Colorado MMA - First Ever IMMA Expo Memorable

It was a memorable weekend for MMA fans in Colorado.

Sponsored by the Denver based “King Of Champions Promotions” and "Fight To Win", the International MMA Expo made it's first trip to the region, with the Ritchey Center at DU playing host to the largest MMA tradeshow of it's type.

Not quite the proverbial "kid in a candy shop" experience but very close, as fans were able to submerse themselves in MMA for the whole weekend.

This is the type of large scale traveling event that is great for the sport, as it's able provide much needed exposure to the casual or new fans in various regions. Adding to that is adding easy access to fighters, not to mention all the latest gear, clothing, and supplements on display, all under one roof.

MMA has always had a solid fan base in Colorado, but just like most other areas, has also seen a spike of new fans and more coverage over the last 2-3 years. Nate Marquardt recently commented on when he really noticed a difference.

“In 2009 is really where it’s been picking up for me, after I had really good wins against Wilson Gouveia and Demian Maia. I think they replay those fights quite a bit on Spike TV, that was really good for my career.”

Marquardt is one of the more fan friendly fighters in an already fan friendly sport, which made his selection as one of the fighters headlining the event a no-brainer.

“Definitely, when I get around groups of people there’s at least somebody who’s going to come up to me and shake my hand or whatever, which I’m totally cool with that,” Marquardt stated. “I think the sport’s come such a long way that it’s really cool to see that if I go anywhere like a waterpark or whatever it is, that there’s going to be fans there.”

Highlighting the busy weekend was the fight card on Saturday night featuring Colorado's own Alvin "Kid" Robinson taking on 10-0 Jesse Henley in the main event, and Ryan Martinez vs. Derek Lewis for the "World's Collide" Professional heavyweight title serving as the card's co-main event.

There was that "buzz" in the air you only get on fight nights, and the fans were not disappointed as there were many great fight moments on the card. Several of the local gyms had talent on display including Grudge Training Center, and Easton BJJ. Grudge clearly dominated the card, with wins by 8 of the 9 fighters from Grudge.

Sticking out in my mind, was the Ian Berg vs. Kenneth Seegrist fight, with Berg coming out with a win this time in the highly anticapted rematch of two top area fighters. Berg was seemingly able to take the Easton BJJ fighter down at will, be each time Seegrist was able to get back to his feet. Two points were deducted from Seegrist before it was all over, with Berg winning by TKO after landing a huge left hook that dropped Seegrist and led to a violent GNP finish, earning him TKO/KO Of The Night honors.

Fight Of The Night honors went to a well deserving Angleo Duarte and Josiah Callis,after providing the crowd in attendance many reasons to get out of their seats. Knockout of the night and Submission of the night went to Ian Berg and Josh Ford respectively.

Anaheim,  CA  is the next stop for the IMMAE on August 21-22. No doubt the MMA fans in the area will enjoy themselves as much as we did here in Colorado, while gaining some new fans in the process.

Thank you IMMAE, and all sponsors that helped make this first of many events a success.

For all the news and notes from around the world of Colorado MMA, visit us at http://www.colorado-mma-colorado-boxing.com.