Mixed Martial Arts fans in Goulburn will be treated to their second live show in six years April, when Storm Damage 14 takes place at Veolia Arena.
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The promotion is the premier amateur MMA organisation based out of Canberra, and the upcoming card was announced over the weekend.
Event organiser and promoter, Storm Oshyer, said the decision to hold a fight night in Goulburn was recognition of the enthusiasm and MMA talent in the region.
"It's mainly for Craig [Harmer, owner and head instructor of the Goulburn Martial Arts Academy] and his boys, and Darcy [Sullivan, owner and head instructor of Mulwaree Muay Thai] to have a proper show in their home town," Oshyer said.
"It also gives people something to look forward to, because everyone's kind of wandering around at the moment going 'What do I do?'
"Everyone's a bit down, so we thought we'd get a show on the way and give them something to look forward to."
The decision to return to Goulburn, after Storm Damage held its last event here more than five years ago, was simple enough for Oshyer, who said the locals turned out in droves for the last fight night in Tuggeranong on April 17.
"We've done a show in Goulburn before," he said.
"There's a lot of people that came to support us from Goulburn at our last show in April. We've been asked to go back to Goulburn for years, we've been meaning to get back there.
"At the last show, there were a lot of guys from Goulburn fighting, and I like to look after the guys who step up and represent."
Indeed, five fighters from Goulburn stepped into the cage last April, two of whom recorded wins, while all of them participated in entertaining fights.
Four of these fighters trained out of the GMAA under Harmer's tutelage, and the instructor said he hopes to have even more students compete at the 2022 show.
"Ideally I'd be looking to have the same guys who fought on the last card with Storm Damage," Harmer said.
"We've got a couple of other guys that may be interested ... I've got another guy who's done a couple of kickboxing fights and may be looking to cross over and do some MMA. So we could have five or six guys representing the gym."
The biggest challenge for the time being, as Goulburn is still under a stay at home order due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, is getting back on the mats once the restrictions have eased.
"We're locked down and not training at the moment, so I'm encouraging them to do their own stuff," Harmer said.
"Although they're not at the gym, they're still keeping fit and trying to do something ... I'm hoping the guys can get past the COVID fog and get on with the job."
The Storm Damage 14 card was originally scheduled to take place on March 26, but was postponed to April 9 as of this morning.
Oshyer has committed to ensuring the card will take place in Goulburn next year, and said the only variable is the date, which may change depending on the status of the pandemic.
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