CAGE fighting enthusiast Rick Evans expects close to 1000 spectators to pack into Orange Function Centre to watch local amateur martial arts experts face-off against each other inside a large steel cage.
Mr Evans, who relocated to Brisbane from Orange four years ago to pursue his mix martial arts training, said he can’t wait to bring the one-night-only event to Orange on December 8.
“It’s definitely going to be entertaining,” he said.
“The shows we have in Brisbane always get sell out crowds.”
During the fights opponents are allowed to kick, punch, and put a knee to the the head of a standing opponent and wrestle opponents to the ground to secure submissions.
All of the action is adjudicated by a referee who remains in the cage during the fight.
Mr Evans said the Orange Aftershock cage fighting event, run by Brisbane-based company Fightcross, will include 15 fights, with at least two of those featuring women.
“I’ve already had a large response from people wanting to fight,” he said.
“We’ve got people coming from Canberra, Mudgee, Newcastle and Brisbane, as well as Orange.”
Mr Evans said while cage fighting may have developed a reputation as being “barbaric”, that’s not the case and he believes the sport is becoming more popular with spectators than boxing.
“Really the cage is only there for the fighters’ safety, if we did it in a ring they’d get tackled and land on the floor, this way they can bounce off the cage,” he said.
Mr Evans said the entertainment will kick off at around 4 or 5pm and expects the event to prove popular with families as well as sports lovers.