U Weekly. Serving The Ohio State University in Columbus Ohio

Take it outside

MMA Event will go down in bar parking lot

By David McKinney

When you are done watching the fireworks in the air during the annual Red, White, and Boom! celebration in Downtown Columbus on July 3, you will have a chance to see some even bigger fireworks in a cage that will be set up in the parking lot of the Frog Bear & Wild Boar Bar in the Arena District on July 4th.

The UnCivil War, a mixed martial arts (MMA) event being put on by Cincinnati-based Intimidation Cage Fighting, will feature ten amateur fights in the parking lot of one of the city's most popular restaurant/bars.

Not only will the event feature the ten amateur fights, but there will also be plenty of prizes, beer, a live band, and, of course, Hooters ring girls. "We don't just have a fight...we like to make it an event," says Steve Stanton, owner of ICF. Stanton will be using this event in Columbus to help promote the late-July opening of his MMA bar, ICF Fight Club,

The Cincinnati bar will be just the second MMA-style bar in the country. The festivities at the bar will include bi-monthly live fight cards and UFC events shown on literally billions of 65-inch plasmas; the 19,000 square foot space will feature two bars, a VIP area, and state of the art sound and lighting to make the events larger than life.

"We want our bar to be sort of like the movie Fight Club," says Stanton of the revolutionary new bar that he hopes will help promote his organization to a national from a regional level. When asked about what type of atmosphere the bar would provide for MMA fans and bar-goers, Stanton slyly replied, "We want you to walk in and think to yourself, 'Man, this is probably a place that I'm not supposed to be.'"

While the event in Columbus will feature amateurs only, the card is stacked with some of the biggest amateur names in the Midwest. The main event will feature a light heavyweight tilt between Dan Spohn (8-3 amateur MMA record) and Joe Dennis, a 3-1 amateur fighter who also moonlights as a bouncer at the Frog Bear Bar when he's not training.

Stanton's day job is the flooring business that he owns, but training with MMA legend Pat Miletich gave him a love for the sport that wouldn't let him stray too far away. After starting up a successful MMA school in Northern Kentucky, Stanton went into the promotion business when he launched ICF last summer. And his investment is already paying off, as he has partnered with one of the biggest entertainment venues in Northern Kentucky, Turfway Park, and U.S. Bank Arena, the largest indoor arena in Cincinnati. And even bigger news for Stanton came recently, as a TV deal with Fox Sports Net was announced that will bring three ICF events to over 22 million homes across the country later this year.

So while the UnCivil War in Columbus may seem like just another MMA event thrown in with the others to many fans, the timing, the city, and the venue were all chosen with maximum fan entertainment and enjoyment in mind.

"We decided to come to Columbus because we know there is a huge MMA fan base there," said Stanton. He hopes that the capital city will welcome his booming business with open arms. Tickets are going for a very recession-friendly $25.

For more information about the event or to buy tickets, log on to icfmma.com.

Originally Published: June 24, 2009

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