From: Arizona Republic

EVO MMA delivered the Valley’s first event with unified fighting rules and the highest-profile matchups the state has seen Saturday night at Celebrity Theatre. And the nine-fight card had almost everything a fan could ask for – a highlight-reel knockout, local fighters becoming hometown heroes and an action-packed main event that went the distance.

After the event, Arizona boxing Commissioner John Montano and special guests Mario Yamasaki, a well-known MMA referee, and Jamie Varner, a Tempe native who is the World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion, all said they were impressed with the show’s production and the fights themselves. 

“This promoter did a good job,” Montano said. “It was what we expected. There were good, clean fights, and nobody really got hurt. My concern is that these kids enjoy the sport and, also, that they’re safe.”

Everyone walked away happy. Though EVO MMA officials may have hoped even more people walked away.

Just 1,059 tickets were sold for the 2,600-seat arena. Though Beck said he was shooting for 1,000.

“I wasn’t too concerned about attendance as much as I was the overall production and the capabilities and safety of the fighters,” he said. “Fans here (at the arena) couldn’t believe the high caliber of fighters we had. Word of mouth will spread, people will start seeing these exciting fights online, and it’s going to take us to the next level.”

Yamasaki, who has worked almost every recent high-profile Ultimate Fighting Championship bout and will likely referee the next EVO MMA event, said the production needs some tweaking. The crowd thinned out as the night went on because the show, which started at 8 p.m. and lasted close to midnight, may have gone on for too long.

“You don’t want the show to take too long,” Yamasaki said. “You don’t want to take too long (in between fights). People get tired. We want to see fights. But for the first show, it was awesome.”

Local fighters fought well in front of their supporters. Glendale’s Ben Henderson and Patrick Lopez and Tempe’s Yaotzin Meza and Baczynski all won their bouts. Ray Steinbeiss of Tempe defeated Steve Berger by decision in the main event.

“This is the best fight card I have ever seen in Arizona,” Varner said. “It’s awesome people get to fight here in their backyard and get recognized.”