By Jeremy Luchau - The PFC
LEMOORE, Ca. — The Palace Fighting Championship has recently added some significant fighters to its roster.
Four high-caliber fighters have signed contracts to compete in one of the top mixed martial arts promotions in the country.
Highlighting the group is Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Jake O’Brien (10-1) of Indiana. O’Brien was recently released from his UFC contract and PFC President Christian Printup wasted little time signing the heavyweight prospect, whose only loss is to UFC star Andrei Arlovski (12-5) at UFC 82 in March.
“We are very excited to bring in one of the most promising young heavyweights in the country. He’s proven himself at the sports highest level. He beat Heath Herring,” Printup said. “Jake is a great wrestler with solid boxing skills. A lot of people haven’t seen that, but we want to put him in some fights where he can show it. We want to thank Ken Pavia for making the deal work.”
O’Brein beat Heath Herring (28-13) by decision in Jan of 2007 and also owns two other UFC wins over, defeating Josh Shockman (2-2) and Kristof Midoux (6-10). He will make his PFC debut at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore on July 17.
Also schedule to make their debut on at PFC 9 in July is veteran Jaime Jara (17-5) of North Highland.
Jara is expected to make an immediate impact on the middleweight division.
“Jara is definitely one of the most battle-tested middleweights out there. We are committed to bringing in the best fighters we can. We cultivate new talent and at same time continue help establish veterans,” Printup said. “We also want to find significant fights and meaningful fights the fans will enjoy. Jara comes out hard every night, brings excitement and likes to bang. At the same time, he is really skilled. Things in the middleweight division are getting more interesting as every day passes.”
Jara has won 11 of last 13 fights. He is a Gladiator Challenge, King of the Cage and EliteXC veteran and has fought all over California. He last beat Ricky Shivers (5-4) in March. Shivers owns a knockout victory over current PFC World Middleweight champion Visalia’s Kenny Ento (9-3).
The PFC also signed a pair of up-and-coming talents from Urijah Faber’s gym, Ultimate Fitness in Sacramento — lightweight Dustin Akabari (1-0) and featherweight Tito Jones (4-1).
Akabari will make his PFC debut on May 8 at the Palace in Lemoore at PFC 8 “A Night of Champions” and Jones made his debut at PFC 7.5 at Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville with a knock out of veteran Fernando Arreola (3-5-1) of Bakersfield on April 26.
Akabari might be the least known of the signings, but Printup promises that will change very soon.
“Dustin Akabari is a killer. He looks unassuming, young and good-looking. He’s polished looking, but put him in a ring or on a mat and he’s a beast at 155 pounds. He’s essentially, at this young of an age, wrestling at a division one level. His jiu-jitsu is basically that of a black belt. He routinely wins big tournaments against the top guys. His Muay Thai is outstanding.”
Akabari won his MMA debut over Sean Bassett (0-4) by KO in just 56 seconds in April 1 in the IFC.
“B.J. Penn is called ‘Prodigy’ and for good reason, but I also think Dustin is some that epitomizes that term. He has been training since an early age, like 12-years-old. I think coming out the gate he might not be some one people are going to talk about. But in May, when he makes his PFC debut and makes this TV debut, the entire MMA community is going to take notice of ‘Prince’ Akabari,” Printup said.
Jones could be a dominant force at either featherweight or bantamweight. His performance on at PFC 7.5 was one of the best of the night.
“Tito is up there in Sacramento with Urijah and all those guys. He is some one I knew of and have been watching since he was in Arizona. I’ve really had my eye on him,” Printup said. “ He is a very dynamic fighter, electrifying. His hand speed is amazing and he has fantastic footwork. I think he is a tremendous addition to our featherweight or bantamweight division. I think there are some exciting, big fights for Tito Jones in the PFC.”
At PFC 8 on May 8, four PFC World titles will be up for grabs.
There are less than 300 tickets left and they can be purchased at tickets.com or charge by phone at 1-800-225-2277. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and fights start at 6:30.
Atlanta’s Diego Saraiva (11-6-1) will defend his lightweight title for the first time against Bakersfield’s Brian Cobb (11-4).
Visalia’s Kenny Ento (9-3) defends his middleweight title against Santa Rosa’s Nate Loughran (7-0). Oakdale’s Art Arciniega defends his featherweight belt against Fresno’s Jorge Evangelista.
Porterville’s Shawn Klarcyk (7-2) will fight Oregon’s Jason Georgianna (7-2) for the interim bantamweight championship.
In other bouts;
—Lemoore lightweight Poppies Martinez (15-4) vs. Huron’s Sergio Cortez (3-3)
—Oregon heavyweight Devin Cole (7-6) vs. Arizona’s Vince Lucero (18-13)
—Oxnard light heavyweight Lodune Sincaid (12-6) vs. Tulare’s Rafael Del Real (5-8)
—Sacramento lightweight Dustin Akabari (1-0) vs. Cody Canterbury (1-2)
—Sacramento bantamweight Joseph Benavidez (4-0) vs. Los Angeles’ Maurice Eazel (3-6)
—Sacramento lightweight Thonglor Armatsena (1-0) vs. Sacramento’s Noah Shinable (3-9-1)
—Lemoore featherweight Sergio Quinones (2-1) vs. Fresno’s Casey Olson (6-2)
—Mexico lightweight Olaf Alfonso (6-8) vs. Newport Beach’s Matt Doyle (1-2)
Weighins will be Wednesday, May 7 at 4 p.m. at the Den Sports Bar located on the third floor of the Palace in Lemoore and are open to the public.
