(PRESS RELEASE) -- Mixed Martial Arts Expo, LLC - The Original MMA Expo since 2005 - announced the application for the sanctioning of a Pro-Am card entitled Philly Fight Night to be held on the show floor of MMA Expo Philadelphia, Saturday January 9, 2010 at the Valley Forge Convention Centre. The promoter for Philly Fight Night is Pennsylvania-based MMA organization, Xtreme Cage Combat.

“We were planning that our first fight night on the show-floor would take place at our Atlantic City event in August however we happened to come across Ryan Kerwin of XCC and we liked his particular proposal for a cage fight at the January event”, commented Gerald Chopik, president of MMA Expo. “Ryan is a high-energy, straight-shooter and his perspective on delivering a quality event while keeping fighter safety top-of-mind fit well with our approach.”

“We’re known for outside-the-box approaches and for the first-ever fight card at MMA Expo we wanted something different - a more interactive fight night that positioned every spectator as near as possible to all the action. To accomplish that we are using the new event series cage from MMA Expo sponsor Zebra Mats and we’re shipping in up-close bleacher seating for everyone.” Interestingly, the layout is such that there are only 600 seats available ~ about half the usual number for a pro-am card; no floor seats ~ giving a 100% unobstructed view; and no seat further than thirty feet from the cage ~ definitely close to the action!

Chopik is pleased with the progress of the Philadelphia event to date. “We are well on our way to another great celebrity line-up with former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk , King of the Cage Champion 48-20-7 Shonie Carter, 9X Submission Grappling Champion Marcelo Garcia, 4X Olympian and Judo Bronze Medalist Jimmy Pedro , World Karate Champion Tokey Hill as well as two Strikeforce notables, Kim Couture and former Middleweight Champion Cung Le.” Looks like Philly fans are in for a great MMA weekend and according to Chopik this initial list is just the beginning with more celebrities about to be announced shortly.

MMA Expo Philly is co-located with the popular Philadelphia Sports Extravaganza and there appears to be no shortage of action across the two-day event. In addition to the Philly Fight Night other action-packed combative sports competitions include USA Boxing, Gi and No-Gi Submission Grappling by On The Mat and the USA Karate Open with the Tokey Hill Challenge. And for those interested in a career as an MMA official there’s even a Referee and Judging Seminar by seasoned MMA official, Marc Fennell .

MMA Expo has a track record of delivering high-energy shows jam-packed with name-brand exhibitors, exciting tournaments, enthusiastic spectators and some of the most recognizable MMA celebrities in the business. Chopik also makes it clear that MMA Expo is not associated in any way with recent mma expo events in California and NewYork . "We're known for delivering a quality event keeping the interest of all stakeholders in mind. Fighters have a great time with their fans. Attendees and competitors have a blast. And our exhibitors and sponsors are in for one very busy weekend."

In addition to the Philly line-up, to date the celebrity list at Mixed Martial Arts Expo has included popular ring girl Arianny Celeste, PRIDE fighter Gary Goodridge, striking Coach and trainer of UFC Champions Sean Tompkins, UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn, James Irvin – record holder of the fastest KO in the UFC, current and former UFC fighters Ben Rothwell, Denis Kang, Jason MacDonald, Matt Hamill, Patrick Cote and Pete Sell, as well as former champions Frank Trigg , Carlos Newton, Dan Henderson, Matt Serra, Andre Arlovsky and many more.

Admission to the daytime Philly Sports Expo and MMA Expo are both included in the one general admission price of $20 – www.phillyexpo.info. Tickets for the Saturday night Philly Fight Night go on sale in December.

For more information about MMA Expo Philly visit www.MixedMartialArtsExpo.com.