Quentin Marozzi, a resident of Caledonia, can't wait to defend his MMA title in the 135-pound weight class in the Throwdown at The Downs on June 15.
"I am pumped," Marozzi said. "I'm ecstatic. I'm ready to go. I'm so honored to be here to do what I do. It's what I live for."
Batavia Downs is once again teaming up with local mix martial arts promoter Richard Mitchell and Ground Force Fights.
"Oh man," Mitchell said, "obviously last year's show was big, big. This year is going to be bigger. We're going to have 15 to 20 flights again and a lot of exciting fighters. There will be at least five title fights, maybe more."
Local fighters on the card so far include Peter Flanagan, Kenny Hale and Steven Kleckler.
Heavyweight Jon Marconi returns from Canada to defend his title.
Shotzie Doran, from Rochester, is also fighting.
"Honestly, I just love fighting and I'm just humbled by the entire experience, so I'm happy to be here, happy to be a part of it," Doran said.
Marozzi said he's looking forward to taking on the challenge of a fighter who comes to MMA from wrestling.
"He's really tough," Marozzi said. "He's undefeated. I'm looking forward to really going out there with a wrestler. Most wrestlers I've fought have a really good jaw. So we're going to test his jaw and see how good it really is. He's a good guy. He's humble and he's respectable so he's going to be a good opponent. It's going to be a good time."
Marozzi said he's also pleased to be fighting again in one of Mitchell's events.
"He takes care of his fighters," Marozzi said. "He cares about the fighters in the ring and out of the ring, in their lives and at camps. He's not like a lot of promoters who really just care about the fighter to showing up. He actually cares about his fighters. He's the best promoter I've fought for and I've had like 15 fights."
“We are excited to have Ground Force Fights back at Batavia Downs,” said Henry Wojtaszek, CEO/president at Batavia Downs Gaming. “After the success of last year’s event, we began talks almost immediately on putting together another event here in June of 2019. We’re looking forward to another great night of fights that will entertain the passionate MMA fans of Western New York.”
Tickets are on sale now at bataviaconcerts.com. Doors open at 4:30 p.m.; event starts at 6 p.m. Tickets are $35 for General Admission and $55 for VIP seats closer to the cage. Lawn chairs (which are normally permitted for other Batavia Downs events) are NOT permitted for this event. There will be limited chairs and bleacher seating available.
Each concert ticket is also redeemable once at Player’s Club in the three days following the event for $15 Free Play to be used on one of Batavia Downs Gaming’s 800+ gaming machines.
Photo: Quentin Marozzi, Richard Mitchell and Shotzie Doran.
