Tachi Palace Fights: War Machine, Joe Soto, Chad Mendes and more to compete Oct. 8

Lemoore, Calif. -- The Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino shocked the mixed martial arts community in Central California and throughout the state on Wednesday announcing that it had teamed with Ted Williams and Gladiator Challenge to develop a new promotion titled Tachi Palace Fights.

Tachi Palace Fights will debut on Thursday, October 8 at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino and feature a loaded 9-bout card that features an intriguing main event which pits Hanford, Calif. wrestling phenom Chad Mendes (4-0) against Yuma, Ariz.’s Chance Farrar (7-2). Mendes is the young protégé of Sacramento, Calif.’s Urijah Faber, who once fought Farrar for the World Extreme Cagefighting Featherweight strap.

Also, on the card is an exciting welterweight bout which pits Las Vegas, Nev.’s War Machine (10-2) against the up-and-coming star from Santa Rosa, Calif. David Mitchell (7-0).

The card also features Bellator Fighting Championship featherweight champ Joe Soto (7-0) of Porterville, Calif.

"This will be one of the most exciting and action packed fight cards to ever hit the Valley," Tachi Palace Fights matchmaker Richard Goodman said.

The Palace took several months to decide on a direction to head in for its future in MMA. The Palace is widely recognized as one of the premier properties in the country for MMA and was the birth place for two of the biggest and brightest regional MMA promotions.

"We worked very diligently to figure out what was the best direction for us to go in with mixed martial arts. Our Entertainment and Marketing Department and Tribal Management team put in hours and hours of hard work," Palace Entertainment Coordinator Jeremy Luchau said. "We received proposals and bids from all over the country and from some of the nation’s top regional promotions, but at the end of the day we still wanted to do our own show and brand the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino," added Palace Interim Entertainment Manager Joey Perez.

Enter Ted Williams, who has been a mainstay in the MMA community on the West Coast for well over a decade.

Williams will help build the Tachi Palace Fights not only with his knowledge but also using his nearly 30 Gladiator Challenge shows over the next year as a launching pad into the Tachi Palace Fights.

Gladiator Challenge will virtually be a feeder program to the Tachi Palace Fights, which will utilize the California State Athletic Commission for its shows despite being on Tribal land.

"This is a great opportunity for us to brand the Tachi Palace and to put on some great fights. We are going to groom the next Rock Stars of the sport right here," Williams said. "I’m honored to be part of the team here at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino and to be able to utilize Gladiator Challenge as a tool in building Tachi Palace Fights."

Tachi Palace Fights will also feature action taking place within a cage and feature 5-minute rounds. Tachi Palace Fights will close the 2009 season with a show on Thursday, December 3 and then have five shows in 2010.

Tachi Palace Fights 1 Fight Card:

MAIN EVENT (Featherweights)
Hanford, Calif.’s Chad Mendes (4-0) vs. Yuma, Ariz.’s Chance Farrar (7-2)

CO-MAIN EVENT (Welterweights)
Santa Rosa, Calif.’s David Mitchell (7-0) vs. Las Vegas, Nev.’s War Machine (10-2)

Featherweights
Porterville, Calif.’s Joe Soto (7-0) vs. TBA

Light Heavyweights
Merced, Calif.’s Phil Collins (7-4) vs. Oakland, Calif.’s Leopoldo Serao (15-7)

Flyweights
Las Vegas, Nev.’s Ulysses Gomez (3-1) vs. Oakdale, Calif.’s Martin Sandoval (4-1)

Welterweights
Lemoore, Calif.’s Poppies Martinez (16-5) vs. Madera, Calif.’s Rolando Torres (4-7)

Middleweights
Lemoore, Calif.’s Mike Martinez (4-2) vs. TBA

Bantamweights
Oakdale, Calif.’s Michael McDonald (7-1) vs. Sacramento, Calif.’s Tito Jones (6-3)

Women’s Flyweights
Las Vegas, Nev.’s Jessica Rakoczy (0-0) vs. TBA