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Shine Fights is moving forward with their promotion following the cancellation of their May pay-per-view event on the day of the event. And they're very ambitious this time out.
For the first time in nearly 15 years, a one-night-only eight man lightweight tournament is being set up for their September 10 event in Fairfax, Va. The tournament bouts will be contested in two five-minute rounds until the tournament final, which will be three five-minute rounds.
The card, running at the Patriot Center, will be broadcast live on pay-per-view for $29.99.
"The Grand Prix format can be traced back to the grassroots of MMA," said Jason Chambers, Shine Fights COO. "Fans will be given the unique opportunity to witness some of the world's most talented athletes go head to head, more than once, in a single evening. And they will see first-hand the intense conditioning, determination, and will that is needed to survive in such a demanding format. Fans better purchase their tickets quickly because we are expecting a sellout."
“Shine Fights has always believed in offering MMA fans a different and compelling fight card," said Shine President Devin Price. "I am as anxious as any other MMA fan to see a compelling tournament with eight tough fighters culminating with one champion, all in one night.”
The eight man tournament features some notable lightweight fighters in UFC veterans Drew Fickett and Marcus Aurelio, WEC veterans Rich Crunkilton and Carlos Prater, the infamous Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennet, and is rounded out with 19 year old Josh Shockley, 20-6 veteran James Warfield and 9-3 prospect Hector Munoz.
Tickets for the event go on sale this Saturday, priced between $24 and $350.
Penick's Analysis: My initial thoughts on this are definitely of skepticism. After the debacle in North Carolina in May, this seems like the kind of thing that could also be pulled out from under them. There's a reason the eight man tournament hasn't been run in the U.S. since 1996. The sport is different now than it was then. Commission's hand out 30 day suspensions all the time after one fight, so having two fighters compete three times on one night doesn't seem like something that would be sanctioned. The other issue here is that they're giving themselves less than a month to sell tickets for this event, and they're priced like a low end UFC event or a Strikeforce show. I don't know how well they'll do with this, but it could be interesting if they pull it off. The tournament competitors certainly make for some interesting matchups.
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