‘Night of Champions, ’ an MMA fundraiser held by the Cerritos College wrestling team, will take place Saturday, September 7 at the Falcon Gymnasium and will possibly include special guests such as Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz.
There will be fifteen fights, three of them being championship fights, and general admission tickets are $25 while ringside tickets are $50 and can be bought at kofightnights.com and from the wrestling team. A percentage of the proceeds will go toward the wrestling team.
“I think it’s a good way for us to contribute to our school,” said sophomore wrestler Gabe Ballesteros.
The event will feature amateur fighters–among them being former Cerritos College wrestlers Tyler Smith and Josh Jones and possible appearances from the likes of the aforementioned MMA superstars.
One of the competitors will be former Cerritos wrestler Mario Delgado who was a state champion for the Cerritos team.
“We have a few former wrestlers actually fighting on the card,” said freshman wrestler David Acuna. “One of the main guys is Mario Delgado who currently holds two titles.”
The event will have octagon cages down on the main floor and chairs surrounding it for the ringside seating and one side of the stands open for general admission, while the fighters will warm up backstage before the fights.
“I think it’s a good opportunity,” said head coach Don Garriott. “It’s the first time we’re doing it. With these types of events, you get a steady venue (and) you kind of get a steady crowd.”
Garriott said that the promoter should be able to get (Rampage) Jackson to the event and that he was unsure about the status of (Tito) Ortiz as he might be out of state.
“We’re just working out those details right now,” added Garriott.
Other fighters that might make an appearance include Emmanuel Newton, a former Cerritos wrestler who is the number one contender in Bellator and has an interim title fight in November, and Cody Bollinger who will appear on the show ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’
“We have an opportunity to make a lot of money for the wrestling team and maybe the whole athletic program,” said Garriott.
Added freshman Antonio Gonzalez, “It’s going to be a (really) good event and we hope to see everybody there supporting us.”
