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June 23, 2009

Quintin Harlan: MMA heats up summer sports scene

Whoever coined the phrase “Lazy days of summer” had absolutely NOTHING to do with the sports of boxing or mixed martial arts.

Saturday night, I was at Iron Cage Clash: Fight for Life. The show was a fundraiser for the St. Jude Children’s Hospital. While I was there, I was given information on not one or two but three upcoming events that fall under the combat sports heading.

Combat sports being: boxing, wrestling, MMA or any particular martial art.

First up is the boxing show at the Anderson Armory on Saturday. Anderson native Cedric Johnson headlines the first pro-boxing card in 11 years for the city. The festivities start Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. at the Geater Center in Anderson as Johnson will not only have a public workout but will have some special guests in attendance as part of the Stop the Violence Movement.

Those special guests are scheduled to be the Indianapolis Colts’ Gary Brackett and Bob Sanders.

Also scheduled to be on the card is Anderson’s Nate Wilkes, and Joe York will be the master of ceremonies for the local show.

The night before the boxing is the “Atonement” card at the Millcreek Civic Center in Chesterfield being put on by Tristan Yunker’s Premier Fight.

Yunker, a Highland graduate, is putting on a show that evening with $15 general admission seats and $25 for reserved seating. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the fights getting underway at 8 p.m. on Friday.

That gets us through the rest of this month.

July is empty on the local MMA front what with rules being finalized for MMA regulation in Indiana.

So the only thing I have to worry about, at this moment anyway, is birthdays. Let’s see, there’s my aunt on July 4. Then there’s my own birthday on July 6, my niece Annabelle on July 16, and I have a couple of my best friends thrown in there for good measure as well.

The MMA fun stuff returns on Saturday, Aug. 8, as Bulldog Fight Series and Iron Bear Promotions put on the first MMA card at Hoosier Park.

A pair of Muncie fighters who have been in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) are set to face off as Jason Gilliam takes on Ryan Stout. Also on the card is UFC veteran and Indianapolis native Chris “The Exorcist” Price. He’ll be taking on Anderson’s Troy “Cheeseburger” King.

There are a limited number of tickets available so stay tuned for ticket information as we get closer to the show.

So, like I said, “Lazy days of summer,”…. Yeah, right.

If you’re looking for a school to just study MMA for a workout, I suggest you check out cagecraze.com.

It’s a social networking site for MMA fans, fighters, promoters and so on. Local schools have profiles on there, and trust me when I tell you it’s a great workout.

I just wish I could find some time to get back to it.

Contact Quintin Harlan: 640-4835, quintin.harlan @heraldbulletin.com.

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