2 popular champions get set for their Proffessional debuts at Battlefield 8.

Long-time fans of B.C.’s Battlefield Fight League (BFL) will get even more must-see fights at BFL8:“Island Beatdown” on May 28th, as the stacked card now features the pro-debuts of a pair of reigning amateur champions in featherweight Gurdarshan “Saint Lion” Mangat (0-0, 7-2 AM) and welterweight Jacen Brooks (0-0, 5-0 AM).

Of course, each must also abdicate his coveted strap, which will then be up for grabs once more among our deep pool of amazing amateur fighters.

The former amateur 145lb. champion, known to most BFL fans as Gary Mangat, hails from Williams Lake, B.C., but is a product of Langley’s Revolution Fight Team and Mamba MMA. Mangat is also the first Sikh champion in MMA history, which has been a fantastic way to introduce the young sport to Vancouver’s vibrant South-Asian communities. Of course, with his lightening-quick hands, dazzling array of kicks, and overall polished technique, a “Saint Lion” fight is exciting for fans of all backgrounds!

The former amateur welterweight champion, Brooks, trains at the lower-mainland’s West Coast BJJ. His affable personality cleverly conceals both the slick submission skills of a supreme grappler and the fiery fists of a born finisher. Indeed, the undefeated Brooks has finished three of his four previous BFL opponents inside one three-minute round, and, as a result, many consider him the most promising prospect the BFL has developed so far. Surely, many more will take notice if Brooks makes a successful pro-debut.

Both champs appeared most recently at BFL5: “Duel” on January 15th, 2011.

At the time, that event was Battlefield’s best-received card yet and dynamite performances from Mangat and Brooks were integral to that success. Mangat threw limbs‘n’leather for fifteen straight minutes en route to a hard-fought, “Fight Of The Night” decision win over Kelowna, B.C.’s Cam Deleurme (5-2); while Brooks steamrolled previously-undefeated Ash “Smash” Mashreghi (4-1), a devastating finisher in his own right, via first-round TKO. Brooks even did so in style, forcing a tap-out due to strikes in the opening round’s final second from the rare mounted-triangle position!

At Battlefield Fight League 8: “Island Pride,” headlined by a long-awaited showdown of B.C.’s Denis Kang (34-12-2) vs. Jesse “JT Money Taylor (18-6), Brooks faces American Levi Alford (0-1, 6-2) who made his own professional debut at BFL7 in a losing effort against B.C.’s “Ruthless” Ryan Chiappe (7-6); while Mangat faces a fighter who has been frustratingly futile at a pro thus far in Kamloops’ Mark Delgado (0-3), who surely hopes to prove his year away from competition was not wasted by upsetting the former featherweight titlist.

Both Mangat and Brooks will be under unusual scrutiny due to their memorable previous appearances as stand-outs within the BFL’s uniquely-stacked amateur ranks, but they are also just the type of fighters to bravely rise to such occasions. After all, in any pursuit in which true greatness is attainable, there eventually comes a time to either put-up or shut-up. No matter how much previous notoriety or success they have achieved, just like most other athletes, Brooks and Mangat will ultimately be remembered best for the scope and importance of their future accomplishments as a professionals.

That career-long journey begins for them and their legions of loyal of fans on May 28th, 2011 at BFL8: “Island Beatdown” in Nanaimo, B.C.

Battlefield Fight League 8 “Island Beatdown” will take place on Saturday May 28th, 2011 from the Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo, B.C. The mainevent will feature Denis Kang vs. Jesse Taylor. Tickets for this event go on sale through www.yayatickets.com Monday April 25, 2011 (tomorow) at 9 AM Eastern time.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 9 AM through http://www.yayatickets.com