Well, this pretty much settles it.
Mixed Martial Arts has swept the nation. August 30th, 2007 was the first legal day for Mixed Martial Arts return to North Carolina. Since then, the state has exploded with promoters chomping at the bit to cash in on the nation-wide media frenzy that is Mixed Martial Arts. One such group seems to be rising to the top and be the ones to watch as MMA makes a move on the Eastern Seaboard.
At first it looked like an oversaturated market with tons of little fly-by-night operations looking to turn a quick buck in smaller venues. Then there was the Godz of War promotions through Global Fighting, LLC that took four networks by storm during prime time commercial slots and dumped a huge amount of money into securing the brand new Bobcats’ Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. However, the fly-by-nights seem to be fizzling out as crowds desire repeat performances by fighters they like, and Godz of War is reporting through the fighters on their card that the event is being pushed out until October. Indeed it looked like dark times in the Carolinas for the return of MMA.
Then, through several successful events and some serious networking, it seemed that one organization wasn’t fading away. One that was delivering time after time. Carolina Fight Promotions since its beginning in 2004 has worked tirelessly in a state that did not even offer Mixed Martial Arts to bring it back to its home on the East Coast, North Carolina. The 3rd and 5th Ultimate Fighting Championships were both fought in North Carolina making it the oldest state for East Coast participation in what used to be referred to as No Holds Barred matches. No Holds Barred matches have since gone away in every state in the union giving way to the new sanctioned rules and judges that traditional fighting sports have been accustomed to dealing with. In 2004, Doug Muhle and Jason Culbreth decided to make a concerted effort to have state legislation brought in to represent the new rules and changes made that now qualify it in the eyes of many as a legitimate sport.
On the auspicious day of August 30th, that desire was fulfilled. August 30, 2007 Governor Mike Easley signed the bill into law as public record. The bill was solely and originally submitted by Doug Muhle and Jason Culbreth of Carolina Fight Promotions.
"Now that we have got the law amended, Doug and I are concentrating on scheduling events at the top locations around the state! Our goal is to promote a host of top notch MMA fighters, who live right here in North Carolina, along with some of the world's most recognized pro-fighters as well! We have great financial backing with our sponsorships, as well as hundreds of athletes that have supported us in our efforts to bring the MMA back to Carolina," says Culbreth.
Their first event was at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh and packed it out with 10,000+ people filling the seats. Their next event is the Clash at the Coast in Wilmington, North Carolina on July 19th, 2008. It is already 70% sold out per Doug Muhle of CFP. The Pre-Weigh in is being held at Buffalo Wild Wings (BW3) on the 18th and promises to be an excellent chance to get a look at some of the talent coming out of this organization. In October, they will be making their return to Raleigh and coming to the RBC Center upgrading the seat capacity for the show and delivering the largest Mixed Martial Arts event the state has seen to date. As mentioned earlier, Godz of War may be happening in that same month in Charlotte at the Bobcats arena making for an extremely rich and competitive environment as two larger promoters clash in the Carolinas like two fighters in the cage.
In going forward with this monumental progress that Mixed Martial Arts has made in the Carolinas, it will be interesting to see if the other groups that have experienced a successful show or two with MMA’s return can pull off the kind of organization that has been modeled in the West. With larger MMA Kingpins like Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Combat (WEC), and International Fight League (IFL) all competing against each other like a well-oiled Capitalist engine in the West, the folks at Carolina Fight Promotions seem poised to work with other organizations to continue to re-establish Mixed Martial Arts competition on the East Coast. Who knows? With Atlantic City and developments in the works for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the East Coast itself seems poised to generate a nationally based competitive playing field for the West Coast’s big dogs and the East Coast’s big dogs that is very similar in environment to the Vegas establishments. This makes it a very real big business for America. It puts it in the standings with the NFL and NBA and MLB for having ongoing standings for a West Coast set of teams and an East Coast set of teams. MMA’s potential future’s so bright at this point, this journalist has to wear shades.