Sin City Sentinel: Free Fights, Maynard Eyes September Return
The only way left for fight fans to get their hands on tickets for
"Free for All, A Night of Combat" is to win them through the radio
or newspaper. The June 20 event at the Thomas and Mack Center will
mark Nevada's first part-boxing, part-MMA event.
WEC welterweight contender John Alessio (Pictures) is slated to face Pete Spratt (Pictures), also a multi-time Octagon veteran, in the main event of the MMA card. Also, Kim Couture, wife of six-time UFC champion Randy Couture (Pictures), will make her professional MMA debut.
With over 16,000 tickets distributed, the event achieved what was expected, Thomas and Mack Center President Darren Libonati informed Sherdog.com.
"We gave the remaining tickets to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Lotus Broadcasting and a few others," Libonati said. "We did this in a way that is right for everybody; with integrity. We didn't just pass out tickets to anybody who wanted them. People had to come up to the Thomas and Mack Center box office or go to UNLVtickets.com to get the tickets. It is totally a free event but people had to work a little bit to get them and now they are all gone."
Libonati also said the event, anchored by a Banner Promotions ESPN Friday Night Fights boxing card, got a boost when ads for the show were aired during EliteXC's benchmark CBS-televised "Primetime" event on May 31. He said by the following Monday, all of the 16,000-plus tickets were snatched up. Libonati also stated that every single one of the 18,218 seats in the arena are accounted for and it will be the largest live MMA audience in Nevada history.
ESPN is set to tape and air the boxing portion of the card, while HDNet has taken the honors for the MMA attractions.
"This is a great idea, one that I figured would educate people who might be going just for the boxing to understand what MMA is," Libonati continued. "This isn't about us trying to take over the UFC or go against them; it's about bringing more eyes to the sport of MMA and guess what? It's 100% free and every ticket is gone."
Maynard ready for fall return
A popular local prospect in the UFC's lightweight division, Gray Maynard (Pictures) is slated to make his return to the Octagon in September. After breaking his right wrist in his last bout against Frankie Edgar at UFC Fight night 13 last April, the Xtreme Couture fighter has been enduring rehabilitation. Maynard expects to be cleared by his physician on June 18. He has been doing routine drills at the gym and is anxious to get back into full-blown training mode. There is no word yet on whom he'll meet come his return or on what card he'll fight.
Herring goes Xtreme
Heavyweight contender Heath "The Texas Crazy Horse" Herring has begun "intense" training over at Xtreme Couture. Herring is slated to face NCAA wrestling champion and former WWE professional wrestler Brock Lesnar at UFC 87 "Seek and Destroy" on Aug. 8 in Minneapolis, Minn. Fighters and students at the gym owned and run by the legendary Couture said Herring is "taking this fight very seriously."
Quick hits
• Zuffa's lucrative reality television series The Ultimate Fighter will host its seventh season finale live inside the Pearl Theatre at the Palms on Saturday, June 21. Tickets are still available. Middleweights Evan Tanner (Pictures) and Kendall Grove (Pictures) square off in the main event, while Diego Sanchez (Pictures) and Luigi Fioravanti (Pictures) will also be featured in a welterweight tilt.
• The Las Vegas Combat Championships, promoted by the International MMA Association, is hosting a show for young professional mixed martial artists this Saturday inside the quaint Alexis Park Resort, which sits directly across from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. For more information, go to www.lvcombatchampionships.com.
WEC welterweight contender John Alessio (Pictures) is slated to face Pete Spratt (Pictures), also a multi-time Octagon veteran, in the main event of the MMA card. Also, Kim Couture, wife of six-time UFC champion Randy Couture (Pictures), will make her professional MMA debut.
With over 16,000 tickets distributed, the event achieved what was expected, Thomas and Mack Center President Darren Libonati informed Sherdog.com.
"We gave the remaining tickets to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Lotus Broadcasting and a few others," Libonati said. "We did this in a way that is right for everybody; with integrity. We didn't just pass out tickets to anybody who wanted them. People had to come up to the Thomas and Mack Center box office or go to UNLVtickets.com to get the tickets. It is totally a free event but people had to work a little bit to get them and now they are all gone."
Libonati also said the event, anchored by a Banner Promotions ESPN Friday Night Fights boxing card, got a boost when ads for the show were aired during EliteXC's benchmark CBS-televised "Primetime" event on May 31. He said by the following Monday, all of the 16,000-plus tickets were snatched up. Libonati also stated that every single one of the 18,218 seats in the arena are accounted for and it will be the largest live MMA audience in Nevada history.
ESPN is set to tape and air the boxing portion of the card, while HDNet has taken the honors for the MMA attractions.
"This is a great idea, one that I figured would educate people who might be going just for the boxing to understand what MMA is," Libonati continued. "This isn't about us trying to take over the UFC or go against them; it's about bringing more eyes to the sport of MMA and guess what? It's 100% free and every ticket is gone."
Maynard ready for fall return
A popular local prospect in the UFC's lightweight division, Gray Maynard (Pictures) is slated to make his return to the Octagon in September. After breaking his right wrist in his last bout against Frankie Edgar at UFC Fight night 13 last April, the Xtreme Couture fighter has been enduring rehabilitation. Maynard expects to be cleared by his physician on June 18. He has been doing routine drills at the gym and is anxious to get back into full-blown training mode. There is no word yet on whom he'll meet come his return or on what card he'll fight.
Herring goes Xtreme
Heavyweight contender Heath "The Texas Crazy Horse" Herring has begun "intense" training over at Xtreme Couture. Herring is slated to face NCAA wrestling champion and former WWE professional wrestler Brock Lesnar at UFC 87 "Seek and Destroy" on Aug. 8 in Minneapolis, Minn. Fighters and students at the gym owned and run by the legendary Couture said Herring is "taking this fight very seriously."
Quick hits
• Zuffa's lucrative reality television series The Ultimate Fighter will host its seventh season finale live inside the Pearl Theatre at the Palms on Saturday, June 21. Tickets are still available. Middleweights Evan Tanner (Pictures) and Kendall Grove (Pictures) square off in the main event, while Diego Sanchez (Pictures) and Luigi Fioravanti (Pictures) will also be featured in a welterweight tilt.
• The Las Vegas Combat Championships, promoted by the International MMA Association, is hosting a show for young professional mixed martial artists this Saturday inside the quaint Alexis Park Resort, which sits directly across from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. For more information, go to www.lvcombatchampionships.com.
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