Tachi Palace Fights (TPF) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which hosts events at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. Regarded as a regional promotion, TPF events often include upcoming MMA prospects and veteran fighters who have competed in organizations such as the UFC, WEC, and Strikeforce, as well as other mid-range MMA promotions.
History
Tachi Palace Fights began hosting events at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in 2009, after the resort ceased its relationship with Palace Fighting Championship. Despite the change in promotion, many of the same local California fighters that competed for PFC were on the early TPF cards.
On February 4, 2010, Tachi Palace Fights hosted a thirteen fight event named TPF 3: Champions Collide. WEC and Dream competitor Cole Escovedo won the TPF bantamweight title by defeating Jeff Bedard via triangle choke. TUF 12 alum Nam Phan was knocked out by Isaac DeJesus in a bout for the TPF featherweight title. Bellator female champion Zoila Frausto appeared, submitting boxerJessica Rakoczy via armbar. Anthony Ruiz scored another impressive victory, defeating UFC veteran Hector Ramirez via split decision.[1]
TPF 4: Cinco de Mayhem occurred on May 5, 2010 and featured a flyweight bout between Ulysses Gomez and Luis Gonzalez. Gomez won the bout via unanimous decision, capturing the promotion's newly introduced flyweight title. In the welterweight class, prospect David Mitchell submitted UFC and WEC veteran Tim McKenzie with a guillotine choke to win the TPF welterweight title.
On July 9, 2010, the Tachi Palace hosted TPF 5: Stars and Strikes. The event was headlined by a 160-pound catchweight fight between WEC veteran Rob McCullough and TPF featherweight champion Isaac DeJesus. McCullough won the bout via technical knockout in the first round. Prospect Michael McDonald knocked out Cole Escovedo to secure the TPF bantamweight title. Veteran fighter John Alessio put John Koppenhaver to sleep with a guillotine choke in their welterweight contest, while David Mitchell returned to defeat local journeyman Poppies Martinez with a triangle choke.
TPF 6: High Stakes happened on the night of September 9, 2010. The event featured a middleweight bout between former WEC light heavyweight championDoug Marshall and TUF 11 alum Kyacey Uscola. Uscola knocked Marshall out with punches in the middle of the first round. Also featured was a lightweight bout between Rob McCullough and The Ultimate Fighter 5 alum Corey Hill, which McCullough won via unanimous decision. Leopoldo Serao claimed the TPF middleweight title in a bout against Anthony Ruiz, while veterans Micah Miller and Diego Saraiva squared off in a bout which Miller took by unanimous decision.[2]
TPF 7: Deck the Halls occurred on December 2, 2010. In the main event, Brazilian journeyman Jorge Oliveira defeated UFC veteran James Irvin via triangle choke in a middleweight contest. Micah Miller submitted TPF featherweight champion Isaac DeJesus via neck crank. DeJesus retained his title, however, as Miller came into the bout two pounds over the featherweight limit. John Alessio defeated Phil Collins to win the TPF welterweight title, vacated by prospect David Mitchell when he was signed by the UFC. Flyweight ace Jussier da Silva defeated Danny Martinez via unanimous decision in his first North American bout.[3]
The next scheduled Tachi Palace Fights event is TPF 8, set to occur on February 17, 2011. It has been reported that TPF middleweight champion Leopoldo Serao is set to defend his title against veteran fighter David Loiseau.[4] Flyweight champion Ulysses Gomez will also defend his belt, against California prospect Darrell Montague. Jussier da Silva is set to take on Ian McCall, a former opponent of Dominick Cruz.[5]
Leopoldo Serao
John Alessio
Gabe Ruediger