2008 NAAFS National Amateur Champions Crowned;
"Smokin" Joe Remains Unbeaten

The 2008 NAAFS National Amateur season came
to an exciting and controversial close at Night of Champions in Cleveland,
OH. There were new champions crowned in an amazing night of mixed martial
arts action. Add to the mix a fight of the year candidate in the main
event, it was definitely a night to remember.

The main event of the card was a Pro Series bout between 2006 Fighter of
the Year "Smokin" Joe Heiland and 2007 Fighter of the Year Torrance "The
Tyrant" Taylor. With the accolades of both competitors entering this
fight, fans were almost guaranteed to see a fight to remember and it was
just that. Heiland controlled the action early on, using his wrestling
background to secure repeated takedowns on Taylor in the first round. The
second round was a complete contrast, as Taylor controlled the pace of the
fight with his stand-up game to win the round. The controversy began in
the final round, which saw Taylor as the aggressor early on, but ended
with Heiland rebounding and unleashing a fury of his own. The end result
was a unanimous decision victory for "Smokin" Joe Heiland, who now
improves to 11-0. Both Joe Heiland and Torrance Taylor proved that they
are two of the best fighters in any organization and could easily add
another fight of the year to both of their resumes.

Adam Saal made history by becoming the first ever NAAFS National Amateur
Bantamweight Champion, defeating Josh Castro in an exciting back and forth
fight by split decision. The NAAFS plans to further expand on the
Bantamweight division in 2008, giving the lighter weight classes an
opportunity to shine.

In a rematch from Rock N Rumble, Lyle Sansoucie gained a measure of
revenge with his win over Eric Noel to capture the 2008 National Amateur
Featherweight title. Sansoucie began the year competing on the NAAFS Club
Series circuit and finished the year climbing all the way to the top of
the division. He forced the more experience Noel to tap out to a rear
naked choke in round 1, bringing the gold back to Team DNA.

The National Amateur Lightweight champion is USA Martial Art's Josh
Johnson, who won the title by defeating LA Hampton in the finals. Johnson
shot in early for a takedown that resulted in Hampton landing awkwardly on
his arm, dislocating his elbow. It was a freak accident and the end result
is Johnson remains unbeaten (9-0) and is now known as champion.

Aaron Maynard completed his run at Night of Champions, defeating Sean-Paul
Veilleux by triangle choke in the first round to capture the 2008 National
Amateur Welterweight title. Maynard rebounded after a loss to Nick Duell
at Rock N Rumble with a win over Russ Halsey at Midwest Combat Challenge 5
to earn the title shot. He then rose to the occasion with a win over a
very tough Veilleux for the right to be called champion.

Instigator Fight Team's AJ Aeschlimann remained undefeated (6-0) with his
unanimous decision victory over Chris Lozano to win the 2008 National
Amateur Middleweight title. Aeschlimann used his size advantage and
wrestling prowess to control the fight and walk out with the gold. After
the win, Aeschlimann made his intentions known that he plans to make the
move to the Pro Series at some point in 2009.

Dane Bonnigson became the first ever independent fighter to win NAAFS
National Amateur gold, when he defeated Marc Strickland by TKO in the
first round to became the National Amateur Light Heavyweight champion.
Bonnigson remained a quiet unknown for most of the year, but kept racking
up victories and hasn't stopped.

The 2008 National Amateur Heavyweight title fight between Adam Farrell and
John Hawk ended with a high level of controversy and as a result, there is
currently no champion. A point deduction to Farrell in round two changed
the landscape of the judge's score cards when it was time render a
decision. Instead of it being unanimous for Farrell, the fight was ruled a
majority draw. The NAAFS is currently investigating into the matter and
will render a decision on who will be the 2008 National Amateur
Heavyweight champion.

Complete Results:

Joe Heiland over Torrance Taylor - Unan Decision
Frank Carabello over Ben Pettit -TKO/RSC rd1
Nicholas Duell over Jason Nickoson - Submission rd2
John Hawk vs Adam Farrell was declared a draw
Dane Bonnigson over Marc Strickland - TKO/RSCrd1
Alan Aeschlimann over Chris Lozano - Unan Decision
Aaron Maynard over Sean Paul Veilleux - Submission rd1
Josh Johnson over Roger Hampton - TKO/RSC rd1
Lyle Sansoucie over Eric Noel - Submission rd1
Adam Saal over Josh Castro - Split Decision
Nick Kilian over Chris Melillo - Submission rd2
Jessica Eye over Barb Honchack - Split Decision
Zach Sutek over John Rohn - Submission rd1
Steve Kosarko over Alvaro Vallejo - Unan Decision

The 2008 NAAFS National Amateur Series has come to a close and focus has
already begun on 2009 and beyond. This event wouldn't have been possible
without all the great athletes who competed, the excellent training
centers, and our wonderful sponsors: Bloody Buddy Fight Gear, United
States Army, Don's Brooklyn Chevrolet, Dillards Department Stores,
BetonFighting.com, Karrington Group, SportsTime Ohio,
SportsTalkNETWORK.com, Hard Rock Café of Cleveland, and John P. Lennon.

Tickets are on sale now for the 2009 NAAFS Season Opener (Midwest Combat
Challenge 6 sponsored by Gatsby's Pub) scheduled for January 10th in
Akron, Oh. For a complete fight card, tickets or information log on to
www.NAAFS.tv or call 330-280-8442.

About the NAAFS

The North American Allied Fight Series is the region's premiere mixed
martial arts organization. The television program NAAFS Cage Fighting can
be seen domestically every Sunday night at 10pm EST on the television home
of the Cleveland Indians, SportsTime Ohio, nationally via Direct TV and
Dish Network Sports Packaging and internationally on GTV. NAAFS Radio can
be heard Tuesday nights at 10pm EST online at www.SportsTalkNETWORK.com
and Friday nights at 11pm EST on SportsRadio 1350 AM WARF. For more
information on the NAAFS, log onto www.NAAFS.tv.