Live cage fight: MMA matches coming to Cape Coral
One octagon-shaped ring. Twelve matches. Twenty-four mixed martial artists going one-on-one.
Octagon Wars – King of the Cape, the city’s first-ever outdoor live cage fight, will take place Oct. 20 in Club Square in the South Cape. Presented by Global Fighting Solutions and Rack’em Spirits & Times, the event will pit against each other several of the best amateur fighters from the area’s schools.
“It’s going to be a spectacular event,” Michael Gattuso, event promoter and president of Global Fighting Solutions, said. “They’re local fighters who are going to be on the (fight) card.”
The first match will kick off at about 7 p.m.
All sanctioned, the matches will be professionally refereed and judged.
“These are judges that are certified and are officials to be able to do this,” he said.
Former WWF wrestler Russ Greenberg will serve as the referee.
Gattuso explained that seven years ago, MMA fighting was legalized in Florida. Currently tied to the organization Florida MMA Events, he has been involved in fights everywhere – except in the city.
“We don’t have an arena in the Cape,” he said.
Running on the “Keep it in the Cape” mindset, organizers began planning a city fight.
“I’ve been here a long time. I’ve been very involved in this. This is one thing that I know that I can contribute,” Gattuso said. “We had the parking lot, we just had to get it passed through the city.”
And they did.
“The people I’m bringing are people from top-notch schools in this area,” he said.
The fighters come from American Top Team Cape Coral, Vickery Jiu-Jitsu & MMA, Esteves Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Team Marcelo Pereira Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Martial Arts University and The Jungel MMA.
“All the schools are rivals here,” Gattuso said.
The match lineup will be as follows:
Bout 1: Demetruis Fountain vs. Marcus Messina
Bout 2: Danny Dustin vs. Eldin Ramis
Bout 3: Daniel Joseph vs. David Castillo
Bout 4: Tony Milo vs. Shad Kelley
Bout 5: Rueben Beard vs. Olu Brinson
Bout 6: Jerry Rivera vs. David Flores
Bout 7: Ethan Goff vs. Norman Gallon
Bout 8: Aqeel Shah vs. Scott Leavens
Bout 9: Shawn Gilligan vs. Shawn Washington
Bout 10: Rand Rice vs. Christian Browne
Bout 11: Trevon Copeland vs. Jeremy Mueller
Bout 12: Shane Vinson vs. Juan Gonzalez
“They’re all good fighters,” he said.
“Just like any other sport, you can get hurt,” Gattuso added.
Live music will be provided by theClantonGang.
There will be guest appearances by Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris and UFC fighter Niko Price.
“He’s a local superstar,” he said of Price.
Gattuso noted that Dada 5000 has gone up against MMA fighter Kimbo Slice.
Food will be provided by Maria’s Pizzeria & Restaurant.
General admission tickets are $15 in advance or $20 starting Oct 16. Bleacher seat tickets cost $30, while the $50 VIP tickets include ringside seats, cocktail service, a fight card and a raffle ticket entry.
The event is ages 21 and up.
Proceeds will benefit the Cape-based not-for-profit Bo Nose Rescue.
“It’s a 1,000 capacity and we’re down to 300 to 400 tickets,” Gattuso said on Thursday.
“We’re going to be sold out here pretty soon,” he said.
Tickets can be purchased online at livemmafights.com until they run out.
Tickets can also be purchased from Rack’em Spirits & Times, at the Halloween Megastore in Fort Myers and from any of the participating fighting schools.
Gattuso urged anyone interested to get theirs soon.
“It’s new to the area and it’s exciting,” he said.
For more information, visit online at www.facebook.com/events/214305239080616.