Palmetto resident Cory Nestlehutt promoted and fought in the Southside Slugfest at the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater last October. There were plenty of naysayers out there, but the event went off without a hitch. The venue was sold out and the crowd, which some expected to be rowdy and out of control, behaved themselves and caused no problems. After the event, Nestlehutt stated that the event went so well that he hoped “The Fred” would have them back. His wish, and the wishes of mixed martial arts fans from all over Metro Atlanta, came true. Southside Slugfest II will take place Saturday, June 23 at “The Fred.”

“Peachtree City has been great to work with,” said Nestlehutt. “They said that we did like we said we would last time and had no problem greenlighting it again.”

Southside Slugfest II will be very similar to the first event. There will be 15 fights, although because of rules that go into effect in July, this will be the last time there will be amateur fighters on the card. The last event had UFC superstar Matt Hughes make an appearance, sign autographs and guest referee. This time, the UFC star is Georges “Rush” St. Pierre, a former UFC Welterweight Champion. St. Pierre will offer seminars at L.A. Boxing over the weekend and will be signing autographs at the Southside Slugfest as well.

Once again, tailgating in the parking lot will not be allowed and patrons also won’t be able to bring in outside food and beverages. The police presence will be as big as it was last time as well with 16 officers at the event.

One major difference will be the cage that the fighters will fight in. This time around the cage is larger by 3 feet in every direction and is more of a cylinder shape. Some would argue that this will play into the hands of faster fighters, but Nestlehutt believes that there still isn’t much room to hide.

Although he didn’t think he would ever fight on a card he was promoting again, Nestlehutt will once again be in the cage. He was scheduled to have surgery on his knee after last year’s match and spent five weeks on crutches and several weeks rehabbing before he was ready to start training again. Nestlehutt stresses that the training that the fighters endure make them some of the most fit athletes in sports.

“The training is the tough part,” Nestlehutt stated. “Once the gate closes and the fight begins, you won’t feel anything — at least not until the next day.”

There will be a number of local fighters participating in the Southside Slugfest II aside from Nestlehutt, including Chris Campbell, Paul Peterson, Frankie Parkman and Ethan Garrison. A mixed martial arts school from Tennessee, the Guardians, will have a lot of fighters on the card as well.

Southside Slugfest will kick-off with a weigh-in at Ultimate Fitness on Georgia Hwy 54 in Peachtree City on Friday night between 7 and 8 p.m. On Saturday, VIP guests will have a meet and greet with the fighters at 5 p.m. and the doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with the fights starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 for general admission, $50 for floor and $75 for front row. Tickets are available at the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater and Ticketmaster. For VIP Table info, call Cory at 770-846-4800 or Chevelle at 404-374-6376.