If you want to be entertained in the US, there are plenty of options for you. You can watch a live show or concert, play online casino games at New Jersey online casinos, have a meal at one of the many restaurants and gamble at one of its casinos – the options are endless. Casino and sports fans can enjoy going to a Nevada’s MMA casino that host MMA events. These fights are known as Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events which involve fighters from all over the world who compete against each other in different weight divisions with their own unique style and technique.
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Denver’s McNichols Arena Hosted the First Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993
While the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is now the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world, it was not always so. The UFC began as a tournament held by Rorion Gracie, with Art Davie as a co-founder and Bob Meyrowitz as its first president. The tournament was held at McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado on November 12th 1993 for an audience of about 4000 people.
Some of the most popular casinos that hosted casino MMA fights are:
- MGM Grand Garden Arena (Las Vegas, Nevada)
- The Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort (Las Vegas, Nevada)
- Mandalay Bay Events Center (Las Vegas, Nevada)
- Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort, Coeur d’Alene
MGM Grand Garden Arena
The MGM Grand Garden Arena is a multipurpose arena located in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is currently home to the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, and the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. The arena also hosted several UFC events, including UFC 50: Super Saturday (2005), Ultimate Fight Night 40: Henderson vs. dos Anjos (2014), and UFC 229 (2018).
Thi casino hosts MMA since its inception in 1995. The first such event was Cage Rage 5 on May 17th of that year which featured Royce Gracie defeating Igor Zinoviev via submission due to strikes at 1:43 of round two for his fourth win in five fights against European opponents. In addition to being one of the most famous arenas in the world today, it has also been host to some fantastic sporting events over its almost 30-year existence, including concerts from Beyoncé Knowles, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Kenny Chesney,etc.
The Palms Casino Resort
The Palms Casino Resort hosted the UFC Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on November 22, 2007. The fight was between Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. It was the first time that MMA had been brought to the Las Vegas Strip. This event generated more than $6 million for The Palms Hotel and Casino in revenue.
The hotel also hosted another UFC event on February 5, 2008, in its new 10,000-seat arena. MGM Grand Garden Arena hosted one of these matches as well. This arena held a match between Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar at 2:30 am PST on December 29th, 2007. They also held another match later in 2008 between Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell II at 3 pm PST on July 11th, 2008, which generated over 1 million buys on pay-per-view television, according to reports by Yahoo! Sports. MGM Grand Garden Arena has hosted numerous other MMA events, including Dana White’s Contender Series Season 9 Finale: Junior Dos Santos vs. Adam Yandiev (August 17th, 2019), Bellator 220: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Frank Mir (November 30th, 2020).
Mandalay Bay Events Center
Mandalay Bay Events Center is a multi-purpose arena in Paradise, Nevada. The arena is owned by MGM Resorts International and AEG. It opened in 1999 and hosts concerts, boxing matches, MMA events, and more.
The 11,000-seat arena hosts various events, including concerts, and some major artists who have performed here are Beyonce, Celine Dion, and Lady Gaga. Mandalay Bay Events Center hosts the Latin Grammys yearly, as well as MMA fights at casino and boxing matches such as Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Coeur d’Alene Casino
The Coeur d’Alene Casino is a Native American casino located in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The casino is owned by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, and it has over 1,700 slot machines and 67 table games. It also offers live entertainment, such as concerts and stage shows.
The casino first hosted an MMA event in 2010 when Strikeforce Challengers: Bowling vs. Liu took place there on October 16th of that year. Since then, it has hosted several other MMA events, including UFC Fight Night: Gaethje vs. Vick (March 16th, 2019), Bellator 206: MacDonald vs. Carvalho (September 29th, 2018), BodogFight – Fight Life Series (April 8th, 2010), Affliction Banned – Banned In America (June 27th, 2009) and Affliction Banned 2 – Undefeated (July 11th, 2009).
In addition to its hosting of MMA sports events, the casino also hosts boxing matches as well as concerts which makes it an excellent venue for fans who want to watch their favorite fighters perform in front of them!
Conclusion
The UFC is one of the most popular sports in the world. It has many fans and followers who just love watching their favorite fighters fight it out in the ring. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has been around for quite some time now. However, it has still managed to keep its charm intact by hosting several high-profile mixed martial arts events at its casinos across America and Europe. You can find numerous casinos that host MMA events in the United States. These casinos are a haven for all those who want to indulge in entertainment and thrill. If you are interested in MMA and would like to watch an event, you should visit one of these top US casinos that host MMA events.