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SW Ohio no longer an MMA hotbed

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By Dann Stupp 2:14 AM Monday, September 19, 2011

Southwest Ohio may no longer be a destination for big-show MMA.

On Saturday, Bellator Fighting Championships — arguably the sport’s No. 2 MMA promotion — heads to Canton for an MTV2-televised event at the Canton Memorial Civic Center. It’s the organization’s first event in Ohio since a lowly attended show in Dayton in 2009.

Earlier this month, Strikeforce — which is now under the UFC umbrella — held an event at Cincinnati’s U.S. Bank Arena that drew fewer than 2,000 fans (and many of them got free tickets). For an organization that consistently draws close to 10,000 fans, it was simply a disaster.

While Strikeforce’s days may be numbered, even the UFC is likely to skip the Dayton or Cincinnati areas if it makes a return to Ohio. The world’s top MMA promotion has hosted four shows in Ohio — three in Columbus and one in Cincinnati — but officials say their sights now are on Northeast Ohio, including the Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown areas. In addition to producing some of the best TV ratings for UFC broadcasts, the area also produces actual ticket-buyers.

The Ohio Athletic Commission regulates more MMA shows per year than any other regulatory body. But more and more promoters are setting up shop in the northeast part of the state. In fact, the NAAFS — Ohio’s largest regional promotion (and one that is co-promoting Saturday’s Bellator 51 card) — holds its shows almost exclusively in the Cleveland area because of the established MMA fan base.

Of course, Dayton and Cincinnati have produced some big-name talent, including Rich Franklin, Jorge Gurgel, Roger Bowling and Matt Brown. Additionally, gyms such as the JG MMA Academy in West Chester Twp. and Cincinnati’s Vision MMA are some of the state’s top facilities.

However, the northeast region recently has provided a steady stream of big-show prospects, including Kent’s Brian Rogers (who picked up a victory over Cincinnati’s Victor O’Donnelll this past weekend at Bellator 50), Cleveland’s Donny Walker (who suffered a loss this past weekend at UFC Fight Night 25), and Justin Edwards, a Mansfield native who picked up his first UFC win at the show.

“The area is just pumping out top-level prospects, and they have built-in fan bases,” said Bellator chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney, who’s filled 11 of 12 spots on Bellator 51’s preliminary card with northeast-Ohio-based fighters. “It’s a very hot area for the sport right now.”

Unlike most team sports, MMA can be supported from afar. Most fans follow the sport exclusively from television sets. But if the trend continues, those who do enjoy watching major events live can expect a drive north to find them.

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