MMA event coming to Wayne State, ties into IndyCar weekend
There will be back-to-back days of fighting in Detroit; MMA on June 2 at Wayne State, Claressa Shields' bout on June 3 at LCA.
Tony PaulDetroit — The cars are adding a little muscle to their Detroit racing weekend.
Xtreme Fighting Championships is bringing a mixed martial arts card to Wayne State Fieldhouse on June 2, to coincide with IndyCar's return to the streets of downtown Detroit after years of running on Belle Isle. Tickets to XFC Grand Prix go on sale early next month. The MMA card will be Friday night, following IndyCar practice and qualifying. The Detroit Grand Prix is Sunday, June 4.
The MMA event will be a first of its kind at Wayne State Fieldhouse, which opened on campus in 2021, and houses the Detroit Pistons' G League team and the Wayne State men's and women's basketball teams.
“We have a number of firsts happening with our reimagining of the downtown Detroit Grand Prix experience,”Bud Denker, president of Penske Corporation and chairman of the Detroit Grand Prix, said in a statement. "The XFC event adds another exciting facet to the weekend, and for fans, it’s going to be an amazing three days in Detroit.”
This is the second major fight event in Detroit announced in recent weeks.
Champion boxer Claressa Shields, of Flint, will square off against Hanna Gabriels at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, June 3, the night after the MMA event. Shields will be defending her middleweight championship belt.
"We know the fights will make an already great weekend of sporting events even better," said Claude Molinari, president and CEO of the Detroit Sports Commission.
Details on the MMA card, as well as broadcast details, will be announced at a later date.
Xtreme Fighting Championships' COO is Doug Kuiper, who is a former executive for the Ilitches. XFC is based in Pensacola, Florida, and provides a pipeline for fighters to reach UFC, the sport's top level.
"The overlapping demographics of racing fans and combat sports fans is striking, as is the complementary format of daytime racing and evening fight events," Kuiper said in a statement Thursday. "The festival format of Detroit Grand Prix weekend and the organization’s support drove us to choose Detroit as the first of many XFC Grand Prix events, and we know the adrenaline rush of a perfect venue and packed house will be a win-win for fans and fighters.”
tpaul@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tonypaul1984