Peake headlines first MMA event in Tennessee

BY SPENCER CAMPBELL
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Dee Smith used to tag along with his father to tough-man competitions inside the Viking Hall Civic Center.

A packed house would watch as 60-100 amateur fighters strapped on gloves and helmets before wildly pounding each other. The last man standing took home a $1,000 bounty.

“It was what was going on in town that weekend,” Smith said. “It’s what people would talk about months later, who the toughest street brawler in town was.”

But that was a long time ago.

Smith is now the owner of Absolute Jiu Jitsu in Bristol, Tenn. At his gym on Kentucky Avenue, Smith instructs a bunch of mixed martial arts hopefuls. In the past when his pupils fought sanctioned events, however, they were never allowed to prove themselves inside Tennessee’s borders, much less at Viking Hall.

That’s about to change. On Good Friday, MMA will make its first appearance in Bristol, Tenn., in the form of Caged Chaos IV. MMA fighting was illegal in Tennessee until July 2008, when the state legislature created the Tennessee Athletic Commission to regulate the sport.

The reason for the change was financial.

“We were simply told by [Ultimate Fighting Championship] officials and other large boxing promoters that take their events to Mississippi casinos that they just would not come in our state until we had the Tennessee Athletic Commission,” Melissa Bast, a lobbyist for the FedEx Forum in Memphis, told nashvillecitypaper.com. “People that were knowledgeable, knew the sport and were able to regulate the sport.”

Viking Hall venue manager Darlene Cole recognizes the financial benefits, but also highlights the social impact the legalization of MMA could have on Bristol residents.

“Anything this facility does raises revenue,” Cole said. “Not only is there the economic impact of people coming to your town, staying in hotels or buying gas, but also the quality of life aspect, if that’s what you want to do for your entertainment.”

Before the Tennessee Athletic Commission, the Tri-Cities’ MMA bouts were held on Virginia’s side of the border. State Line Bar & Grille sponsored one inside the Holiday Inn off exit 7 in Bristol, Va., and last year’s Ruckus in the Cage went down at the Washington County Fairground in Abingdon, Va.

All three of Caged Chaos’ shows have been complete or near sell-outs. But that was at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon. Caged Chaos promoter Levi Tignor, a 19-year-old student at King College, estimates the High Ed Center’s capacity at slightly fewer than 2,000 seats. Viking Hall features more than 6,000 general admission tickets.

And with rival promoters watching Caged Chaos’ intrusion into Bristol, Tenn., and the cavernous Viking Hall, Tignor said: “It’s very important to us to be able to make a good impression. To make them want to come to our shows.”

With fan entertainment in mind, Tignor plans to employ a live video screen, limit downtime between fights and create a high-tech walkway for the fighters. A failure on Good Friday, Tignor says, could stunt the growth of MMA events in Bristol, Tenn.

Headlining the event will be Zac Peake (3-0) – an Absolute Jiu Jitsu fighter and Bristol, Tenn., resident. Peake is currently the Caged Chaos light heavyweight champion and will risk his belt against Anthony Boyd (1-0), another Tennessee native fighting out of the Fire and Water gym in Blountville, Tenn.

Boyd is actually a fill-in for Jay Page, who was supposed to fight Peake for the crown. Unfortunately, Page was injured in another MMA bout. The fighter who put Page out of commission? That was Boyd.

Being stripped of his belt in his first bout before his hometown crowd isn’t appealing to the champ.

“It’s a big deal, it’s a big honor,” Peake said. “This is my home. I grew up in Marion, but there will be a lot of people there that I know. I’d really hate to let that guy come to where I live and take my belt from me.”

In all, Absolute has eight fighters competing at Cage Chaos IV, including Parker Gemmell (a former basketball star at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise and co-headliner on Friday), and Ruckus in the Cage champion Ricky Bouck (8-1).

But a more important bout on Friday night will feature MMA vs. the city of Bristol, Tenn. How the sport is received in the town’s largest theater will almost certainly control future opportunities for Absolute’s stable of fighters.

“We have to be able to do well on ticket sales in order to do another show,” Tignor said. “But Bristol, Tenn., is where we want to be.”

scampbell@bristolnews.com|(276) 645-2543

At a Glance
What: Caged Chaos IV
Where: Viking Hall Civic Center
When: Friday, doors open 6 p.m., fights begin 7 p.m.
Who: Zac Peake (3-0) vs. Anthony Boyd (1-0) for light heavyweight title
How much: $20-$60