The team has released Ustin Chesnokov from his contract and addresses the sudden retirement of Naum Napalm. "We released Ustin because he didn't mesh well other fighters during sparring sessions and with his current slump no organization wanted him. With his decent FS stats, his toughness fell short due to being submitted by everyone. Currently we feel angered by Naum’s sudden choice to retire, we do not understand why he left. We want our gear back or face legal actions." -TC
Reporter: How are you enjoying your retirement Ivan?
Ivan Frenkel: Going good and relaxing, but I do miss the ring and cage.
Reporter: Why did you choose to retire just after winning the A-1 LW Championship Belt at the age of 40?
Ivan: Well I always wanted to go out on top and I felt it was the right time to retire. At the age of 40, its hard for an old guy to compete against the youngsters. The team is in good hands with Lukyan,Faddei and Yasha, it was the right time to pass on the torch.
Team Crackdown announces the retirement of 8x Strike Fest LHW Champion, Gabe Adams. Mr. Adams was a great leader in and outside of the cage. Adams was the main training partner for Prokhorov, Chesnokov, Frenkel, and Kharitonov. All became future champions in other organizations. “He had talent and a never die attitude. He carried this team on his back and single handedly created champions, we at Team Crackdown will miss Mr. Adams. Here is to a great champion and a greater mentor!" -Eric
Due to contract dispute and poor fight record, Kostya Borodin retired from Team Crackdown. Borodin was part of the second wave of recruits that entered into Team Crackdown during 1998. Borodin had a great start with a 7-2 record in Sao Heroes and LOGO. Though having decent stats for Power Lock, Borodin could only manage a single victory in his last six fights. “Too bad, at such a young age, Kostya had the potential to turn his record around. We wish him the best of luck!” - Eric The Red
Team Crackdown retires former CAGES Middleweight Champ, Christopher "The Punk" Butler, at the age of 36. Butler, one of the pioneers of Team Crackdown established his 8-point game earlier in his career with an impressive streak in the UFL. Butler won his only belt during his second CAGE match. However, he fell into 4-7 slump, finishing his career in LotC. “I gave it my all, helped my team and established 8-points in a club dominated by Power Locks. At least I never got KO’ed!” -Butler
Team Crackdown