun Dome in April.

Tickets to Rumble at the Ritz will be available at the Door with general admission tickets for just $20 and VIP seating for $35. Some of the first people in the door will receive Art of Fighting 7 T-Shirts! For more information on both events visit facebook.com/artoffighting or AOFMMA.COM. If you're interested in a sponsorship or vendor booth space email sponsors@aofmma.com or call 1-888-748-8862.