Area sees 114 events in 5 states for 2019 – BluegrassMMA
Area sees 114 events in 5 states for 2019 BluegrassMMA
Brawl in the Burgh 2
After seeing a steep drop in the number of mixed martial arts events in Ohio in 2018, the count rebounded in 2019.
In terms of numbers, the Buckeye State saw 30 events take place in 2019, up from 24 in 2018. That number was 40 in 2017, but Ohio lost multiple promoters in 2017 that hosted multiple events but didn’t hold an event in 2018: Explosive Fight Promotions (Caged Madness), Ohio Cage Combat, Primetime MMA, RFO, and Warrior Nation Fight Series.
The promoters were mostly the same in Ohio in 2019 as 2018, with a few exceptions. Ohio Combat League debuted – promoted by Troy Speakman who had promoted under multiple banners in the past, including Arnold’s MMA and Justified Defiance Fight Series. Also, the Las Vegas-based World Fighting Championships hosted two events in Ohio in 2019 for the first time, as well as an event at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh.
In Kentucky, the number of sanctioned MMA events dropped from 19 to 13. HRMMA hosted seven of those events, with Empire Fight Series making its debut in the promotion realm in October.
Other states in our coverage area were fairly consistent in terms of the number of events hosted, with Indiana having 11 in both 2018 and 2019, and Pennsylvania having 25 in both years. Tennessee saw a slight uptick with 35 events in 2019 vs. 32 events in 2018 – that includes a UFC Fight Night event in Nashville in March.
| Events by Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Indiana | 23 | 11 | 11 |
| Kentucky | 23 | 19 | 13 |
| Ohio | 40 | 24 | 30 |
| Pennsylvania | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Tennessee | 32 | 32 | 35 |
