Less exotic but no less interesting was card No. 2 for the aptly named Resurrection Fighting Alliance. Brought to you in part by Wayne Harriman, one of the original founders of the World Fighting Alliance, which tried to go big and was eventually purchased by Zuffa for scraps, the RFA is quickly becoming a place where former Zuffa fighters can earn a paycheck.
Harriman, longtime friend of UFC president Dana White and a former manager of Tito Ortiz, returned to MMA when he met Kirk Brooks. Mutual friends put the two together in Harriman's hometown of Las Vegas, where it was soon agreed that Brooks, an arena and minor league hockey owner in Kearney, Neb., would front the money while Harriman would handle the fighters and promotional duties. Brooks' Kearney-based arena staff would also work on marketing and selling the RFA.
According to RFA spokesman Todd Gottula, the promotion will hold four to five cards per year in Nebraska, with an option for one more in Las Vegas. If Friday's main event is any indication (and it is), then RFA, true to its name, could serve as a last chance for fighters to prove they still have something Zuffa might be interested in. They recently signed lightweight contender Joe Stevenson, for example.
In the main event, Gilbert Yvel waited for the proper moment to unload on Houston Alexander in a light heavyweight contest. Also on the card, 50-year-old Maurice Smith fought for the first time in four years and educated Jorge Cordoba on the pains of taking leg kicks from a master. Cordoba probably didn't feel the last kick, though, a perfect shot to the mouth that dropped him cold.
I'd be surprised if One FC and the RFA failed to make news down the road.
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