CANTON − Medieval MMA action is returning to the Hall of Fame Village with a big blast of heavy metal.
Rock band Lamb of God will headline the intermission entertainment at the Armored MMA Championship Fest that starts at 1 p.m. Oct. 18 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Hard rock band Drowning Pool will be a special guest, and more musical acts are expected to be announced.
Ten cage fights will be on the card at the event, which also features a free-to-access side stage showcasing regional bands.
“This event is more than a championship, it’s a one-of-a-kind experience,” said Anne Graffice, executive vice president of global marketing and public affairs at the Village. “Combining the thrill of Armored MMA with legendary rock acts creates a dynamic event that fans won’t find anywhere else.”
This is a follow-up to a June Armored MMA event at the Center for Performance sports dome on the Village campus, a 100-acre sports and entertainment development surrounding the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Armored MMA drew about 3,000 people to the Center for Performance sports dome at the Hall of Fame Village.
Armored combat: Medieval madness. Cage fights with swords entertain big crowd at Hall of Fame Village
Armored MMA tours the country
Following tour stops in Texas, Oregon, North Carolina and Tennessee, the Armored MMA Championship Fest “will be the largest armored combat event ever held in the United States,” the Hall of Fame Village said in a news release.
“This epic all-day festival marks the pinnacle of Amored MMA’s U.S. Tour, blending the high-energy world of full-contact medieval combat sports with the unforgettable intensity of live rock music,” the Village said.
Fighters will be competing for the title of 2025 Armored MMA champion.
Armored MMA drew about 3,000 people on June 7 to the Center for Performance at the Hall of Fame Village. The event featured Ohio fighters, as well as others from outside the state.
More about Lamb of God and Drowning Pool
Blistering rock music pumped from the sound system at June’s Armored MMA extravaganza. But this time the music will be live and even louder, featuring the Grammy-nominated Lamb of God, which plays aggressive rock, combining speed, death, thrash and heavy metal.
The band has a big following, including roughly 4 million Facebook followers and around a million on Instagram. Lamb of God broke through on the metal scene in 2000 with the release of the album, “New American Gospel,” which includes the songs, “Laid to Rest” and “Omerta.” Other popular songs include “Walk with Me In Hell” and “Redneck.”
Drowning Pool is best known for its platinum-selling song, “Bodies,” featured on the 2001 album, “Sinner,” which reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Drowning Pool’s songs also include, “Rise Up,” which became a theme song for WWE SmackDown in 2006.
Brutal, violent and entertaining
The first Canton event was a rowdy spectacle before a few thousand fans who packed the Center for Performance. Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium has a capacity of around 23,000.
Production includes smoke, pyrotechnics, strobe lights, heavy metal music and a provocative ringside announcer.
Mickey Guida is president of Armored MMA. He is also a fighter who participated at an Armored MMA event at the Hall of Fame Village in Canton.
Armored MMA is a unique style of combat sport. Competitors wear body armor and wield swords, axes and shields. The sport blends mixed martial arts with medieval-style gladiator combat.
Covered from head to toe in armor plating and peering through helmet slits, brawlers take opponents to the canvas and wage raw and brutal battles inside a caged circular ring. Fighters engage in hand-to-hand combat, pushing and grappling. Kicks and forearm blows are also landed.
Fighters win by knockout, technical knockout or landing more strikes.
Armored MMA fans watch an event at the Center for Performance at the Hall of Fame Village in Canton. Fights feature a bizarre mix of martial arts, swords and armor.
‘This is what we dreamed of.’
Mickey Guida, president of Armored MMA, also competes as a fighter in the sport. Armored MMA is expanding its appeal and growing its fan base, Guida said, with more than 90,000 subscribers on YouTube and more than 600,000 followers on Instagram.
“This is what we dreamed of when we created Armored MMA,” Guida said in a prepared statement. “Crowning our 2025 champions in a historic venue, with iconic bands and an unmatched atmosphere, is the perfect way to make history for our fighters and our fans. This is as metal as you can get.”
Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and [email protected]. On Instagram at ed_balint.
If you go
What: Armored MMA Championship Fest
When: 1 p.m. Oct. 18
Where: Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium at Hall of Fame Village, 1901 Champions Gateway, Canton.
Details: Medieval-style mixed martial arts combat and championship fights, plus live music with headliner Lamb of God and special guest Drowning Pool. Food trucks, craft beer and other beverages will be available, plus regional musical artists.
Admission: For tickets and more details, go to https://armoredmmaxp.com. Tickets are $85 for general admission; $162 for cage side; and $216 for VIP club seats.
Robert Forgues of Stark County walks toward the caged ring at an Armored MMA event at the Hall of Fame Village in Canton. Forgues was among those participating in medieval-style mixed martial arts fighting.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Armored MMA event in Canton to feature Lamb of God and Drowning Pool
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