TEXARKANA, Ark. - Peak Fighting brings a one-two punch of Friday and Saturday night mixed martial arts bouts to the Arkansas Convention Center this weekend.
For Friday night, local MMA fans can see PF6: Domination, followed by PF7: The Proving Ground on Saturday night. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the first fight at 6:30 p.m.
Jonny Ross and Bryan Poe are co-owners of Peak Fighting. Ross says they've planned a two-night event with 17 fights on Friday night and 18 fights Saturday, fighters young and old hailing from all over the geographical spectrum.
"Canada, Turkmenistan, California, Colorado, Brazil," Ross said. Each night is a separate event with different fighters and coaches. "Arkansas, Texas. We've got them coming from everywhere."
Expect to see some knockouts and good fights on Saturday night, Ross said, with six professional fights and four amateur titles up for the winning, plus one amateur title Friday.
Some fighters have plenty of bout experience, but then there are younger ones just starting out. Both nights feature men and women battling in the ring.
Friday's main event pits Zikica Krsmanovic up against Christopher Miller, while the co-main event has Jessie Henry against Mitchell Cupp. For Saturday's main event, Colton Hamm takes on Dakota Hope with a co-main event pitting Dawond Pickney against Clarence Brown.
Poe said a September event here in Texarkana went as well as could be expected with a three-week approval granted to make up the canceled event in April. People are ready to see some fights.
"This one, both of these nights already have more tickets sold than that," Poe said, adding that tickets could sell out the night of the events so advance purchase is recommended.
"We've got several girl fights each night. Everybody likes to see girls fight," Poe said, while Ross said a couple former Division 1 athletes will square off in bouts.
They're making the transition to MMA training and fighting, which could be easier or harder depending on the type of sport they're coming from when they start MMA, observed Poe.
(Purchase tickets at Peakfighting.com. Separate tickets must be purchased for each night's event. More info: Facebook.com/PeakFighting.)