With the rise of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the appearance of fights on networks like CBS and NBC, mixed martial arts (MMA) has arguably become the fastest-growing sport in the world. On Saturday, October 24th, the North American Allied Fight Series (NAAFS), a regional MMA promotion that is seen on SportsTime Ohio, will make its Glass City debut at Headliner’s Concert Hall.

The event, called “Northcoast Showdown 4,” will feature 11 fights in a wide variety of weight classes. Top billed is Toledo native Josh “The Buzzsaw” Johnson (MMA record of 9-0) vs. Jeff Holmes (7-1) in a lightweight bout.

Toledoan Josh Johnson

“The NAAFS is the premiere mixed martial arts promotion here in the Midwest,” the company’s president and CEO Greg Kalikas said in an interview. “We have sent numerous fighters to the UFC and feature the only nationally recognized amateur series, which features nationally ranked fighters in every weight class.”

NAAFS alumni who have appeared on the UFC stage include Ryan “The Lion” Madigan and Jason “Dynamite” Dent, who appeared on the 9th season of UFC’s reality series “The Ultimate Fighter.”

The NAAFS is unique in the MMA world with its combination of professional and amateur series bouts, and examples of both will be on display at Headliner’s on the 24th. The rules differ slightly between the two classifications, with longer round times allotted for professional fights.

“Ohio was the first state to sanction the amateur mixed martial arts, and a big part of that was due to the NAAFS,” Kalikas said. “We became the first promotion to get behind the amateurs…We recognized that any sport that’s going to get to the level of professional baseball or football, or any of the major sports, has to have a strong amateur base.”

The expansion into the Toledo market is just the latest step for the NAAFS, which has been in existence since 2005. The organization has seen demand for its product increase with the mixed martial arts boom.

“MMA as a sport is becoming more and more mainstream,” said Kim Singleton, director of advertising and sales for the NAAFS. “The more publicity we get as a sport, the more diverse our crowds become.”

This increasing acceptance and diversity has lead to a decided shift away from what is considered the “traditional” contact sport fan base. “We have seen over the last 12 months more and more women at our events than we ever had in the past,” said Singleton. “I would say about 40 percent of our pre-event sales are women.”

Kalikas said that the change in MMA fans has come with more people being educated to the realities of the sport, thanks to its increased exposure.

“Five years ago, there was no MMA on TV. I mean, you could barely find the UFC on pay-per-view. And now, there’s literally not a network that doesn’t offer mixed martial arts,” he said. “The fans have become more educated about the sport. This isn’t Toughman. These aren’t guys that are coming in off the street. These are athletes that put in the time, just like NFL players or NBA players. I mean, these are world class athletes.”

With the glut of MMA organizations rising in the wake of UFC’s ascension, Kalikas stated that fans will find many reasons that the NAAFS product stands out from the pack.

“First and foremost, it’s the quality of talent in the NAAFS. With the exception of UFC and Strikeforce, I feel the NAAFS has the talent to compete with any other ‘B-level’ promotion in the world,” Kalikas said.

“That’s the one thing I can assure anybody who ever comes to an NAAFS show as a fan: You will never walk out of an NAAFS show and say, ‘Man, I didn’t get my money’s worth tonight.’ And that’s what sets us apart, is our reputation. Once you come to an NAAFS show, you’re hooked.”

Tickets for NAAFS “Northcoast Showdown 4” are available at www.NAAFS.tv, or by calling 330-280-8442. Bell time is 6:30 on Saturday, October 24th.

E-mail Jeff at PopGoesJeff@gmail.com

Tags: Headliners, NAAFS

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 12:28 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Pop Goes the Culture.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.