Apr 16, 2009 | Sports
Hulking strongmen showcase their power and might in the first qualifier event at Mohegan Sun
Many of the world’s strongest men will return to southeastern Connecticut for the World’s Strongest Man Qualifier. These mountains of muscle and brawn will attempt to press, lift and carry thousands of pounds at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday, May 17th starting at 4:00pm. This event is part of the 2009 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) competition, the qualifier to the World’s Strongest Man championship event.
Tickets are $30.00 and are on-sale now at the Mohegan Sun Box Office and through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster customers may log onto ticketmaster.com; call Ticketmaster’s national toll free Charge By Phone number 1.800.745.3000; or visit any Ticketmaster outlet.
Athletes from around the world will battle in such feats of strength as the Giant Timber Frame Carry, the Car Deadlift and the Atlas Stone competition. The American contingency features Derek Poundstone (Waterbury, Connecticut), 2007’s America’s Strongest Man and 2nd place at 2008’s WSM; Travis Ortmayer (Cypress, Texas), 2008 WSM finalist and Brian Shaw (Denver, Colorado), 2008’s Hawaii’s Strongest Man.
Meanwhile, the roster of international competitors includes: Mark Felix (Grenada), fourth place at 2006’s WSM; Sebastian Wenta (Poland), second place at 2007’s WSM; Terry Hollands (United Kingdom), WSM finalist and third place at the 2008 Mohegan Sun Grand Prix; Jimmy Marku (United Kingdom), 2008’s Britain’s Strongest Man; Hugo Girard (Canada), 2002 WSM and five-time Canada’s Strongest Man; Misha Koklyaev (Russia), six-time Russian weight-lifting champion; Richard Skog (Norway), 2008 WSM Qualifier and Johannes Arsjo (Sweden), 2008 WSM Qualifier.
In the Giant Timber Frame Carry, the athletes will each attempt to lift and carry a 750-pound timber frame and carry it for 30 meters/100 feet. Furthest or fastest time to complete course wins. The athlete will have a 60-second time limit to complete the course.
In the Car Dead Lift, the athletes will attempt to lift the rear end of a compact car with their bare hands for as many repetitions as possible in a 60 second time limit.
During the Atlas Stones portion, the athletes will attempt to lift, carry and load six stones weighing 285 – 420 pounds onto platforms. Fastest time to load all six stones (or the most stones) wins. The athlete will have a 60-second time limit to complete all six stones.
For more information on the World’s Strongest Man Qualifier: Giants Live! and other great events at Mohegan Sun, visit mohegansun.com. For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711, ext. 27163.
Mar 19, 2009 | General News, Sports
Mohegan Sun Arena to host boys and girls high school state
basketball finals
Mohegan Sun and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference have announced the schedule for this weekend’s boys and girls 2009 high school state basketball finals in Mohegan Sun Arena.
The ladies will tip off the first session at 6:30pm on Friday, March 20th. The #1 seeded Norwich Free Academy Wildcats will meet the #2 seeded Career Magnet Panthers from New Haven for the Girls Class LL championship. The action will continue at 8:30pm as the Fairfield Warde Mustangs face off with the Hillhouse Academics from New Haven for the Girls Class L championship.
A full day of action is in the mix for Saturday, March 21st, as six championship games dictate the bragging rights for 2009. The second session tips-off at 9:00am as the Old Lyme Wildcats take on the Cinderella-story Coventry Patriots for the Girls Class S championship. The guys will take the court for the first time at 11:00am as the Cromwell Panthers take on the Hyde Leadership Howling Wolves from Hamden for the Boys Class S championship. The girls will return to the court at 1:00pm for the Girls Class M championship as #1 seeded Bacon Academy Bobcats from Colchester take on #3 seeded Berlin Redcoats.
At 4:30pm, the third session will feature #1 seeded Sacred Heart High School Hearts from Waterbury versus #2 seeded Bloomfield Warhawks for the Boys Class M championship. The Boys Class L championship will be decided at 6:30pm as the Torrington Raiders face off with the Bulkeley Bulldogs from Hartford. The final game of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference championships will tip-off at 8:30pm as the Windsor Warriors take on the Crosby Bulldogs from Waterbury for the Boy’s Class LL championship.
Tickets will be broken down by three sessions; each session’s admission is $10.00. Tickets are currently on sale at the Mohegan Sun Box Office and through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster customers may log on to ticketmaster.com; call Ticketmaster’s national toll free Charge By Phone number 1.800.745.3000; or visit any Ticketmaster outlet. All eight games will be tape delayed and broadcast on CTSN-TV, the Connecticut Sports Network. Broadcast schedule TBA.
Members of the media are to pick up their media credentials at the will call windows at the Mohegan Sun Box Office located near the main entrance to the Arena.
About the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC)
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference serves as the governing agency for high school sports in Connecticut. It boasts a long tradition of providing quality interscholastic athletic programs for Connecticut’s students. The CIAC currently sponsors post-season championship tournaments in twenty-seven sports serving over 103,000 student athletes statewide. The CIAC is a non-profit organization located in Cheshire, Connecticut.
About Mohegan Sun
Mohegan Sun, owned by the Mohegan Tribe, is one of the largest, most distinctive and spectacular entertainment, gaming, shopping and meeting destinations in the United States. Situated on 240 acres along the Thames River in scenic southeastern Connecticut, Mohegan Sun is within easy access of New York, Boston, Hartford and Providence and located 15 minutes from the museums, antique shops and waterfront of Mystic Country. More information is available by calling 1.888.226.7711 or by visiting mohegansun.com.
Mar 9, 2009 | Sports
Live Mixed Martial Arts Action in the Arena on Friday, April 10th
Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that Bellator II (the second event of the highly-anticipated 12-week tournament series airing on ESPN Deportes) will be held at Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, April 10th at 8:00pm.
Tickets are $60.00 and $30.00 and are on sale now at the Mohegan Sun Box Office and through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster customers may log on to ticketmaster.com; call Ticketmaster’s national toll free Charge By Phone number 1.800.745.3000; or visit any Ticketmaster outlet.
“We are very pleased to bring world-class mixed martial arts events to Mohegan Sun’s spectacular venue,” said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. “The team at Mohegan Sun has a wealth of experience and expertise in hosting some of the world’s top fighting sports events and we look forward to building on that great legacy with them.”
Bellator II on Friday, April 10th will feature a collection of highly-competitive, evenly matched tournament bouts in the Featherweight (145 lbs.), Lightweight (155 lbs.) and Welterweight (170 lbs.) divisions, as well as a strong undercard including several featured non-tournament bouts. The fight card is detailed below:
Tournament Bouts:
145 lbs. – Wilson Reis (6-0) vs. Henry Martinez (5-1)
155 lbs. – Thomas Schulte (18-6) vs. Ivan Iberico (7-1/27-1)
170 lbs. – Lyman Good (7-0) vs. Hector Urbina (12-4)
170 lbs. – Jorge Ortiz (15-4) vs. Aaron Romero (5-2)
170 lbs. – Dave Menne (42-15) vs. Norman Paraisy (5-0)
170 lbs. – Omar De La Cruz (3-1) vs. Victor Meza (9-0)
Bob Yalen, Mohegan Sun’s Director of Sports & Entertainment said, “Bjorn and company have a history of producing high quality, competitive boxing events, and we have no reason not to expect the same as they embark into the world of mixed martial arts; Mohegan Sun is excited to be hosting the Bellator Mixed Martial Arts Fighting Championships here.”
Headlining Bellator’s Featherweight tournament on this stacked card is undefeated former EliteXC champion Wilson Reis and Albuquerque’s fastest rising star, the once-beaten Henry Martinez. The match-up is a battle of ground fighting aces, pitting Reis’ multiple Jiu-Jitsu World Championship skills against Martinez’s action-filled ground and pound game. Both are rising Featherweights on the world stage looking to establish their name amongst the world’s best. Reis is from Brazil, currently fighting out of Philadelphia, while Martinez fights out of famed Greg Jackson’s Fighting Academy in Albuquerque, NM.
Also looking to establish his name on the world stage is undefeated Welterweight Lyman Good, who will face heavy-handed knockout artist Hector Urbina. Both fighters are dropping from Middleweight to Welterweight for this championship tournament and both are established stand-up fighters; non-stop action is expected from this match-up. Lyman Good fights out of Queens, NY, by way of Puerto Rico and Hector Urbina fights out of Indiana, by way of Mexico.
April 10th will also witness the return to the world stage for former UFC Champion Dave Menne against France’s greatest Welterweight MMA fighter, the undefeated Norman Paraisy. Also featured in tournament competition will be a great clash between Mexico’s top Welterweight Jorge Ortiz and Denver’s promising Welterweight Aaron Romero.
The Lightweight division will feature a compelling match-up between submission ace and multiple world champion Thomas Schulte and the greatest MMA fighter in Peruvian history, Ivan Iberico. Schulte is an expert on the ground with all 18 wins coming via submission, and Iberico is the Peruvian national wrestling Champion who has a 7 win 1 loss record on the U.S. books, but who has established a spectacular 27 win 1 loss record including MMA fights in his native Peru.
Bellator Fighting Championships’ premiere season consists of 12 two-hour events to be broadcast weekly in primetime on Saturday nights. The nationally-televised events will feature a combination of tournament and non-tournament special feature bouts. There will be four simultaneous tournaments taking place in season #1 over a three-month period: one in each of the Featherweight (145 lbs.), Lightweight (155 lbs.), Welterweight (170 lbs.) and Middleweight (185 lbs.) divisions.
For more information on Bellator Fighting Championships and other great events at Mohegan Sun, visit mohegansun.com. For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711, ext. 27163.
About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago. Bellator’s founders, Bjorn Rebney and Brad Epstein, are experienced fighting sports and entertainment professionals with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production (including Rob Beiner, winner of 12 Emmy awards for sports programming), fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.
About Mohegan Sun
Mohegan Sun, owned by the Mohegan Tribe, is one of the largest, most distinctive and spectacular entertainment, gaming, shopping and meeting destinations in the United States. Situated on 240 acres along the Thames River in scenic southeastern Connecticut, Mohegan Sun is within easy access of New York, Boston, Hartford and Providence and located 15 minutes from the museums, antique shops and waterfront of Mystic Country. More information is available by calling 1.888.226.7711 or by visiting mohegansun.com.
Feb 4, 2009 | Sports
Live boxing action in the Arena on Friday, March 6th
Top welterweight contender Delvin Rodriguez (23-2-2,14KOs), ranked #5 in the IBF, will face off against Shamone “The Truth” Alvarez (20-1-0,11KOs), ranked #15 in the IBF, in a must-see match-up of two of boxing’s top welterweights on March 6th at 7:00pm at Mohegan Sun. The bout, scheduled for twelve rounds for Rodriguez’s USBA Welterweight Championship, will be shown live as the main event on that evening’s ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” telecast.
Tickets are $75.00, $45.00 and $30.00 and are on sale now at the Mohegan Sun Box Office and through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster customers may log on to ticketmaster.com; call Ticketmaster’s national toll free Charge By Phone number 1.800.745.3000; or visit any Ticketmaster outlet.
Rodriguez who hails from Danbury, CT is coming off a twelve-round draw to Isaac Hlatshwayo on November 17th in Hlatshwayo’s home country of South Africa. The fight was an official IBF eliminator for the #1 spot. Now Rodriguez will defend his USBA Welterweight Championship and look to put himself in the position to challenge for a world championship in 2009 when he collides with Alvarez. Unlike his battle with Hlatshwayo, Rodriguez will have a strong contingent of fans and supporters on-hand at Mohegan Sun.
“March 6th at Mohegan Sun is going to be one exciting night of boxing,” stated Joe DeGuardia, CEO of Star Boxing. “This fight matches two of boxing’s top welterweights in the world going toe-to-toe in what promises to be an all-action affair.”
“I’m excited, this is going to be a great fight with Shamone,” said Rodriguez. “Shamone is very skilled and always comes to fight so I know I will have to be at my absolute best come March 6th. I am looking forward to returning to Connecticut and getting a chance to fight in front of all my hometown fans. It’s going to be a great night of boxing that no one will want to miss.”
Alvarez is a very skilled, crafty southpaw, whose only loss as a professional came in an official IBF title eliminator to current world champion Joshua Clottey. Since that loss, Alvarez has rebounded, winning a decision in his last fight against welterweight contender, and U.S. Olympian Terrance Cauthen.
“Delvin is a heck of a fighter. I know what I am going to be up against when we face off against each other on the 6th,” said Alvarez. “But if I want to be the best I am going to have to beat the best, and I consider Delvin one of the best welterweights in the world. One thing that I do know though is that it’s going to be a great fight. I am going to be bringing my A game and I expect Delvin to do the same, which will only make for a great fight for the fans in attendance and the fans watching at home on ESPN2 to see.”
“Both of these guys are so hungry right now, they are both in the primes of their careers and they know what a win in this fight, which is going to be nationally televised on ESPN2, does for their careers,” said DeGuardia. “I foresee the winner of this fight challenging for a welterweight championship some time later on in the year. Delvin and Shamone are very similar in the sense that they are both very humble men outside of the ring, but once they lace up those gloves, both of these guys hit a switch and turn into warriors. With so much at stake, this is a must-see match-up for any boxing fan.”
An extremely exciting and talent-packed undercard, with Providence, RI native and 2008 Olympian Demetrius Andrade, will soon be announced.
For more information on Friday Night Fights and other great events at Mohegan Sun, visit mohegansun.com. For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711, ext. 27163.
Jan 12, 2009 | Sports
Event on Tuesday, March 3rd at 7:00pm
The brawls and the body slams take over Mohegan Sun Arena on Tuesday, March 3rd when WWE SmackDown comes to town. The action begins at 7:00pm.
Tickets are priced at $70.00, $50.00, $40.00, $30.00 and $20.00 and go on sale Saturday, January 17th at 10:00am through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster customers may log on to ticketmaster.com; call any Ticketmaster Charge by Phone number; or visit any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets may also be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Box Office starting Sunday, January 18th subject to availability.
Scheduled talent includes all of your favorite SmackDown superstars including WWE Champion Jeff Hardy, “The Game” Triple H, “The Phenom” Undertaker, “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show, “The Rated R Superstar” Edge, MVP, The Great Khali, United States Champion Shelton Benjamin, WWE Tag Team Champion Carlito, R-Truth, Hurricane Helms, Umaga, Vladimir Kozlov, Michelle McCool, Maria and many more!
*Talent subject to change
Press inquiries should be directed to the WWE at 203.359.5175.
For more information on WWE SmackDown and other great events at Mohegan Sun, visit mohegansun.com. For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711, ext. 27163.
