Mixed martial arts returns to downtown Tucson this Saturday, when amateur fighters from across the state and beyond battle for bragging rights over who is Arizona’s top prospect.
Tucson fighter Jesus Borrego will throw down against former ASU wrestler Chance Ikei during Saturday’s main event at “Rise of the Prospects: Cage Series” at the Rialto Theatre.
While the 24-year-old only started competing nine months ago, Borrego has already fought five times and holds an MMA record of 3-2-0. To prepare for this match, Borrego spent the bulk of his time at APEX MMA on North Oracle Road. It’s been his home gym for the last decade.
“I’m feeling great. I’ve been grinding every day at the gym for five hours at least,” Borrego said. “This past camp has been more focused on me because I usually don’t have a training camp.”
Borrego admits he doesn’t know too much about Ikei’s fighting style, but he said he isn’t concerned. The fighter employs the same simple game plan for each match — hurt his opponent as fast as possible and finish the fight quickly.
“Somebody’s going to be dropping, for sure,” Borrego said. “Who knows … it could happen within the first 10 seconds.”
Ikei said he doesn’t see the fight playing out that way.
While both fighters are the same age — 24 years old — and have practiced various combat sports for more than a decade, Ikei believes he is the more polished fighter who can adapt to any situation.
“I know (Borrego) likes to come forward, so we’ve been focusing on that in camp. We’ve been covering all aspects of where this fight could possibly go,” Ikei said. “Whether it’s on our feet, on the ground or against the cage, I’ll be ready for it all.”
Although Ikei is well steeped in all forms of wrestling — he won the Hawaiian state wrestling championships twice in high school before joining Arizona State’s wrestling team — the young grappler spent the past two years focused on MMA. Ikei isn 2-0 over the last year, having won both bouts in such spectacular fashion.
But the heavy hitting Borrego isn’t your average amateur competition. He personally requested Ikei as an opponent and said he plans to give fight fans their money’s worth on Saturday.
Ikei said he isn’t rattled by Borrego’s aggressiveness and he’ll be looking for the opportunity to use it against the Tucson fighter.
“He’s a boxer, so I’ve got to be careful of those hands. A lot of my camp was just focusing on areas I could improve on,” Ikei said. “I’m not too familiar with every aspect of (Borrego’s) style, but I do know he likes to swing in the pocket and I’ll be ready for fireworks.”
Cage Series promoter Jen Richardson said she’s scheduled 15 bouts on Saturday’s fight card just in case there are any last minute drop-outs due to COVID-19 or cold feet.
“Right now, it’s looking like it should be a big show. You always try to overbook it with the hopes that you’ll end up with at least 12 (fights),” Richardson said. “Especially now with COVID, because every athlete has to have a vaccine card or a negative test 72 hours before the fight.”
While Richardson’s “Rise of the Prospects” events typically features Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu bouts, this is the promotion’s first time putting on an MMA show. At the moment, Richardson is the only Tucson-based promotor authorized by the Arizona Department of Gaming Boxing and MMA Commission to host an MMA event.
Richardson said Saturday’s event has been in the works for some time and she’s excited it’s finally happening.
“A long time ago we had planned to do MMA, but there were tons of MMA shows going on. So, we went with Muay Thai because there was none. Now there are many Muay Thai events and only one other promoter in the state doing MMA shows in Phoenix,” Richardson said. “I’m not sure what happened but there haven’t been any MMA shows (in Tucson) for years before the pandemic. But the response to this show has been amazing. We’re expecting to sell out.”
The Rialto requires all ticket holders to have either their vaccination card or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 48 hours to enter. The event is offering on-site rapid testing outside the theater starting at noon for $10 per test.
Tickets for “Rise of the Prospects: Cage Series” start at $40 and can be purchased at riseoftheprospects.com, ticketmaster.com, the Rialto Theatre’s box office, or from participating fighters.
