Former Steeler Set to Battle on "Enemy Turf"

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Another huge fight has been added to the NAAFS Caged Fury 6 fight card on Saturday February 21st from Gray's Armory in downtown Cleveland, OH.

The Pro Series Heavyweight division will see new blood added to the mix, as former champion "Cujo" Joe McCall takes on Elite XC veteran Carlton Haselrig in one of the more anticipated fights on the card. This fight was originally slated to take place on an Elite XC card last May, but didn't not come to pass. Now it will happen inside of the NAAFS cage and will certainly provide for an intense atmosphere as Haslerig, former Pro Bowl offensive guard with the Pittsburgh Steelers, comes into Cleveland to take on hometown favorite "Cujo" Joe McCall in enemy territory.

Carlton Haselrig brings a highly touted pedigree into this much anticipated showdown, with a resume that includes several impressive accolades to his credit. Haselrig competitve started to shine through during his time at University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown where he was a champion NCAA Heavyweight Wrestler. In fact, Haselrig holds the honor of being the only person to win 6 NCAA titles in wrestling, including 3 in Division II and 3 in Division I. Six NCAA titles could be the highlight of any competitor's resume, but for Haselrig added even more accomplishments he defeated future Olympic Gold Medalist & WWE Champion Kurt Angle. Carlton Haselrig was named to NCAA 75th Anniversary team in 2005, along with fellow heavyweights the aforementioned Kurt Angle, University of Iowa's Ed Banach, and the legendary Danny Hodge of University of Oklahoma.

After graduating college, Haslerig turned his attention towards the pursuit of a career in the NFL. Despite never played football in college, Haselrig was drafted in 12th round of the 1988 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He would be a full-time starter by the 1991 season and was named to the Pro Bowl following the 1992 season, where Halserig provided the blockage for teammate Barry Foster to a record setting season. After a year stint with the New York Jets in 1995, Halserig left the NFL due to off field issues. However, he would soon find a home in mixed martial arts.

Carlton Haselrig made his MMA debut on April 19th, 2008 by defeating Shane Ott by TKO at 4:09 of Round 1. Soon after, he found himself competing on the undercard of Elite XC's "CBS Saturday Night Fights" event that was headlined by Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson. He would defeat Carlos Moreno by TKO at the end of the first round when Moreno was unable to answer the bell for Round 2.

Now Haselrig finds himself stepping in front of the most demanding & dedicated fanbase in all of mixed martial arts, when he squares off against former NAAFS Pro Series Heavyweight Champion "Cujo" Joe McCall (5-1) at NAAFS Caged Fury 6.

Following an impressive pro boxing career, Joe McCall made the transition to MMA in February of 2007. He defeated everyone in front of him to earn an NAAFS Pro Series Heavyweight title shot at Fight Nite in the Flats IV against James Sendo. McCall won in spectacular fashion with a Round 1 knockout at just 51 seconds! McCall would lose the title to rival Justin Black at NAAFS Columbus Night of Pain 4 by first round Arm Bar, whom McCall had defeated previously at NAAFS Fight Nite in the Flats III, thus tying their series at one fight a piece. Now McCall finds himself back in the position of challenger and is looking to make another run towards the gold. He will have his opportunity on February 21st against the always game Carlton Haselrig.

The highly anticipated battle between Carlton Haselrig (2-1) and "Cujo" Joe McCall (5-1) will take place at NAAFS Caged Fury 6 on Saturday February 21st, 2009 at Gray's Armory in downtown Cleveland, OH. The card also features top national prospects Frank "The Tank" Caraballo, Nick "The Savage" Duell and Jason "Freebird" Freeman among other NAAFS stars slated to compete on this night. Tickets for this TAPED FOR TV EVENT range from $25 thru $80 and are on sale now by calling 330-280-8442 or by logging onto www.NAAFS.tv.

Professional Featured Bouts

155 lbs – Frank “The Tank” Caraballo 10-4 (Rising Dragon - Cleveland, OH) vs Philip Tomblin 12-5 (Higher Power – Columbus, OH)

205 lbs – Jason “Freebird” Freeman 8-3 (Vander Fighting – Dover, OH) vs Chase Minor 7-2 (Nutter MMA – Wadsworth, OH)

265 lbs – Carlton Haselrig 2-1 (Cold Steel MMA – Johnstown, PA) vs “Cujo” Joe McCall 5-1 (Team Instigator – Canton, OH)

170 lbs – Nick “The Savage” Duell 11-3-1 (Jungle Fight Team – Canton, OH) vs Josh Miller 5-1 (Blackforce MMA – Myrtle Beach, SC)

145 lbs – Lyle Sansoucie 5-1 (Team DNA – Erie, PA) vs Dustin “The Reaper” Kempf 8-2 (Team Instigator – Carrolton, OH)

185 lbs – Mickey Hughes 5-3 (H2O MMA - Georgetown, PA) vs Josh Leach 2-1 (Blackforce MMA – Charleston, SC)

Amateur Preliminary Bouts

265 lbs – Big John Hawk 5-0-1 (Jungle Fight Team) vs Pete “King Kong” Hunter 7-3-1 (Team Beatdown)

145 lbs - Doug Kulbis 4-0 (Team JAD) vs Jose Escobedo 4-1 (F1 Fight Team)

155 lbs - Brandon “Bad Intentions” Poindexter 2-0 (Pain Headquarters) vs Kyle Dolan 3-0 (Lock Haven, PA)

170 lbs - Mike Mason 2-3 (Columbus MMA/Team Gurgel) vs Larry Ray 2-1 (USA Martial Arts)

125 lbs - Amber Powell 2-1 (Savage Grappling) vs Marcia May 2-1 (Thompson Academy/Gracie Tampa)

135 lbs - Ricky Garrett 2-0 (Nutter MMA) vs Corey Frantz 2-1 (Team Non Stop MMA)

185 lbs - Neil Delos Reyes 1-1 (Jungle Fight Team) vs Tom Wilson 1-0 (Columbus MMA/Team Gurgel)

170 lbs - Bill Morsetti 1-1 (H20 MMA) vs Dan Gilipse 1-0 (Nutter MMA)

135 lbs - Bill Fienberg 1-1 (Jungle Fight Team) vs Lucas Barr 0-0 (Team DNA)

185 lbs - Dave Overton 0-0 (Jungle Fight Team) vs Chauncy Alcorn 0-0 (USA Martial Arts)

125 lbs - Holly Powell 3-0 (Savage Grappling) vs TBA

*All Bouts Subject to Change

About the NAAFS
The North American Allied Fight Series is the region's premiere mixed martial arts organization featuring top amateur and professional prospects along with some of the sports premier fighters including Sean Salmon (current NAAFS Middleweight Champion), Jason Dent (Current NAAFS Lightweight Champion), Ryan Madigan, Josh Hendricks, Ben Rothwell, Jeff Cox, Dan Bobish, Paul Bradley, Noah Inhofer, Matt Brown and Joe Heiland. The television program NAAFS Cage Fighting can be seen domestically every Sunday night at 11pm EST on the television home of the Cleveland Indians, SportsTime Ohio, nationally via Direct TV and Dish Network and internationally on GTV. NAAFS Radio can be heard globally Tuesday nights at 10pm EST online at www.SportsTalkNETWORK.com and locally Friday nights at 11pm EST on SportsRadio 1350 AM WARF. For more information on the NAAFS, log onto www.NAAFS.tv. Caged Fury 6 is proudly sponsored by the US Army, Dillards Department Stores, Betonfighting.com and Bloody Buddy Fight Gear.