Seth Petruzelli, Siala-Mou "Mighty Mo" Siliga, Kit Cope and Tony Lopez among the expected entrants for Sept "K-1 Rising" U.S. GP

http://mmajunkie.com/news/29872/petruzelli-mighty-mo-cope-lopez-among-k-1-rising-u-s-grand-prix-entrants.mma
MMA veterans Seth Petruzelli, Siala-Mou "Mighty Mo" Siliga, Kit Cope and Tony Lopez are among the expected entrants for September's "K-1 Rising" U.S. Grand Prix.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today learned of the fighters' participation frpm sources close to the kickboxing event, which takes place Sept. 8 at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

Additionally, noted strikers Dewey Cooper and Rick Roufus are among the fighters expected to take part in the event, which serves as a qualifier for October's "K-1 Rising" World Grand Prix Final 16 in Tokyo.

Cooper, Lopez, Petruzelli, Roufus and Siliga join Randy Blake and Xavier Vigney as competitors in the "K-1 Rising" Heavyweight U.S. Grand Prix. Cope competes alongside Justin Greskiewicz, Bryce Krause, Scott Leffler, Michael Mananquil, Chaz Mulkey, Joey Pagliuso and Ben Yelle in the MAX division.

An additional heavyweight contestant is expected to be finalized soon, and four K-1 superfights are also scheduled for the card. Additionally, the final card is expected to feature three undercard fights consisting of fighters selected from a recent open tryout session that drew more than 200 hopefuls.

Tickets for the "K-1 Rising" U.S. Grand Prix, which range from $50 to $250, go on sale this Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT local time) at Ticketmaster.com.

In June, K-1 announced plans for world grand prix tournaments in both the heavyweight and MAX (154 pounds) divisions. A $1 million prize is planned for the winner of the heavyweight tournament. The runner-up will receive $300,000, as will the winner of the 2012 K-1 MAX tournament.

The "K-1 Rising" 2012 World Grand Prix Final 16 is expected to take place Oct. 14 at Tokyo's Ryougoku Kokugikan (National Sumo Stadium). Striking legends Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Daniel Ghita and Badr Hari are expected to join regional qualifiers for the event.

Founded in 1993, K-1 has conducted events in 38 countries. Past K-1 World Grand Prix champions include current UFC heavyweights Alistair Overeem and Mark Hunt, as well as Ernesto Hoost, Peter Aerts, Remy Bonjasky and Semmy Schilt.

K-1 this past May held its World MAX Final 16 event in Madrid, Spain. Additional events for this year are planned for Taipei and New York.

Not bad, I'm down to watch any of those guys in standup fights.