“On to the next one…”
By: Jeremy Luchau
It’s about two weeks since the show and I’m finally rested up and back on the grind.
Tachi Palace Fights 13 on May 10 isn’t too far away and the fight card is almost full.
Not to mention that I’ve taken on a new project here in the Central Valley – 559 Fights, which will be an all amateur show that will help develop talent for several promotions across the state.
As if Tachi Palace Fights wasn’t challenging enough, I’ve teamed with a good friend of mine Joey Perez to develop a promotion that will help give local fighters more opportunities, plus still be a fan friendly promotion.
I’ve taken several of the concepts that we’ve developed over time at Tachi and helped instill them in 559 Fights, but also made some tweaks.
We are coupling our all-amateur show with UFC pay-per-views.
Amateur fights starting around 3 p.m. and building up to the pay-per-view.
This idea has been floating around in my head for a year or so, but I haven’t had anyone to team up with to do the show. Perez is a local guy, who also works at Tachi but owns his own entertainment company – J-Live Entertainment.
They did their first pay-per-view viewing party when Chad Mendes fought Jose’ Aldo. It was a huge success and he wanted to branch off into some other MMA related things and this seemed like a good time to spring my idea on him.
I’ve been really hustling to lock in some great local talent like Fresno’s Kristen Gatz and Hanford’s Steven Juarez, but filling this fight card hasn’t come without its difficulties.
Some promoters in the area have been quietly trying to throw a wrench in the show – asking fighters not to fight for us, promising fighters things, etc.
It’s all part of the game I suppose, just didn’t really expect that type of play at this level. I guess I look at the fight game a bit differently. I’m not and nor will I ever try and lock fighters in and not allow them to pursue other opportunities.
If someone doesn’t want to fight for us for whatever reason, I wish them luck and they still will always have a home here. I’m not about burning bridges or stabbing people in the back to make a buck.
559 Fights is a great new challenge for me and the people I’m working with.
The first show will be April 21at the Kings Fair Grounds in Hanford, Calif. Your $20 fight ticket includes the 12-bout amateur fights plus the UFC pay-per-view viewing party. Get tickets now at www.559fights.com.
Two and a half weeks later is the next Tachi Palace Fights show.
I’m booking several amateur fighters across California for both shows.
A brief recap of how TPF 12 went down…
I thought things were amazing. Unfortunately Micah Miller didn’t get his shot at the TPF featherweight crown because champ Georgi Karakhanyan was sick, but fans still did get to see six finishes in seven pro bouts, including another great knockout from Francisco Rivera, who now headlines TPF 13 with Casey Olson. The pair will battle for the vacant bantamweight crown, as former champ Ulysses Gomez drops back down to 125 pounds and faces rising star Adam Rothweiler.
I was pleased with the turnout… another sold-out show.
The Sherdog.com stream looked great and all the social media sites were buzzing with the TPF fights.
I’m just going to keep grinding hard and bring more and more great fights to our neck of the woods.
On a side note, I was pretty proud this weekend that my son Jace took second in the state. It was his first time placing at California USA folkstyle state championships and he did it with style going 5-1 with three pins, beating three very, very solid kids in the process.
*********************
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jeremy.luchau
Twitter: TheProject23
Email: [email protected]
Special Thanks to Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino (www.tachipalace.com), 559 Fights (www.559fights.com), Fairtex (www.fairtex.com) and Hostility Clothing (www.hostilityclothing.com).
“The Project Files” by Jeremy Luchau is a weekly blog series here at ProMMAnow.com which gives readers an inside look into the life of an MMA promoter. It is part of our ongoing series of exclusive content written by individuals involved in the mixed martial arts industry.