This guys doing something really cool. Its worth a few ttt's. Pullled this from the press release I got last week.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Tiffany Berry 773 322 9557 tiffany@fighterforlife.com
WHO: MMA Fighter Vaughan Palelei
WHAT: Fighter for Life Campaign (fighterforlife.com)
WHERE: Total Fight Challenge, Cicero Stadium, 1909 S. Laramie, Cicero, IL
WHEN: Saturday, June 2, 2007
FIGHTER FOR LIFE – MMA FIGHTER RETURNS TO THE CAGE TO CHAMPION THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER. DONATES 100% OF HIS FIGHTERS PURSE TO CHARITY.
(Chicago, IL) – An ancient Indian medicine man, cage fighting, and a father's inspirational fight against cancer, are the cornerstones of this remarkable story of one mans unique campaign to fight cancer.
On May 5, 2007, retired mixed martial arts fighter and two-time Ironheart Crown Heavyweight champ Vaughan Palelei stepped back into the ring for the first time in four years. This time, he's fighting for a cause--cancer.
In 2000, Palelei's father George was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer. When conventional chemotherapy treatments repeatedly failed to stop the disease from spreading, George started to explore alternative therapies and discovered Essiac, an ancient herbal remedy with an interesting history. Created by an ancient Ojibway Indian medicine man and introduced to the world by Canadian nurse and historical figure Rene M. Caisse, Essiac, whilst still widely unknown, is one of the most popular of all alternative cancer therapies and has been used to treat the disease itself as well as the side effects of traditional cancer medicines for the past 60 years. With nothing to lose, George Palelei discontinued his chemotherapy and began taking only Essiac as a herbal tea. Over the next two years, he went back to his doctors for five different biopsies and came back with zero signs of the disease each time.
Inspired by his father's success story, Vaughan started the Fighter for Life Awareness Campaign, supported by his pledge to donate all of his future fight purses to cancer charities, in hopes of bringing attention to the fact that awareness of alternative therapies (such as Essiac) can save lives.
Palelei stepped down from his role as company president of Nightclub and Bar Developers DTX Group and a as humor columnist for Soak magazine to pursue this pugilistic philanthropy. The the six-foot-one, 260-pound Palelei originally made his mark on the world as a Mixed Martial Arts fighter having fought in events such as the Shidokan World Championship, the Total Combat Challenge and the Ironheart Crown amongst others before retiring in 2003.
Palelei returned to the cage on Saturday May 5, at the Historic Cicero Stadium in the main event of Chicago Cage Fights Promotion "Cinco de MMA" where he defeated Darryl Harris (4-1) at 1:10 of the first round by TKO (referee stoppage from strikes)
On Saturday, June 2nd Palelei returns to the Cicero Stadium once again to fight for the number one challenger spot to the TFC Heavyweight title in the Total Fight Challenge 9. He has pledged once more, to donate 100% of his purse money to Charity, in particular the Center for Advancement in Cancer Education, a not-for-profit group dedicated to promoting cancer education and research, and integrated lifestyle counseling to those battling cancer.
Palelei, intends to support his Fighter for Life campaign with three more fights in 2007 and will continue to fight he says "till the body or the bank gives out".
Win lose or draw, the real winner here is the battle against cancer. For more info, visit http://fighterforlife.com and www.beatcancer.org