Jara eager to enter PFC ring

Posted on | May 29, 2008 | No Comments

LEMOORE, Ca. — There is a reason why Jaime Jara opted to compete in the Palace Fighting Championship.

The North Highland’s mixed martial artist says he wants to fight good middleweights.

“That’s what we have in the PFC… we’ve got some tough middleweights,” PFC President Christian Printup said. “Jara is right there at the top of the list with our champion Nate Loughran, Kenny Ento, Phil Collins and Justin Levens is still under contract with us and we’re on the verge of signing a veteran Brazilian middleweight who will definitely add more depth to the division.”

Jara (18-5) will make his highly anticipated PFC debut on Friday July 18 at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino at PFC 9. He is scheduled to face Orange County’s Marcus Gaines (4-4).

“There are some good fighters in the PFC and if I’m fighting good fighters, then that’s going to make a good fight for the fans,” said Jara, who is the current Pure Combat Middleweight champ and former Gladiator Challenge Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, Middleweight and Welterweight champion.

“My goals in the PFC are to get the hardware,” Jara added. “I want the strap.”

Jara is expected to challenge Santa Rosa’s Loughran (8-0) for the title if Loughran makes it past Merced’s Collins (6-3) in a PFC event in September at the Palace in Lemoore.

“Our middleweight division is very, very strong,” Printup added. “I think it’s going to keep getting stronger, too. We are very excited to have Jara now. I honestly believe that he is one of the toughest 185-pound fighters in the country. I think that he could compete with anyone and be competitive and we are very excited to have him under an exclusive contract.”

Jara recently captured the Pure Combat title by defeating Lodi’s Steve Heath (9-5) on May 9.

“I don’t know anything about my next opponent and it doesn’t matter” Jara said. “I see the fight playing out violently.”

Jara, who graduated from Rio Linda High in 1987, was a runner up at the California State wrestling tournament. He is widely respected as one of the toughest middleweights in the state.

“I think that Jara will be one of the more colorful fighters that we have,” Printup said. “He’s never had a boring fight and I think that he will be an instant fan favorite here in the Valley.”

Two PFC World titles will be on the line at PFC 9, as Brazil’s Jorge Oliveira (3-2-1) defends his light heavyweight title against Arroyo Grande’s Glover Teixeira (6-2).

The Oliveira and Teixeira bout will be a rematch from when Teixeira made PFC history and knocked out Oliveira with one punch in just 5 seconds at PFC 6 in January.

“I think this time it will be a much different fight,” Printup said. “Either way, whoever wins, we are going to have one of the top 205 pounders in the world wearing our belt.”

Also, Bakersfield’s Bryan Travers (10-1) takes on Porterville’s Morris Aldaco (6-0) for the vacant PFC World Welterweight crown.

Tickets will go on sale Saturday June 7 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at tickets.com or charge by phone at 1-800-225-2277. Tickets can also be purchased at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino Gift Shop.

Weighins will be held on Thursday, July 17 at 4 p.m. at the Den Sports Bar located on the third floor of the Palace. Fans are encouraged to attend.

On Friday doors open at 5:30 p.m. and fights start at 6:30. The fights will be held out doors for the first time in PFC history.

In other bouts:

—Indiana heavyweight Jake O’Brien (10-1) vs. Sacramento’s Jeromy Freitag (6-6).

—Fresno featherweight Casey Olson (7-2) vs. Sacramento’s Tito Jones (4-1).

—Los Angeles light heavyweight Ricardo Barros (2-1) vs. TBA.

—Lemoore welterweight Mickey Martinez (5-1-1) vs. Bakersfield’s Jack Morrison (0-2).

—Hanford lightweight Jeremy Luchau (1-0) vs. Bakersfield’s Juan Lopez (1-3).

—Lightweight Dominique Robinson (2-2) vs. Bakersfield’s Chuck Kim (6-6).

—Las Vegas flyweight Ulysses Gomez (1-0) vs. Rancho Cordova’s Andrew Martinez (0-1).

—Visalia lightweight Darren Crisp (4-2) vs. TBA.

—Lemoore welterweight Paul Gonzales (1-0) vs. TBA.

—Hanford featherweight Javier Cervantes (1-1) vs. Corcoran’s Alex Ortiz (0-0).

For breaking PFC news go to www.palacefightingchampionship.com. You can also find other PFC and Palace information at http://www.tachipalace.com.