YAMMA Pit Fighting was Robert Meyrowitz's return to the combat sports business seven years after he sold UFC.
The political climate became accepting of Mixed Martial Arts, and the sport grew to global popularity.
"Yamma" was the name of surface inside of a circular, cornerless cage with slanted internal edges. It was touted as an
"evolution" in MMA designed to prevent inactivity at the sides and encourage constant fighting.
The card featured four heavyweight quarter-final tournament bouts to crown a champion at the end. Participants included Ricco
Rodriguez, Travis Wiuff, Sherman Pendergast, Chris Tuscherer, Tony Sylvester, Marcelo Pereira, Alexy Oleynik and George Bush III.
Some non-tournament "Masters Superfight" bouts included Patrick Smith vs. Eric "Butterbean" Esch, Mark Kerr vs. Oleg Taktarov.
(Esch was to originally have fought Gary Goodridge, and Taktarov against Don Frye.) Mark Coleman made an appearance as
part of Bush's corner team. All bouts were officiated by Kevin Mulhall and Dan Miragliotta. Longtime sportscaster
Bruce Beck introduced this event, and joined in commentary by MMA notables Jeff Blatnick and John Perretti.
Meanwhile, radio personality Scott Ferrall became a punchline with his harsh voice, witty attempts and mispronounciations.
Three years later he was hired to do promotional work for Strikeforce's heavyweight tournament.
Most of the fights at YAMMA Pit Fighting went to a decision, which may not have been the intent of the "Yamma".
Robert Meyrowitz, later commented that fighters would stall against the edges to use up time.
YAMMA Pit Fighting 2, scheduled for two months after the first one, never happened. It was to have had a
middleweight championship tournament, a women's bout and a masters superfight.
This YAMMA Pit Fighting event had some names from MMA's past and future. It's worth watching for fans who
appreciate the history of the sports.
