World Jiu-Jitsu Champion Braulio Estima signs with Titan Fighting Championship for MMA debut

July 27, 2012

A debut two years in the making is finally set for Brazilian Braulio Estima (0-0). A second degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Estima is scheduled to make his MMA debut for the Titan Fighting Championship at TFC 24 in Kansas City, Kansas. The 32 year old Estima will step in the co-main event slot versus Colorado welterweight Chris Holland (5-3).

A three time ADCC gold medalist and multiple time world jiu-jitsu champion, Estima's foray into the cage has been rumored for a number of years. In 20120, Estima signed a multi-fight deal with the now defunct Shine Fights promotion and the Carlos Gracie Jr. student even had his first fight booked versus current Bellator star Rick Hawn. Estima would not again formally announce his intentions to pursue MMA until after a planned grappling super fight with UFC star Nick Diaz fell through in April of this year.

Estima for the past several months has cut his MMA training teeth with the Blackzilians at JACO Hybrid Training Center in Delray Beach, Florida. Based on over a decade of grappling credentials, Estima's move into MMA makes him a top flight prospect. The key factors working against the BJJ black belt are his advanced age and his need of more cage time versus opponents of his skill level.

With a 0-0 record Estima is a four star prospect at 170 pounds and is the number 48 ranked prospect in MMA in the 2012 edition of the ULTMMA50; a pound for pound listing of the top 50 prospects in MMA.

The 36 year old Holland will ride a three fight winning streak into his fight versus Estima. Holland last competed in June when he stopped former UFC and Strikeforce fighter Phil Baroni on strikes in round two.

Press release

Titan Fighting Championship has revealed that "Titan Fighting 24" will take place Friday, August 24, 2012 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City and that Anthony "Rumble" Johnson vs. Esteves Jones will headline the card, supported by an extraordinary co-main event featuring the MMA debut of World Jiu-Jitsu Champion Braulio Estima in a welterweight fight with Chris "The Hammer" Holland. AXS TV will broadcast "Titan 24" live nationwide starting at 10:00 p.m. ET.

"I'm excited to make my light heavyweight debut on August 24 in Kansas City for all the Titan Championship fans, said Johnson. "I respect my opponent, but he's in my way to get to the top of this new division. I'm looking forward to showing everyone my strength and power at 205, and exactly what I am capable of at this weight."

Titan Fighting 24 tickets are on sale now with general admission priced at $35; VIP packages are available for $100 and $150. Tickets can be purchased through www.Ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster 866-448-7849, and locally at the Memorial Hall box office.

Johnson (12-4-0), former UFC middleweight, is ranked among the top fighters in the world, having competed in the Octagon at both 185 and 170 pounds, and now at 205. He has fought the who's who in the sport including Vitor Belfort, Josh Koscheck, and Dan Hardy. He holds seven wins by KO or TKO, and all but one of his six UFC wins were by KO/TKO. August 24 fight will mark his third time headlining for the Titan Fighting Championship organization. In his light heavyweight debut, Rumble will take on Esteves Jones (8-3, 6 KOs) the 6'2"/205 lb. former Super Heavyweight Champion of the King of the Cage organization. Johnson trains with the Blackzilians at JACO Hybrid Training Center in Delray Beach as part of Team JACO.

Braulio Estima (6'3"/170) is considered one of the world's very best grapplers. His submission competition achievements include winning the CBJJ World Championship in 2004, 2006, and 2009, the Absolute World Cup Championship in 2006, the European CBJJ Absolute Championships in 2006 and 2009, as well as being the ADCC 2007 silver medalist. At ADCC 2009, Estima won both the under-88 kg and Absolute division championships, defeating Strikeforce/Dream veteran Andre Galvao and Sengoku veteran Xande Ribeiro in the respective finals. Estima is the head instructor and owner of the Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Birmingham, England. He also trains with the Blackzilians at JACO Hybrid Training Center in Delray Beach, Florida where he has been honing his stand-up game with noted striking coach Henri Hooft.

Estima will face the 5'10" Holland (5-3) who is currently riding a three-fight win streak, having recently defeating Phil Baroni with a second round TKO. Holland fights out of Denver, Colorado and trains at the Factory X Training Center.

"I'm excited to make my MMA debut, it's been a long time coming and I'm really looking forward to it especially with the Blackzilians behind me," said Estima. "I've been working hard on my standup with Coach Henri and actually all the fighters here at Team JACO have been bringing me along. I'm confident on my feet. I don't think striking is going to be a problem, if the strategy goes the way we want. And if the fight goes to the ground, well that won't be a problem either."

Also on the AXS TV live card is a matchup between Holland's Junior Karanta (1-0) vs. Kansas local Matt Uhde (3-0), a bantamweight bout between Andrew Whitney (8-1) vs. Cody Gibson, and the featherweight matchup Brian Davidson (9-3) vs. Joe Murphy (6-0).

For more information on Titan Fighting Championship, visit www.titanfighting.com and follow on Twitter @Titan Fighting.

ABOUT THE TITAN FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP(www.TitanFighting.com):
The Titan Fighting Championship is a Kansas City-based full-time Mixed Martial Arts promotion headquartered out of the historic Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. Owned and operated by veteran fight promoter Joe Kelly, the Titan Fighting Championship has promoted events since 2006. The goal of Titan FC is to promote and develop the top up-and-coming fighters in the world and provide a platform allowing them to take their respective careers to the next level. Fighters who have gotten their start with Titan include Mike Johnson, Jay Hieron, L.C. Davis, Rob Kimmons, Lee Gibson, Alan Belcher, Bobby Voelker, Zak Cummings, Rudy Bears, and James Krause.

ABOUT TITAN ENTERTAINMENT:
Titan Entertainment is a full-service entertainment company that holds an exclusive lease on the historic Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. The company promotes and produces events such as rock concerts, professional boxing, professional wrestling, and mixed martial arts. Titan has promoted sporting events that have been featured on ESPN, Fox Sports Net, SHOWTIME, and HDNet.