ICF Opens Nation's First MMA Fight Club
Intimidation Cage Fighting, a mixed martial arts promotion in Cincinnati, Ohio is set to make mixed martial arts history by being the first promotion in the country to own their own fight venue.

CINCINNATI, OH, July 23, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Boasting over 20,000 square feet of space to pack in fight fans, Steve Stanton and Intimidation Cage Fighting look to make history with the opening of the country's first Fight Club/MMA Sports Bar.

The club will be officially open for business this Friday, July 24th, but fight fans will get their first taste of real action this Saturday night, July 25th during ICF: Stacked, featuring such fighters as Chad "H-Bomb" Hinton, George Oiler, Jeremy "Ponyboy" Pender, "Ruthless" Ron Mitchell and Jim Davis.

The grand opening on July 24th will feature the weigh-ins for the ICF: Stacked event as well as live music from Cincinnati based hard rock band, Black Saints Cartel.

Stanton opened the fight club for a number of different reasons. First, to help stabilize his own costs.

"The reason I wanted to open a fight club is that these big venues I've been going to, they just rob you. They break these little small promotions like me. You go to these big venues and they treat you really good, but it's expense after expense: rent, union, nickel and diming you on everything. I have my own venue now, all that doesn't matter. I can have cheaper beers, I can have cheaper tickets, cheaper shirts - everybody can come, watch fights and have a good time," said Stanton.

The club sports multiple bars, food service, 18 foot and 9 foot projection screens and numerous smaller TVs are set to be placed throughout the club. It's a multi-floor set-up, and those who have seats on the top floor will be able to look down on the cage for the fights from an area that wraps around about one-third of the club. Fans wanting to get closer to the action can purchase general admission floor seats, and those who want the best access can purchase VIP tickets for future events - VIP tickets for the July 25th show are already sold out. Additionally, the club has a full professional lighting and sound set-up as a permanent fixture, available for use to anyone who rents the venue.

The 24 foot, full-size cage is clearly the focal point, placed at the center of the club. The cage will stay set up all of the time, except when the venue hosts national concert events when the cage will be replaced by a stage.

The fight club is not only for ICF events - Stanton is taking an approach unique for a promoter, and for this purpose is stepping into more the role of a venue owner, in that his venue will be open to any promotion, including boxing promotions, that wants to host events at the club. This will be a great opportunity for some of the smaller regional events out there looking for a consistent venue in which to host their shows. Not only is everything already set up as far as the cage, lights, and sound, but the location (downtown Cincinnati) is a central one, drawing well from all the surrounding areas (Northern Kentucky, Lexington, Louisville, Indiana, Columbus and West Virginia, to name a few), and it can easily accommodate the crowds that regional promotions are used to - Stanton estimates that approximately 1500 people will be able to file in to see their local favorites lay it all out in the cage.

"I want to get together with the other good promoters and work together instead of trying to push each other out. I want to be there for the fighters. I care about the fighters," said Stanton.

When asked why he picked Cincinnati, Ohio as opposed to somewhere in Kentucky or Indiana, he stated that it was because Ohio is the strictest state as far as rules and regulations go with mixed martial arts as a sport - "In Ohio you have to do everything right. I like being here because only the best promotions can host shows here because of the regulations. If you don't want to do it right, you shouldn't do it anyway," said Stanton.

In another move new to this area, besides the upcoming July 25th event, the majority of Stanton's fights, and other fights hosted at the club will be on Friday nights. In addition to hosting fights, the club will serve as an MMA themed sports bar. The venue will play host to all types of pay-per-view events, both boxing and MMA - "If it's a televised fight, you're going to be able to watch it here," Stanton said. "How nice will it be to sit down with actual fighters and watch a UFC pay-per-view?"

However, the venue will also draw on the area's legions of loyal sports fans, with plans to have events like "Bengals Day" and other events geared toward the local teams.

The first fight club is in Downtown Cincinnati (at Longworth Hall) but don't be surprised if eventually you see one in a town near you.

"My dream, I don't know how long it will take to become a reality, I want to franchise this thing. We are looking at land in Florida right now." Stanton stated.

In addition to the new venue, on July 25th, the ICF will welcome a new ring girl to their ranks, Amanda Bentley, currently in the running to become a finalist in Maxim's "Hometown Hotties" contest.

"Stacked" is an appropriate name for the July 25th card - and rightfully so, the event will be taped for later broadcast as part of the recent deal that ICF signed with FightZone TV on Fox Sports.

For more information on the ICF, check out their website. The ICF Fight Club is located at 700 W. Pete Rose Way, Cincinnati, OH.

Press Release Contact Information:

Denver Cavins
Intimidation Cage Fighting
Executive Producer
700 W. Pete Rose Way
Cincinnati, OH
US 45203
Voice: 513-290-1024
Website: Visit Our Website