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(Atlanta, GA, March 20, 2009) – One month after his 23rd birthday, Kyle Maynard will fulfill what has been a lifelong dream. He will compete in his first Amateur Mixed Martial Arts match. The match will take place on Saturday, April 25 in Auburn, AL at The Auburn Covered Arena in an event titled “Auburn Fight Night.”
Auburn Fight Night tickets and more information can be found at www.BattlePass.com.
Kyle Maynard went 35-16 his Senior year wrestling in Georgia
Maynard, a congenital amputee with no elbows or knees, burst onto the national scene when he graduated from Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, GA with a wrestling record of 35-16 in his senior season and a 3.7 GPA. He is the recipient of a 2004 ESPN Espy Award for Best Athlete With A Disability and has been featured on many radio interviews, talk shows and television programs including The Oprah Winfrey Show and Larry King Live.
Currently he works as a speaker for the Washington Speaker’s Bureau, specializing in motivational speeches. He is also the author of the memoir No Excuses: The True Story of a Congenital Amputee Who Became a Champion in Wrestling and in Life.
In 2004, at the age of 18 while a student at The University of Georgia and a member of its club wrestling team, Maynard told a USA Today reporter “I’d love to fight in that” when pointing to a Randy Couture UFC poster hanging in his dorm room. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), is often times referred to as the pinnacle of Mixed Martial Arts fighting.
Maynard will get his first opportunity to fight in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts on Saturday, April 25 in Auburn, AL. He will become the first congenital amputee to compete in a Mixed Martial Arts match.
Maynard was originally hoping to fight in his hometown of Duluth, GA nearly two years ago. The fight did not occur due to the Georgia Athletic & Entertainment Commission denying Maynard a license to fight. The state of Alabama has no Athletic Commission that governs the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.
“I’ve been promoting fights since 2002, nearly 50 events combined, and I’ve never seen someone with the drive that Kyle possesses,” said promoter David Oblas. “I’ve seen Kyle overcome every obstacle put in front of him and on Saturday, April 25 he will overcome yet another. This is something that Kyle has wanted to do for years now and something that I’m happy to help him achieve.”
Kyle Maynard added, “The first question that I receive from everyone is do I fear for my safety while fighting in the cage? Absolutely not. Despite my lack of limbs I can protect myself just as much as the average fighter. I have been preparing for this fight for years and I cannot wait for Saturday, April 25 to arrive. There is no challenge and no goal that I have worked as hard for as this one. I would like to thank all of my family, friends and training partners for their support as I enter the last 30 days of my training camp.”
For additional information and for ticket information regarding Auburn Fight Night please visit www.BattlePass.com. The Auburn Covered Arena will be configured to fit 7,000 people for this historic fight. Tickets are on sale for $20 in advance and $25 the day of the fights for General Admission. VIP tables of eight are available for $400. Auburn Fight Night will consist of both professional and amateur Mixed Martial Arts fights with several Auburn residents fighting on the card.
CONTACT:
David Oblas
Undisputed Productions, LLC
404-579-9404
dave@UndisputedProductions.com
Promoter Website: www.UndisputedProductions.com
Event Website: www.BattlePass.com
BATTLEPASS.COM - YOUR TICKET TO LIVE COMBAT
TicketBiscuit continues to invest in hiring and retaining the best talent in order to bring a top notch service to our clients. We’re pleased to welcome Kevin Kilburn and Shane Parker to our team.
Kevin Kilburn has over 15 years of experience in the Information Technology field. As Vice President of Data Integration and Master Data Management, he established the patterns and practices for enterprise development at Regions Financial Corporation. He has also spent many years as a technology consultant primarily serving as principal architect for multimillion dollar projects in a range of vertical markets: government, insurance, and medical services. He received a Bachelors Degree of Science in both Computer Science and Information Management from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1998.
Shane Parker has extensive experience in all aspects Software Quality Assurance. Shane has a consulting background, and over the course of his career, he has designed and implemented large automated test suites and load testing environments, trained other testers, implemented testing processes, and has been the driving force in changing corporate testing processes. Shane holds a Bachelor’s in Computer and Information Sciences from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and is currently pursuing a Master’s of Divinity from Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA.
BattlePass.com is proud to sponsor New York Times bestselling author and congenital amputee Kyle Maynard in his first ever MMA event, scheduled to take place April 25, 2009 in Auburn, Alabama. Kyle’s story is amazing. From Wikipedia: He has no elbows and no knees, yet he competed in the 2004 Georgia High School Wrestling Championships. He graduated from Collins Hill High School with a wrestling record of 35 wins, 16 losses and a 3.7 GPA. Kyle has been an inspiration to thousands, appearing on such shows as Larry King Live and Oprah. You can read more about Kyle here, and find out more info about the fight by visiting battlepass.com.
Kyle Maynard Makes His MMA Debut April 25 in Auburn, AL
BattlePass.com is making a sort of debut of its own. Our MMA promoter clients talked, and we listened. We’ve redesigned the site to be more fan friendly, and have teamed up with some of the biggest names in the sport to bring you the most events, the best deals on gear, and other special offers tailored for BattlePass.com web surfers and MMA ticket buyers. The goal? Help promoters sell more tickets and gain more visibility nationwide for their events. Check it out today.
On any given night at The World Famous Comedy Store in West Hollywood, you’re likely to catch a routine from some of the most well known comedians of today. Since 1972, the three room venue has been the epicenter of standup comedy in the US and the home away from home for rising comedy stars. Legends such as Jim Carrey, David Letterman, and Eddie Murphy are among its alumni.
That’s why we’re pretty excited to now call the Comedy Store a client of ours. Welcome to the family, guys! (check out the Comedy Store’s website at www.thecomedystore.com and follow them on twitter: www.twitter.com/comedystore )
Ticketmaster working to outlaw presales in Florida and Minnesota: Contact your legislators!
March 30, 2009 in Commentary, ticketing news | Tags: florida, grateful dead, legislation, minnesota, presales, scalpers, secondary market, ticketing, ticketmaster | by ehoush | Leave a comment
A twitter friend brought this to my attention last week. I was at the beach getting some much needed R and R but felt that I should weigh in on it today.
According to this article by Al Branch over at Ticket News, Ticketmaster is advancing bills in Florida and Minnesota that would effectively give them greater control over concert presales. You can read the full text of the article here. Now, just the fact that Ticketmaster is lobbying in support of legislation on the ticketing industry should be enough to scare you into action, but if not…
I visited the websites for both the Minnesota and Florida Legislature to get the text of the actual bills- you can view them by visiting the links below:
Minnesota HF 819: Internet Sale of Event Tickets
And
Florida CS/ HB 1287: Resale of Tickets (summary and full text)
Interestingly enough – there are two other bills making their way through Florida as well – SB 1962 (summary and full text) and SB 2074 (summary and full text).
For those of you uninterested in navigating the legalese, I will simplify the gist of the legislation:
Ticketmaster is making a power grab to limit ticket presales and re-sells unless authorized by the primary ticket seller – in many cases, Ticketmaster. So Ticketmaster, in the midst of trying to establish a monopoly on the national scale, is now simultaneously looking to eliminate competition in the presale space and eliminate the reseller market altogether.
For those of you who aren’t savvy in this space, “presales” are tickets that go on sale before they are made available to the general public, often going on sale to, for example, fan clubs. They have been an established component of the concert industry for decades, but now Ticketmaster wants them stopped. Check this language in Florida HB 1287: “requiring that a person or entity that offers to sell or resell over the internet tickets to specified public entertainment or amusement events of any kind may not offer tickets for sale until such tickets have first been offered for sale via an event-provider –authorized outlet or offering.” The Minnesota bill has a similar anti-presale tilt: “The initial seller shall not divert tickets from the initial sale to be sold in any other manner.”
In other words, if Ticketmaster doesn’t feel like allowing a presale in Florida, it won’t happen. In Minnesota, it will be ILLEGAL to have presales.
There is also language in these bills that prevents or limits tickets from entering the secondary market. While in theory (and to the average state legislator) this sounds great, it sets a dangerous precedent. Some of you may recall many moons ago when I blogged about the Seven Principles of the Ticketing Industry. Principle four is what we see in action here- “Where there are nuisances, there are regulators.” It is dastardly (and again, should cause concern) that the very same company causing all of the nuisances is the one driving regulators to action. Of course, the well paid Ticketmaster lobbyists are keeping the true grim future scenario out of the minds of the regulators deciding the fate of the issue, as seen in Florida, where the bill has passed unanimously through two committees so far. If successful, Ticketmaster will both outlaw presales and resells, gaining a pretty tight death grip on the large entertainment venues of Florida and Minnesota.
So, if you live in Florida and occasionally buy tickets to live events, read HB 1287
(it won’t take long) and get in touch with the members of the General Government Policy Council Pronto. They are listed here: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Committees/committeesdetail.aspx?CommitteeId=2469 . At least contact Representative Troutman and let him know that this legislation deserves further scrutiny and revision. Ditto for you Minnesotans: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/hmem.asp
The answer to scalping is NOT to limit presales or introduce harmful regulation into this industry. The bottom line is this: scalping takes place because the face value of some tickets is significantly lower than the market value. Until all parties involved can agree on how to make these two values close enough at onsale to discourage scalpers, the practice will continue.
In related news: The Grateful Dead may have introduced a solution to this problem. What do you think?
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