For those not familiar with North Carolina, the sport of MMA was legalized again back in late 2007. So 2008 was the first year in which MMA shows were scheduled to take place in the Tarheel state after being banned for over a decade. MMA in North Carolina is regulated by the North Carolina Boxing Authority(NCBA), where North Carolina usually ranks in the top ten in the country for event night bouts. The majority of those shows have been amateur boxing and toughman competitions. However, in 2008 the NCBA regulated 67 events with 33 of those events being MMA events. The first MMA event didn't take place until the end of March of 2008. In 2009, 2 MMA events have already taken place with 3 more scheduled for February. The month of April follows up with 4 more MMA events scheduled so far. If that pace is kept, MMA events in North Carolina should obliterate last years numbers. The great thing about all of this is that these events are happening all over the state of North Carolina. Using the map above as reference, the two events that happened this month took place in the Washington and Winston Salem Regions respectively. There are events scheduled to take place in the Raleigh, Fayetteville, and Mooresville regions this year as well.
So if you are a MMA fan that lives in North Carolina, the sport is growing rapidly and be sure to come out and support the local scene. It's relatively easy to find a show within an hour or so drive from where you live. MMA4Real(soon to be mmaforreal) will have all of the MMA events scheduled to take place in North Carolina listed as the permits are issued to the promoters. So be sure to keep checking back as the list of events is updated on a weekly basis. Thanks for supporting the site, and definitely keep supporting the sport in out state.