There is a county fair in IL that is taking place this weekend (im not sure where at) and it will be holding MMA fights. This might be the new thing.
My son is a local MMA fighter. He trained at The Hit Squad up untill this past month and now trains a Watson Martial Arts in St Louis. He started his fighting career less then a year ago after turning 18. He holds a 3-0 undefeated record with all wins being in the first round!
Having MMA fights local would be nice (we have traveled a good few hours to fight). Having them outside in the August heat might be a bit tough though.