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January 20, 2012

MMA fans will be treated to 17 fights Saturday

Times-Tribune

CORBIN — If you’re a Mixed Martial Arts fan then you need to head to the Corbin Civic Center Saturday to watch the state’s longest running MMA production — Kentucky Fighting Challenge 79.

Barbourville’s Brian Kilgore will be squaring off against London’s Mike Petes in a heavyweight match that will be the main event. But that’s not all, if you go, accoriding to Peters, you will be able to watch 17 fights during the event.

For more information on the fight, be sure to check out the weekend edition of the Times-Tribune.

Doors open Saturday at 6:30 p.m. with the event beginning at 8 p.m. General admission is $20, while front row seats are $25 and VIP tables (seats six) are $200. For more information, call 859-948-5577.

• Speaking of Saturday, when you pick up your weekend edition of the Times-Tribune, you’ll notice the final of the 13th Region All’A’ Classic and many other games won’t be there. Don’t worry, you’ll get write-ups of the games in Monday’s edition. The sports department along with the other members of the newsroom will be making a trip to Lexington to attend the Kentucky Press Association Awards Reception.

• Former South Laurel coach and now Southwestern coach Steve Wright guided his Warriors to an impressive 9-0 start and a No. 14 ranking, but the Warriors are 5-5 during their last 10 games, which inlcudes back-to-back losses to rival Pulaski County (87-82) and Russell County (83-79).

• Want my predictions for the AFC and NFC title games? Well, here ya go — New England will have a rather easy time with Baltimore, winning 29-14, while the New York Giants will move one step closer to another Super Bowl championship by upending San Francisco at home, 17-14.

• I’m not a Cincinnati Reds fan by any means, but I’ve got to give credit to their management because they have quietly built a World Series contender during the offseason. No, I’m not joking.

• I know I said this earlier this past week, but it looks like Harlan County has established itself as the favorite in the 13th Region. The Black Bears only led defending 13th Region champion Bell County by two points (25-23) at halftime before outscoring Lewis Morris’ squad 17-2 in the third quarter to pull out a 59-46 win.

With that said, there are numerous teams that could put things together and make a run at the regional crown. Those teams are Clay County, Bell County, Barbourville, North Laurel, Knox Central, Corbin and South Laurel. Yes, I included South Laurel. Only one team has played a tougher schedule than the Cardinals this season and that is Clay County. The Cardinals have had to deal with injuries all year long, but still have managed to pull off wins against Barbourville and Knox Central. You also can’t count out a team like Williamsburg. The Yellow Jackets continue to improve and will be a big threat once the end of February rolls along.

• On the girls’ side, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, Clay County remains the team to beat until someone beats them. Whitley County and Harlan County seem to have the best chance of unseating the Lady Tigers as region champs.

• Corbin bowling coaches Kenny Kyser and William Sanderson have done a fantastic job with their respective bowling teams. Both teams are 2-1 on the season and could make a run at the boys and girls regional titles.

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