Eternal holds their second show in Perth tonight with local fighter Ryan “Ravishing” Gray hoping to score another win in front of his home-crowd when he takes on South Australia’s Myles Simpson in a featherweight bout.
The event, Eternal MMA 13 takes place at the WA Italian Club in Perth, Western Australia.
Gray is coming off a second-round submission over Bowen Cornish at Eternal MMA 11 back in July and prior to that had suffered his first professional defeat when he was submitted by Jesse Medina in a one-night four-man tournament in Valor.
Medina went on to win the tournament, revenging an early career loss to Myles Simpson by submitting the South Australian in the final. Simpson is a decorated Muay Thai fighter that has transitioned to MMA successfully having lost only once in seven bouts.
A win for either fighter will put them in line to challenge for the Eternal featherweight title.
“The Eternal event in July was the first time I got to fight in Perth as a professional and it was a dream come true,” Gray said via a press-release.
“Myles Simpson is an amazing athlete and I’m really looking forward to this matchup. He’s a state kickboxing champion and I know he likes to stand and throw down, so I’m hoping he takes that approach so we can put on an exciting fight.
“Either way, it doesn’t matter if he tries to take me down, I’ll be ready for him wherever the fight goes,” he added.
Also on the card, Western Australian Dai Jenkins comes up against James Cristopoulos from Queensland, while James McGlashan and Nick Wood go to battle in a welterweight bout.
The Western Australian MMA scene took a massive hit in 2013 when the cage was outlawed in favour of the traditional ring.
“Before the cage ban there was a burgeoning MMA scene in WA,” promoter Cam O’Neill said in a press-release for this weekend’s event.
“The UFC had scheduled a show for Perth that would have brought tens of millions of dollars into the local economy but they were forced to move the show to Brisbane when the WA state government enforced the ban.
“MMA in Perth is legal in a ring, but not a fenced enclosure. Western Australia is the only jurisdiction in the world that allows MMA in a ring but not a cage.
“Following the ban, local MMA shows were cancelled and MMA fights in Perth have been scheduled on the undercard of kickboxing shows but on the back of the public support, we are determined to continue to forge a strong presence in WA.”
Fight Card (Pro):
- Ryan Gray vs Myles Simpson
- Dai Jenkins vs James Cristopolous
- James McGlashan vs Nick Wood
Fight Card (Amateur):
- Jack Della vs Cam McGuire
- Chris Coyle vs Mark Familari
- Justin Hickey vs Hayden Eli Handford
- Craig Noras vs Kris Kemps
- Ben Wynne vs Andrew Murray
- Jazz Klumpp vs Jess Napier
- Dan Woodham vs Lian Van Dongen
