When Northeast Mixed Martial Arts brought the first MMA cage fight to Pennsylvania in June, the region voted with its dollars that it’s the type of event they’d like to see more of — the Riverfront Sports complex in Scranton was sold out.
The fans will get their wish this Friday when Cage Fight 2 invades Scranton’s Lackawanna College Student Union, formerly known as the CYC.
Chris Coyne, who runs the Old Forge-based Northeast Mixed Martial Arts along with Maury Nehme, explained that the growing popularity in MMA nationally and locally has helped fuel interest in the organization’s events.
“Fan reaction was tremendous,” he said of Cage Fight 1.
Friday’s main event pits Spencer “The Destroyer” Paige of Cortland, N.Y., against Nate Schut of St. Cloud, Minn., in a 155-pound lightweight professional bout. Schut is trained by Brock Larson, who fights on the Ultimate Fighting Championship circuit. Larson will be in Shut’s corner Friday, Coyne said.
Other featured pro fights include Randy Smith vs. Corey Mullis, Jim Hettes vs. Justin Haas and Bobby Gorman vs. Darryl Madison.
The Hettes vs. Haas fight, a battle between two local professional MMA fighters, is particularly intriguing. Hettes, a Swoyersville native and Wyoming Valley West graduate, is undefeated in seven pro fights. Coyne expects big things from Hettes not only Friday but also in the future.
“Hettes is destined for stardom in this sport, without a doubt,” said Coyne. “He fights guys twice his size. He’s on them like a crazed spider in the cage. He’s got the calm face of a Catholic priest, then he takes them down to the mat. … He’s our budding star.”
There are severable competitors of interest on the amateur portion of the card, as well, which is made up entirely of local fighters. These include Kingston’s Joe Fye, who did three tours of duty as a U.S. Marine and will fight in the evening’s first bout.
Coyne said fighters generally don’t want to be in the opening bout of an event, but that’s not a problem for Fye, who registered a first-round knockout in his MMA debut.
“Nobody wants to be first in the ring because of jitters and nerves, (but) this is a kid used to dodging landmines for a living,” Coyne said.
Another intriguing amateur fighter is Marty Flynn. Flynn’s name might ring a bell for some, as the Scrantonian established himself as a professional boxer before entering MMA. To apply for professional MMA status in Pennsylvania, however, a fighter must have at least three MMA bouts under his belt, so Flynn must fight as an amateur for now.
Finding amateur opponents willing to take on Flynn, who had a 10-2 pro boxing record, is difficult, Coyne said. Dave Morgan, a two-time NCAA Division Three national champion wrestler for King’s College, is in a similar situation.
“Finding amateur fighters to fight a guy with such an extensive wrestling background is very, very difficult,” said Coyne. “How many 130-lb. kids could I find across the country to fight a 130-lb. pit bull that’s going to take them down? Finding Marty a fighter is very difficult, and finding a guy like Davey Morgan a fighter is very difficult. If they were pros, it’s very easy to find a fighter. And pros will come in because they’re pros, because they’re getting paid.”
Northeast Mixed Martial Arts uses two matchmakers — one for the pro bouts and another for the amateur contests — to create the best, competitive contests possible. The pro matchmaker, Coyne said, is a former UFC fighter who has the ability to land fighters from all 50 states. And the amateur matchmaker is an authority on the non-professional ranks.
“He knows their mother’s names, how many fillings they have in their teeth, what they had for breakfast,” Coyne said with a laugh.
With Cage Fight 1 a success and things looking good for Cage Fight 2, Northeast Mixed Martial Arts has signed a three-year contract for three fights per year at the Lackawanna College Student Union. Cage Fight 3 will be held next March 26, and there will be Cage Fights there next June and November, too.
The contract, Coyne said, does not preclude the organization from holding events in other rooms. He said he has explored bringing fights to Luzerne County — specifically Wachovia Arena and the Kingston Armory — but “it’s too cost prohibitive.” A larger organization like WWE, he explained, gets “upwards of $50,000” in television money that it can put towards renting a venue like Wachovia Arena, whereas his outfit does not have that type of money available. Coyne said a smaller-scale cage fight at The Woodlands is a future possibility.
Despite the newness of the venture, Coyne stressed the overall quality of Northeast Mixed Martial Arts’ events. It’s something fans can experience for themselves this weekend.
“I don’t want people’s perceptions to be that it is a barroom-brawl type thing,” he said. “What I’m trying to get people interested in is the event, not just a fighting show. It’s a fighting event. It is the show that I’m trying to sell — the smoke, the lights, the music, the atmosphere, the sound.
“It’s got the atmosphere of a Las Vegas show. It doesn’t have the atmosphere of a local put-together mixed martial arts show.”
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Northeast Mixed Martial Arts Presents Cage Fight 2, Friday, Nov. 27, doors 6 p.m., first fight 7 p.m., at Lackawanna College Student Union, formerly CYC (500 Jefferson Ave. Scranton). Tickets: $28 general admission, $45 preferred reserved, $50 fourth-sixth rows, first-row sold out. Visit www.pacagefight to buy tickets or find on-sale locations.
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