Gainesville will hold its first amateur mixed martial arts cage fighting tournament Saturday at the Alachua County Fairgrounds.
Swamp Rage in the Cage, hosted by Lights Out Promotions and AAA Promotions, will feature food, beverages and at least eight live cage fighting matches.
Doors will open for Swamp Rage in the Cage at 5 p.m., and the fighting will begin at 7 p.m. General admission tickets are $25, and VIP tickets are $75.
Although Mike Hawkins, co-founder of Lights Out, said there is no bad seat in the house, the VIP section has 20 tables, which seat 10 people each, and surrounds the cage.
“You’ll be right in the middle of it all. It’s so close that you’ll get spit on,” Hawkins said.
Amateur MMA was illegal in Florida until February, Hawkins said. Hawkins, 33, and his business partner, Jeff Pablan, 44, began fighting in underground events in Panama City but were disappointed because the results didn’t seem to matter.
“You would go into a warehouse and roll up the doors. No one heard about it,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins and Pablan wanted to create an event where fighters could get recognized and move up. Since February, the organization has hosted fights at venues throughout Florida.
A group of amateur fighters came up with the idea for Swamp Rage in the Cage at a fight at Passion Nightclub in Hollywood, said Adrian Ray, founder of AAA Promotions. Ray, a 36-year-old amateur fighter from Gainesville, said the group was tired of traveling four or five hours to Miami or Georgia to compete.
Hawkins said he tracks the crowd and agreed the demand in Gainesville was high enough to host an event.
“There are a lot of people in Gainesville who love to fight,” he said. “It’s important to have a hometown hero.”
Each MMA fight is held in an octagonal cage where two competitors fight in three rounds that are three minutes long.
Professional fighters can earn up to $15,000, so Hawkins said many amateur fighters ask to be promoted after one fight. He usually doesn’t recommend it because once a fighter is professional, he can no longer fight in amateur events.
