Four 559 Fights titles up for grabs Dec. 6 at the Fresno Convention Center

FRESNO, Calif. – The biggest amateur mixed martial arts event in Central California history will take place Friday, December 6 at the Fresno Convention Center.

559 Fights 20 features four championship bouts, including a showdown between 559 Fights Welterweight Champion Chris Huerta and Fresno’s Art Hernandez.

Madera’s Huerta (6-6) was crowned in early October with a victory over Hernandez (7-3). This will be the rubber match in an intense rivalry.

“This is the fight that the fans wanted to see as the main event,” 559 Fights President Jeremy Luchau said. “Huerta and Hernandez are veterans of the amateur circuit and both are about ready to take the step to the next level, but first they will settle the score and complete their trilogy of fights in the 559 Fights Cage.”

In the co-main event, 559 Fights Flyweight Champion Manny Ruiz (5-0-1) battles Kerman’s Chris Gonzales (2-2).

The first-ever 559 Fights Lightweight Champion will be crowned when Visalia’s Armando Perez (3-0) faces Caruthers’ Evan Solorio (4-2) and 559 Fights Cruiserweight Champion Wilbert Rogers (4-2) of Hanford defend his title against Kerman’s Leo Cantu (7-2-1).

“This is by far the deepest fight card from top to bottom that we’ve ever put together,” Luchau said. “A majority of the top local amateurs will be fighting on this card to close out the year with a bang in one of the top notch venues in the region.”

Tickets start at just $20 and can be purchased at the Fresno Convention Center Box Office. For VIP information call 559-813-0307.

Over 10 bouts are scheduled and feature competitors from all over the Central Valley.

State tourney returns to Tulare Fair with 559 Fights 17

TULARE, Calif. – The CAMO Amateur Mixed Martial Arts State Tournament returns to the Tulare County Fair on Thursday with 559 Fights.

“It’s one of the more exciting times of the year for amateur MMA. The CAMO State Tournament is something that a lot of these guys look forward to all year,” 559 Fights President Jeremy Luchau.

559 Fights host a round in the tournament for the second straight year in Tulare.

“It’s an honor for us to host a round of the tournament. It goes to show what hard work will get you not just for the fighters competing, but for the promotions that the CAMO organization entrusts these events to,” Luchau added.

Kerman’s Leo Cantu headlines 559 Fights 17 in a Cruiserweight Tournament bout against Porterville’s Rosendo Razon.

Tickets start at just $30, include Tulare County Fair admission and are available at Visalia’s MMA Gear in the Sequoia Mall, the Tulare Fair office and at www.559fights.com.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and fights start at 7.

Cantu enters the tournament for the third time with a 6-1-1 record. Meanwhile, Razon impressed in his 559 Fights debut to earn the tournament berth.

“This tournament is by invite only. CAMO has put together a ranking system where fighters are earning points to move up the rankings and earn their spot within the tournament,” Luchau said. “The Top 6 fighters in each weight class are invited to the tournament.”

In the co-main event, another local fighter will have his chances in the tournament for the first time, as Hanford heavyweight Daniel Hernandez (2-1) takes on tournament veteran Richard Treas (4-1) from Modesto.

“A lot of people like to see the big boys throw down and I’m pretty excited to be able to have three locals competing in those two weight classes to cap off our fight card,” Luchau said.

Four other tournament bouts will be contested under the lights of the fair – San Jose flyweight Aritra Roy (3-1) takes on San Jose’s Matthew Ramirez (4-0), Roseville light heavyweight Tyler Andrande (2-0) vs. Carmel’s Timothy Peterson (3-1), Sacramento middleweight Eric Smith (5-3-1) vs. San Jose’s Justin Davis (4-5) and East Palo Alto welterweight Nikko Jackson (11-5) vs. Salinas’ Alexander Lopez (7-2).

“The tournament field is excellent and I think will be extremely well-fought,” Luchau said. “The field keeps getting better and better each year and these are some of the most meaningful fights taking place in the state this month.”

The 559 Fights official weighins will take place Thursday at 10 a.m. at Cool Hand Lukes.

The local undercard is also jam-packed with talent.

Two key bouts include a flyweight showdown between Tulare’s Chance Warnock (1-0) and Porterville’s Josh Sudbeck (1-0) and Tulare featherweight Jason Medley (0-0) vs. Omar Contreras (1-0).

In other bouts;

-Visalia lightweight Devon Chavez (1-2) vs. Delano’s Gary Evans (0-3).

-Visalia lightweight Armando Perez (0-0) vs. Felton’s Nick Craig (0-1).

-Madera middleweight Chris Huerta (5-6) vs. Bakersfield’s Cody Sons (3-1).

-Visalia light heavyweight Shannon Kilgore (0-0) vs. Lemoore’s Cameron Arnold (0-0).

-Farmersville Jeffrey Lewis (1-0) vs. Caruthers’ Nick Childress (0-4).

For more information on this event and all things related to 559 Fights visit www.559fights.comor call 559-813-0307.

559 Fights makes Fresno debut June 13

CLOVIS, Calif. – 559 Fights will make its much-anticipated debut in Fresno on Thursday, June 13 at Club Eva. 

“This is something that’s been talked about for a long, long time. It was never our plan to move into the Fresno market, but we were presented with a great offer from Club Eva to come work out there,” said 559 Fights President Jeremy Luchau. “Things really fell into place and ultimately I felt it was a good decision for 559 Fights, it’s fans and more importantly the fighters.”

Doors open at 6 p.m. with mixed martial arts action kicking off at 7. Tickets start at just $30 and are available at Visalia’s MMA Gear, Core Sports Nutrition and www.559fights.com

Featured in the main event is 559 Fights’ first-ever title fight, pitting Firebaugh bantamweight Matt Perez (4-0) vs. Exeter’s Alex Valencia  (3-1).

“It’s something special to fight for our promotion’s first title fight. There were several fighters worthy of this honor, but I’m not sure we could have put together a better fight than Perez vs. Valencia,” Luchau said. “This is going to be a great fight for the fans and for all involved.”

In the co-main event, Fresno welterweight Art Hernandez (5-2) takes on Madera’s Chris Huerta and in another featured bout Fresno featherweight James Spear (2-5-1) battles Merced’s Andrew Garza (0-0-1).

“Hernandez and Huerta will be a fun fight. Both of these guys are veterans of the amateur circuit and well on their way to competing at the professional level soon,” Luchau said. “Spear is one of the more exciting fighters in the Valley and I think it will be a lot of fun to watch him fight at home in front of the Fresno crowd.”

559 Fights has produced 14 MMA shows from Bakersfield up highway 99 into Tulare, Visalia, Hanford and Lemoore. It is currently one of the more respected amateur promotions in the state and was host to the 2012 CAMO Regional State Finals.

559 Fights returns to action at the Kings Fair on Friday July 5 and then heads back to Visalia’s Recreation Ballpark on August 24.

“We really don’t have a home base. We’ve moved all over, starting in Hanford, going into Tulare, Bakersfield, Lemoore, Visalia and now Fresno. We have plans on reaching out into some other smaller communities and continue to spread our reach and help promote MMA and these fighters throughout the Central Valley,” Luchau said.

559 Fights is also promoting a poker night at the 500 Club in Clovis with Ultimate Fighting Championship stars Ian McCall and Francisco Rivera on Wednesday, June 12 at 7 p.m.

“This gives MMA fans an opportunity to come out and mingle with some of the very best MMA talent in the world,” Luchau said. “You’ll see that guys like Ian and Cisco enjoy the fans and the people within our community. It’s great to see guys like this, who fought here locally, to come back and give back.”

Weigh-ins are open to the public at Me-n-Ed’s Victory Grill at 10 a.m. and a pre-fight party will follow at the same location hosted by McCall and Rivera.

For more information visit www.559fights.com

Also in action;

-Fresno light heavyweight Paul Porter (1-2) vs. Kingsburg’s Robert Vildosola (1-3).

-Fresno middleweight Jesse James (1-0) vs. Hanford’s Mark Scambia (2-0).

-Fresno flyweight Abel Garcia (2-4) vs. Kerman’s Chris Gonzales (0-1).

-Selma cruiserweight Prentice Rios (0-0) vs. Roseville’s Tyler Andrade (1-0).

-Fresno welterweight Mason Fowler (0-0) vs. Bakersfield’s Bill Peck (1-3).

-Fresno middleweight Rigoberto Orozco (0-1) vs. Lemoore’s Scott Baughman (0-0).

-Bakersfield middleweight Cody Sons (1-0) vs. Visalia’s Daniel Quiroz (0-1).