By Casey Oxendine

The action is guaranteed to be intense this Saturday night when "Worlds Collide"--the co-promotion between Conflict MMA and Valor Fights--arrives to the Forum River Center in Rome, Georgia. 

The event, which is streaming live on FloCombat, features a tremendous lineup of rising stars, capped off by the highly anticipated main event between Kobe "The Great" Wall and Luis "The Beast" Pena.





That said, while the event is set to showcase the future of MMA, it's the venue's rich history that continues to have an impact on the sport.

Valor Fights vs. Conflict MMA continues a tradition that began nearly two decades ago with an epic event that has all but been forgotten. But to me, it was the night MMA came to life.

Rewind to the fall of 1999. I was an avid reader of Full Contact Fighter, which had featured several articles framing the ongoing feud between Wallid Ismail and Ryan Gracie.

Gracie and Ismail had crossed paths in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community with several heated exchanges, which quickly spilled over into the cage fighting world. A fight between the two was set as the main event for WEF 8 "Going Platinum" Jan. 15, 2000, at the Rome Forum, an event hosted by the late (and often controversial) Jamie Levine.

This would be the first cage fighting event ever held at the forum -- and undoubtedly a memorable night of legends to come.

In addition to this highly anticipated headliner, the undercard was stacked with both current and future stars of the sport. The co-main event was a dream matchup between then-current UFC champ Pat Miletich and Brazilian Vale Tudo legend Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons. The card also featured appearances of names like Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira, Jeremy Horn, and Renato "Babalu" Sobral. This was a show that I could not miss.

As soon as the event was announced, I was on the phone securing the tickets for myself and two of my training partners who were attending with me. While I had already been training for three years, this would be the first live MMA event I had ever attended. 

Though the highly publicized main event eventually fell apart, the show was already a sellout by that point. The co-main took the top spot, and the remaining lineup would delight the crowd of a then-niche audience of dedicated fans. 

The room was electric from the start of the first bell as we witnessed a lineup of grueling battles and stunning knockouts on display throughout the night. As the fights rolled on, we were also joined by a host of MMA royalty outside the cage. Names like Marco Ruas, Maurice Smith, Tito Ortiz, and Chuck Liddell all roamed the stands among the fans while taking pictures and signing autographs. 



From Sobral's epic soccer-kick knockout to Minotauro's grueling decision victory over Jeremy Horn, the audience was treated to a clinic of MMA's finest. Jose Pele Landi-Jons would also go on to defeat UFC champion Pat Militech in a surprising turn of events. When the final matchup was done and it was time to head home, there was a sense that this new sport had a bright future.  

This venue would go on to host a series of great events throughout the next decade, and then ultimately the Forum fell silent of mixed martial arts action.

This weekend changes all of that.

On Saturday, the collective efforts of matchmaking powerhouses Tim Loy (Valor Fights) and Jared Williams (Conflict MMA) deliver a new generation of mixed martial arts fighting action back to this legendary venue. Be sure to tune in live on FloCombat, as "Worlds Collide" brings you the evolution of this great sport amidst the ghosts of yesterday.

See everyone there for history in the making.

How to Watch Valor Fights vs. Conflict MMA: Worlds Collide

On TV: Now Available on Roku and Apple TV 4--download the FloSports app now.
STREAMING: Only on FloCombat with a PRO subscription. A yearly PRO subscription provides access to ALL FloSports sites.

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