Fight tour brings professional MMA to Cape

Two fighters from two of the largest gyms in the country will be the main event Saturday at the Show Me Center, where fans of mixed martial arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championship will for the first time have the opportunity to watch professional fights in Cape Girardeau.

Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri State University is the first stop on The University Fight Tour, which is a 12-city mixed martial arts tournament featuring fighters from Team Hughes Hit Squad, Team Couture, America Top Team and Team Quest.

The Show Me Center is one of four college campus venues in Missouri that will host the University Fight Tour.

Show Me Center marketing director Shannon Buford estimated they've sold 300 to 400 hundred tickets for the event. He hopes a 6:30 p.m. weigh-in Friday at the Pink Galleon in Cape Girardeau will heighten interest in the professional fights.

"MMA here has had a fairly decent following," Buford said. "It's the type of event where a lot of people will walk up and buy tickets Saturday."

CJ Encheff, head of University Fight Tour promotions, said the Show Me Center is a great place for the event and he is impressed with the venue's community marketing program.

"A lot of these venues we go to we're doing everything," Encheff said. "Regardless of the turnout, I think the Show Me Center will be a permanent stop for our tour every year."

Fighters in Saturday's event began to arrive Thursday, including Peter Grimes and Thomas Ahrens, both featherweights fighting in the main event.

Grimes, with 13 wins and six losses, trains at Matt Hughes' camp in Granite City, Ill. Hughes is a nine-time UFC welterweight champion.

Grimes literally lives at the gym, Encheff said, and because Hughes' is training for a championship UFC fight, Grimes' daily training regimen has become intense.

"Anybody that's coming out of Hughes' camp is tough, from a cardio standpoint alone," Encheff said. "A guy like Peter Grimes; he's tough. He lives in the gym's barracks; he doesn't have another job. This is what he does."

Grimes' opponent, Thomas Ahrens holds a record of 15 wins and eight losses and trains in a New York gym. Ahrens is stepping in for Dustin Phillips, a member of Team Couture. Phillips suffered an injury last week, according to Encheff.

"Ahrens was scheduled to be the main event Oct. 30 in Kansas City," Encheff said. "We're thankful he stepped up. He's a warrior who's had a lot of battles."

Eric Irvin, a Southeast Missouri fighter who has only fought one professional fight, is also on Saturday's fight card, set to face Jeremy Small, a 170 pound mixed martial artist from Nebraska.

In his first professional fight, Irvin, from Farmington, Mo., beat Jeremiah Riggs, a cast member of the TV show "The Ultimate Fighter."

"He's a very tough kid. They went three rounds and it went to decision," Encheff said. "That's pretty impressive."

Also attending the fight, although not participating, is mixed martial artist Jason Reinhardt, who made his debut in the business in 1999, winning the Submission Fighting Championships bantamweight title, defeating Ray Duke in November 2000.

Reinhardt, of Decatur, Ill., is now a World Extreme Cagefighter, and is considering eye surgery in order to be eligible for a bout this year.

He'll be signing autographs and meeting with the public, according to Encheff.

The first of 13 bouts will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are still available for the event at $25, $50 or $75. They can be purchased at the Show Me Center box office or by visiting www.showmecenter.biz. See a list of all the events scheduled on Saturday's fight card at www.ultimatefightour.com.

ehevern@semissourian.com

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