Colorado State University-Pueblo athletics program is bringing Mixed Martial Arts back to Southern Colorado. The secondannual Bring the Thunder event will be held at CSU-Pueblo’s Massari Arena, Oct. 1.
![mma](https://csupueblotoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/mma-194x300.jpg)
Bring the Thunder returns after last year’s massive turn out, which brought more than 3000 people in to watch the fights. Money raised at the event will go to benefit the ThunderWolves athletic programs.
The fight card has 12 total fights, including six amateur and six professional. Tickets cost $20 for general admission, $125 for a ringside seat and $1,000 for a ringside table.
The main event will feature a familiar ThunderWolves face, as former CSU-Pueblo wrestler Nick Mamalis will battle Ryan Villarreal from of Texas. Mamalis is currently ranked the top fighter at 125 pounds in the state of Colorado. Villarreal is currently hailed as the champion of the Cage Fighting Championship, bantamweight 115 pound weight division.
Other fighters at the event will be former University of Northern Colorado All-American wrestler Justin Gaethje, who will face off against former two-time national champion, Kyle Sand. Sand is also a four-time Colorado high school state wrestling champion and is making his MMA debut.
Former Strikeforce fighter Donnie Liles, returning from a three year injury, will face off against Jeremy Kimball, another fighter out of Colorado. Local fighters Prentice Ingram and Manuel Gallardo are also scheduled to battle in the octagon. The two fighters train at the same gym in Pueblo.
For more information visit the CSU-Pueblo student activities website. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketswest.com or by calling CSU-Pueblo’s ticket office at 719-549-2050.