The Yamma Surface

**Ke?poFist** · Posted On: 4/01/2008 11:15pm

Yamma Fighting Surface Described; Kerr, Rodriguez Added to Card

Yamma Pit Fighting disclosed details Tuesday of the "Yamma" fighting surface to be used for the promotion's debut show April 11 in Atlantic City, N.J.

"The Yamma is a circular pit, shaped almost like a bowl, with a circular flat bottom that rises up around the edge," the promotion explained in a news release. "In this ring, if a fighter is pushed backwards towards the fence, he moves up the lip, gaining both a height and leverage advantage over his opponent. From this position, the fighter on the lip can use gravity and leverage to reverse his opponent and take the fight back into the center without a break in the action."

The last several weeks had brought much speculation regarding the surface.

"Some people thought it would have a moving floor, spikes or even live alligators," said Yamma Pit Fighting's Bob Meyrowitz. "But the Yamma isn't about flashy gimmicks; it's about the evolution of a sport and how the traditional ring can be altered to accelerate that evolution. At its core, the purpose of the Yamma is to make MMA fighting more exciting for those who matter most -- the fans."

Yamma Pit Fighting also announced that Mark Kerr (Pictures) will fight Oleg Taktarov at the event. "The Smashing Machine" fought Friday in Oklahoma, where he defeated Chuck Huus with a keylock in the first round.

Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures), who's coming off a split-decision loss to Antonio Silva in February, has been added to the heavyweight tournament.

The main event pits Eric "Butterbean" Esch versus 42-year-old veteran Gary Goodridge (Pictures). Fighting this past weekend in Seoul, South Korea, Goodridge was knocked out in the second round by Mu Bae Choi (Pictures).

Full card:

"Master's Superfights" (two five-minute rounds)
Oleg Taktarov vs. Mark Kerr (Pictures)
Eric Esch (Pictures) vs. Gary Goodridge (Pictures)

Heavyweight Tournament (one five-minute round; championship is three five-minute Rounds)

Marcelo Pereira
Sherman Pendergarst
Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures)
Tony Sylvester
Chris Tuscherer
Travis Wiuff (Pictures)
Alexey Oleynik
George Bush (Pictures)

**Ke?poFist** · Posted On: 4/01/2008 11:15pm

all I can say is...

gay gay gay gay, did I mention gay?

On a side note, there's a fighter named George Bush? Sucks to be him.

**dokomoy** · Posted On: 4/01/2008 11:24pm

With past there prime fighters and a stupid gimmick what's the over/under on how many events they have, 3?

How the hell is there fighting surface(or some of there fighters for that matter) even manage to get sanctioned?

**G-Off** · Posted On: 4/01/2008 11:26pm

I'm interested.

**HappyOldGuy** · Posted On: 4/01/2008 11:30pm

I'm kinda interested in the "ring," the fighters not so much.
Except the bean.
Don't disrespect the bean.

**UpaLumpa** · Posted On: 4/01/2008 11:33pm

Wiuff isn't past his prime (though clearly not top tier) and if Ricco gets his head and weight right we would easily see him climb to the top again.

**G-Off** · Posted On: 4/01/2008 11:42pm

Sure there are washed-up fighters. But as long as they're fighting each other, I think it's pretty cool. Old master vs. old master is definitely interesting.

It'll be interesting to see how the surface plays out, especially if it really will make matches more action oriented.