Message #23 From:
Stock News Bot Date: December 14, 2006 06:00:00 AM
PAYD News Paid Inc. and International Security Inc. Partner to Market Mixed Martial Arts VIP Ticket Packages, Camps and Merchandise
WORCESTER, Mass. & MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paid, Inc. (OTCBB: PAYD), International Security Inc. (ISI) and ISI’s
wholly owned subsidiary Mixed Martial Arts International, LLC (MMAI)
have signed a partnership agreement for Paid, Inc. celebrity services to
provide VIP ticket packages and merchandising for a broad range of mixed
martial arts (MMA) events worldwide, manage the VIPFightFans.com
membership club and market a series of combat adventure and training
camps. Through the partnership, Paid and MMAI anticipate providing their
services to multiple MMA event promoters and sanctioning bodies. Paid
will provide the web site design and management for all partnership
projects.
Maurice Travis, Light Heavyweight Muay Thai World Champion, MMA
International Champion and co-founder of MMAI, said, “Mixed
martial arts is a hugely popular sport that attracts millions of people
worldwide and is growing quickly in the U.S. Working with Paid celebrity
services, we believe that we are one of the first entities affiliated
with MMA events to provide complete VIP ticket packages direct to the
public. Through these packages, fans will have the opportunity to meet
the fighters and join in the official post-event VIP party. We see huge
potential in marketing VIPFightFan packages, merchandise and combat
adventure and training camps to millions of fans and adventure seekers.”
Paid and MMAI on Thursday, December 14, 2006 at 10 a.m. EST will launch
sales for the first VIPFightFan ticket packages on Ticketmaster.com for
the Gracie Fighting Championships (GFC) event (A Gracie-Cooper Sports
LLC event) on Saturday, January 20th at Miami,
Florida’s American Airlines Arena. The
scheduled bouts will feature top fighters from around the world:
Title Bout: Fan favorite Nick Diaz (14-6-0) and Thomas "Wildman" Denny
(22-14-0) battle for the new GFC Welterweight Championship.
Two members of the recently departed Carlson Gracie team, Ivan “Batman”
Jorge (5-0) and Miguel Torres (29-1-0), will face the new ICON Sport
middleweight champion Frank Trigg (14-5-0) and Charlie Valencia
(7-2-0) in respective bouts.
Popular Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza Dos
Santos (3-1-0) makes his North American debut against Jorge "Macaco"
Patino (14-9-1).
Renato "Charuto" Verissimo (6-4-0) vs. Rumble on the Rock Welterweight
Champion Jake Shields (16-4-1).
Veteran fighter Mario Sperry (12-4-0) battles Wes "The Project" Sims
(16-8-1), who recently defeated the powerhouse fighter "Kimo."
Rhalan Gracie (0-1-0), the son of Relson Gracie, returns from his
debut loss to a seasoned fighter to take on Andrew Mathews in Mathews'
first professional fight.
Chris "The Westside Strangler" Brennan (18-12-1) challenges Rafael
Dias (6-1-0).
Plus four undercard bouts.
The VIPFightFan experience will be hosted by MMA Champion Maurice Travis
himself, who will provide unique behind-the-scenes insight known only to
fighters. The VIPFightFan ticket packages will be available from
TICKETMASTER (www.Ticketmaster.com)
and include:
Mixed martial arts fans will have the inside track on the industry with
a “must-have”
VIPFightFan Membership (Free with purchase of any VIPFightFan ticket
from Ticketmaster). Membership includes:
Updates, news, event schedules and access to MMAVIP ticket packages
on the soon-to-be-launched www.VIPFightFans.com
web site;
Online Q&A with MMA International Champion Maurice Travis, who grew up
and trained with numerous members of the Gracie family, has starred in
numerous MMA movies and television shows and is one of the most
decorated mixed martial artists in American history.
Giveaways and contests
Message board
Presale opportunities for future VIPFightFan ticket packages
10% off merchandise and VIP ticket packages at VIPFightFans.com
In the coming weeks, Paid will be building out the www.vipfightfans.com
web site to include sale of VIP ticket packages, merchandise and Combat
Adventure Fantasy and Training Camps. Paid and ISI anticipate starting
with a small number of events in first quarter 2007 and building the
program to include numerous North American and international events year
round.
MMA events were started in 1992 by Rorian Gracie and are generally
eight-man single-elimination contests inside an octagon cage featuring a
combination of fighting styles, such as karate, Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu,
boxing, wrestling, kickboxing and judo. Live events draw 5,000 to as
many as 70,000 attendees, who often pay hundreds and even thousands of
dollars for premium tickets, with millions more tuning in via TV and pay
per view.
ISI’s Combat Adventure Fantasy Camps bring
together 10-25 participants for 3-7 days in boot camp-like environments
worldwide to be trained by martial arts and military experts (active and
retired U.S. Marines, Navy Seals and Special Forces) and law enforcement
SWAT team members in close quarter combat; weaponry; rappelling from
helicopters and fixed structures; sniper tactics; jungle, urban and
guerilla warfare; and infantry tactics. Trainees apply military and law
enforcement strategies to resolve hostage or terrorism situations amid
hostile military forces and live ammo fire. Other ISI Training Camps
focus on developing leadership and team-building skills by transferring
military/battlefield strategies into Fortune 500 boardrooms. The nation’s
premier business schools utilize ISI’s
leadership training for their MBA candidates.
“Mixed martial arts is taking the
entertainment industry by storm as indicated by the extensive national
newspaper and television feature coverage over the past week,”
said Kristen Kuliga, VP of Paid celebrity services. “The
avid fan base pulling from a broad demographic range has turned to mixed
martial arts for an extra level of excitement. We believe the fans will
embrace our VIPFightFan packages that offer exclusive entrée
to cage-side seating and VIP after-parties that have traditionally been
reserved for event participants, celebrities and insiders.”
She added, “We’re
thrilled to introduce a new product to this exploding sport. This marks
yet another area of expansion to the breadth of entertainment and
sporting areas that Paid Inc. services and has the advantage of being a
year round sport with recurring events. ISI, and in particular, Maurice
Travis’ experience as a MMA champion, are
invaluable resources on the sport, its fans and the event promoters, and
provide the perfect complement to our extensive VIP ticket packaging,
marketing and merchandising expertise.”
A flurry of national media coverage over the past week showcased mixed
martial arts’ explosive growth. A USA Today
feature on 12/4/06 noted, “Signs of (mixed
martial arts) success include the fact that UFC's Spike TV reality show,
The Ultimate Fighter, often outdraws NBA and baseball games among the
coveted 18- to 34-year-old male demographic. Its pay-per-view bouts are
estimated to pull in eight figures, and ufc.com has doubled its traffic,
to 2 million unique visitors a month, in the past year.”
It continued, “Beyond the surprising
abundance of women, there's also a range of races (only
African-Americans seem in short supply), professions (from shelf
stockers to stock brokers) and ages.” Link to
story: www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-12-04-ultimate-fighting_x.htm
Privately held International Security Inc. specializes in all aspects of
total security solutions domestically and internationally for
architectural structures, armored vehicles, security consulting,
investigations, executive protection, close quarter combat and counter
terrorism training and leadership/team building training. ISI’s
staff of professional mixed martial arts fighters, active and former
military and law enforcement experts conduct training adventure camps
and leadership/team building camps as well as organize and host VIP
experiences at mixed martial arts events. ISI has formed a subsidiary,
Mixed Martial Arts International, LLC to manage its partnership with
Paid, Inc. For more info on ISI and Maurice Travis, visit www.intlsecurity.com
and www.mauricetravis.com
About the Gracie Fighting Championships
The Gracie Fighting Championships (GFC) is a mixed martial arts
organization whose goal is to create a tradition of excellence in the
sport by bringing together superior match ups where athletes can
demonstrate their skills. The GFC will continue in the competitive
spirit of the legendary Gracie family. The GFC is based out of Columbus,
Ohio and additional information on the company can be found at www.gfcfighter.com
About Paid, Inc.
Paid, Inc.’s celebrity services provides
celebrities with official Web sites and fan club services that include
e-commerce storefronts, ticketing and fan experience packages, and Web
site content, such as news, polls, message boards, contests, biographies
and custom features to attract tens of thousands of visitors daily, as
detailed on its Web site, www.paidcelebrity.com.
The Company also sponsors autograph signing events and other sports
marketing services for sports clientele. Using proprietary
patent-pending technology, Paid's innovative AuctionInc brand shipping
calculation and auction management software and services are utilized to
streamline online auctions, ecommerce and Web site development and
hosting. The Company's common stock trades on the NasdaqOTC Bulletin
Board under the symbol PAYD. For further information, visit www.paid.com.
Forward Looking Statements:
This Press Release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are based upon current
expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future
events, including matters related to the Company's operations and
expectations about celebrity programs and fan club activities. Although
the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the
forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based
are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations and
assumptions will prove to have been correct. The reader is cautioned not
to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as they are
subject to numerous factors and uncertainties. Other factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company's
most recent filings, including Form 10-QSB with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
