Through The Cage

  If you thought you were going to see talented fighters handle business at the Patriot Center on September 10th, change of plans! According to sources, Shine Fights - lightweight Grant Prix tournament at the Patriot Center has been canceled. The tournament was supposed to feature 8 light weights with a twist. The matchmaking was to be done by the fans, which the Virginia Athletic Commission has said no to. Last spring Shine Fights promoted a fight between former champion boxer Ricardo Mayora and Din Thomas which was also canceled, due to legal actions taken by boxing promoter Don King. Apparently Mayorga was still in a contract with Don King, therefore in violation of that contract had he competed in "Worlds Collide", which was to be held in neighboring North Carolina. The promotion plans to reschedule the event on September 10th in Oklahoma, after being denied a license to operate in Virginia. 

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Its official, the Shine Fight Grand Prix Lightweight MMA Tournament will be held at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA. Over the last couple weeks there were speculations and reports that the Shine Fights was seeking to put on an event pending approval by the notorious Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. The Patriot center has listed the event on their schedule(http://www.patriotcenter.com/events/index.php?opts=detail&eid=3467&evtype=patriotspecial) and tickets can now be purchased from ticketmaster.com. Below is the official Shine Fights press release:

Various sources have reported MMA promotion Shine Fights is planning on bringing their promotion to the Patriot Center. According to fiveouncesofpain.com the promotion is currently seeking approval to run a one night lightweight tournament. Approval for the event is expected to go through. Again, the event would be a one night lightweight tournament, with the winner receiving $50,000. Lightweights being considered for the tournament are:

- Guillaume DeLorenzi
- Josh Shockley
- Marcus Aurelio
- James Warfield
- Richard Crunkilton
- Charles Bennett
- Carlo Prater
- Drew Fickett

Shine Fights last tried to run a PPV on May 15th, which was to be headlined by Din Thomas vs. boxer Ricardo Mayorga. Due to contract issues with Don King, Mayorga was pulled from the event, which led to the North Carolina Athletic Commission shutting the show down, due financial concerns. Chute Boxe Head Augusto Oliveira recently stated that some of his fighters have not been paid for that event.