It’s Fall, and that means it’s MMA season. New UFCs on Pay-Per-View, new episodes of The Ultimate Fighter and new regional tournaments. OK, I guess you could argue that every season is MMA season. But that’s no excuse for not checking out Lancaster, Pennsylvania for the latest talent showcasing: The Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge III.

The Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square will play host to a 16-bout fight card featuring local amateur and professional fighters duking it out in what has become a standard MMA battleground, a 20-foot hexagon cage. The action doesn’t stop at just plain old amateurs and local professionals though; the headlining fight marquees a rematch between Braden Bice and Randy Smith.

Bice, a 22-year-old from Mercer, PA took the first match between the two over two years ago, when they met for Battle Cage Xtreme II. A two-minute TKO/referee stoppage gave Bice the glory he yearned for. Life for Bice wasn’t all potatoes and gravy after that, however. A mixture of wins and losses over the next two years gives him a 8-9-0 record, and he knows he’s got something to prove Saturday against Smith.

Smith, a 35-year-old out of New York, has found success after his loss on September 15, 2007 to Bice. He is 8-5-0, with six of those wins coming after the Battle Cage Xtreme II defeat. His wins mostly end in TKOs on strikes, and his plans for this rematch are sure to be similar to his recent past success.

Amateurs are fun to watch as well, and fighting-hopefuls can always pick up tips from peers and their duels. So come on out, enjoy a few fights and support your local fighters Saturday. I’ll even buy you a beer if I see you out. Maybe.

Attention, Charlotte, North Carolina: Hayastan Grappling East Coast Championships is coming October 10th! The Naomi Drena Recreation Center will host what will be the proving grounds for many MMA amateurs and hopefuls.

The divisions will be Gi and No-Gi, with all championship belts being awarded in the No-Gi division. There will be 10 championship belts for winners, and a $500 cash prize up for grabs. Want a custom medal? Then place 1st, 2nd or 3rd in any of the regular divisons! Competitors can compete in up to 3 divisions (Gi, No-Gi and Championship), so start training, improve your odds and go for the gold!

Need another reason to come out and show what you’re made of? How about World Champion Gokor Chivichyan’s two-day seminar the 10th and the 11th! Don’t miss a chance to learn from the world class grappler who came out of retirement to take home the gold at the 2008 USJA/USJF Winter Nationals!

Sat. 10th
Gokor Seminar 8 am – 10 am
Weigh Ins 8 am – 10 am
Rules Meeting 10:30 am
Tournament 11:30 am
All competitors must be present by 10:30am for bracketing and rules meeting.

Sun 11th
Gokor Seminar 10 am – 2 pm

For more information, visit the event site or contact Paul Booe at 704-575-9688.

King of the Ring Productions will host Modern Gladiators Cage Fighting in Chesapeake, Va. on Friday, August 14, 2009.  The event, which will take place at the Khedive Shrine Center located off of the Greenbrier Parkway, will showcase 15 amateur MMA and Muay Thai fights.

Tickets can be purchased by calling (757) 589-0427.  Free parking is available, and concessions and beverages will be provided by AJ Gator’s Sports Bar and Grill

Interested fighters can still register for the event online.  For more information, William & Elaine Varner can be contacted at 757-468-6488.

Fight card:

170lbs– Zach Allen vs Jonathan Wertz

145lbs– Kenneth Bush vs Chase Delong

170lbs– Antwan Hayes vs David Cavanaugh

170lbs– Scott Cozart vs Christian Diaz

170lbs– Frenchie Buchinni vs Zac MacDonald

205lbs– Brad Smith vs Daniel Singletary

185lbs– Kyle Bell vs A.J. Aguilar

185lbs– Mike Clements vs Paul Collins

145lbs– Chris Huntington vs Daniel Davis

155lbs– Justin Fowler vs Edis Starnes

170lbs– Cody Pearson vs Preston Hocker

170lbs– Dane Smith vs Pat Diamond

155lbs– Kyle Hornung vs Charles Robbins

205lbs– Cody Smith vs Wayne Hunter

265lbs– Clem Stuart vs TBA

205lbs– Brad Smith vs TBA

160lbs Muay Thai title bout– Vladimir Borodin vs Chase Walden

112lb Muay Thai bout– Sophia Adkins-Belsby vs Sarah Whisman

145lb Muay Thai bout– Tyler Holland vs Devonte Smith

135lb Muay Thai bout– Angie Hines vs Patricia Ramirez

Extreme Fight Club will host Downtown Beatdown in Erie, PA, on Saturday July 25, 2009.  This will be Erie’s first mixed martial arts event.  Tickets are available at Okey’s Automotive (814-455-1871) and the Avalon Hotel of Erie (814-459-2220).  The event kicks off at 6:30 PM.

Fight Card

Okey Lawrence (4-2-0) vs Adrian Yarboro (3-0-0)

Ty Perry (1-1-0) vs. Corey Nichols (1-2-0)

Doug Hodges (2-3-0) vs. Rodney Hurkman (0-1-0)

Mike Linza (5-0-1) vs. Phillip Estes (1-1-0)

Brock Menzil (2-0-0) vs. Sean Santella (0-1-1)

 Ron “Night Train” White Jr. (2-2-0) vs. Corey Frantz (2-1-0)

Jessica Wolbert (0-1-0) vs. Amanda Jones (0-1-0)

Adam Farrell (4-1-1) vs. James Moore (3-5-0)

James Rank (0-0-0) vs. TBD

Theodore Dobson (0-1-0) vs. Hazelton Elkins (1-1-0)

John Heynoski (0-0-0) vs. Cody Hinson (0-0-0)

Troy Musil (0-0-0) vs. Arthur Byrne (0-0-0)

Jason Galvin (0-2-0) vs. James Ingram (0-0-0)

Donnie Lennox (0-0-0) vs. Scott Rendos (0-0-0)

Noe Quintanilla (3-3-0) vs. Norman Alexander (4-9-0)

Jacob Spuck (0-1-0) vs. Thomas “Primetime” Ellsworth (0-0-0)

David Spinelli (0-0-0) vs. Randy “Rage” Owen (0-0-0)

Chris Jones (0-0-0) vs. Ian Knecht (0-0-0)