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7/18/2025 0 Comments 247 Fighting Championships will christen Sunny Days Arena in North Versailles with UFC rematch between Khama Worthy and Luis "Violent Bob Ross" Pena The 247 Fighting Championships will host their first event at the Sunny Days Arena Aug. 9 in North Versailles. The venue is located in the old Phoenix Cinemas building. Photo submitted by Andrew Palla 247 Fighting Championships General Manager Hunter Homistek was immediately impressed when he walked into the lobby of the recently closed Phoenix Cinemas in North Versailles.
The question was, could they afford it? “When the 247 Fighting Championships founder wrote our business plan, having our full-scale event venue was part of the process,” Homistek said. “Normally, we’d rent from the Monroeville Convention Center, Hollywood Casino at the Meadows, or Murrysville Sports Zone, and we are grateful those venues allowed us to host shows. The way most venues are set up, the venue makes most of the money. You have to fight and scrap for every dollar you can recover.” Following a several-year plan, which required jumping through all the hoops with zoning and financial requirements to lease the building, Homistek is excited to christen Sunny Days Arena Aug. 9 with their first show in their new home. The 247 Fighting Champions took advantage of the movie theatre’s open lobby setup. The cage is located halfway between the ticket counter and the former location of the concession stand and is surrounded by seating. There is a balcony on the second floor that wraps around the cage where an arcade and bar used to be. Parking for the event will be free. “The team is excited about feeling the atmosphere for what will be the home of combat sports in Pittsburgh,” Homistek said. “We are excited to unveil the space itself. We’ve done some phenomenal work as a team.” The main event will feature a match with professional kickboxing rules between Khama Worthy and Luis “Violent Bob Ross” Pena. Worthy, who is 38 and a Moon Township native, fought five times in the UFC. One of Worthy’s two wins in the UFC was a third-round submission over Pena. Homistek believes this is the first time in the Pittsburgh MMA scene that a rematch has occurred between two fighters who have competed in the UFC. Worthy has a 20-12 record in MMA competitions and also competed in Karate Combat. Homistek believes the main event is enough to sell the card. “Khama submitted him the first time around,” Homistek said. “That’s not an option this time around. They are going to stand and bang.” Several other fights have been announced for the card. Musa Alsulaimani will take on Travis Hudson in a 160-pound professional MMA bout. Alsulaimani is a training partner of Bo Nickal, who was a national championship wrestler at Penn State and a current UFC fighter. Kyle O’Hare, an undefeated fighter from Ohio, will take on Ben Fielding in an amateur bout. Homistek is excited to see their first show go off. “Our mission has been to grow the combat sports scene in Pittsburgh,” Homistek said. “At the core of what we do are amazing combat sports. We have well-known wrestling in Pa., some of the best in the World. We want to show that it goes beyond wrestling, that we have amazing jiu jitsu, kickboxing, and Muay Thai. We don’t think Pittsburgh gets the respect it should nationally.” Josh Rizzo is the owner and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo
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 Bulldogs are in hot pursuit of first City League title since 1996By Josh Rizzo SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- There is a certainly an expectation within the Westinghouse football program to return to the Pittsburgh City League playoffs for the second straight year. Senior running back/cornerback Jeremiah Nash believes getting there will require work beyond the football field. The Bulldogs had a breakthrough last year, finishing 5-5 and qualifying for the City League Playoffs for the first time in 15 years. Westinghouse's four regular season conference wins were as many as the Bulldogs had in the previous four seasons. Their return to the playoffs was spoiled with a 23-20 double overtime loss to Brashear. Westinghouse, which shared the City League regular season championship with University Prep, also dropped a 21-20 decision to Berlin-Brothersvalley in the PIAA playoffs. Despite the success, Nash would like to see more focus on character building. "We didn't focus on becoming men," Nash said. "That's the goal this year and will help us win the championship because we fell short. People need to stick together. They didn't pull together through the whole season. Our focus is to improve as individuals so we can become a team." The Bulldogs will have plenty of experience coming back to make another run at their first City crown since 1996. Quarterback Tay'Von Lee-Mattox returns, along with linebacker Raimere Waters and defensive lineman/tight end Tyre Hicks. Winning has been a big boon for Westinghouse. The Bulldogs have seen increased enthusiasm and participation. "We're at about 40," Bulldogs coach Monte Robinson said about the team's numbers. "Last year, we were at about 27 or 30, something like that. We grew." What impresses Nash, who would like to end up at Carnegie Mellon to play football, is how the group has performed. The players aren't thinning out once camp started as they have in the past. "The numbers change every year," Nash said. "We have 30 or 40 every season. When the season begins, the numbers will go short. This season, everybody stuck together and they just stayed. I was surprised because it wasn't the usual thing that happens every year. I like it." Robinson believes the success helped turnout. More importantly, it gave community members the impression Westinghouse could help build young men. Just as Nash hoped. "Winning always helps," Robinson said. "Ultimately, I think we built the program up to the point where parents are seeing the benefits of being apart of what we're doing, not just athletically, but academically." Westinghouse's rise 2016: 5-5, 4-1* Lost 23-20 2OT to Brashear in City League semis, 21-20 to Berlin-Brothersvalley in PIAA 2A playoffs 2015: 2-8, 1-4 Lost 14-6 to Chestnut Ridge in PIAA Class AA playoffs. 2014: 1-7, 0-5 Lost 35-0 to Chestnut Ridge in PIAA Class AA playoffs 2013: 1-9, 0-5 Lost 55-20 to Chestnur Ridge in PIAA Class AA playoffs 2012: 1-7, 1-4 2011: 3-7, 2-5 2010: 1-9, 0-8 2009: 3-7, 3-5 Lost 29-6 to Bedford in PIAA Class AA playoffs 2008: 3-5, 3-3 2007: 1-9, 1-7 2006: 1-8, 1-7 2005: 0-8, 0-8 *Shared City League regular season title with University prep |
AuthorMy name is Josh Rizzo, I am a sports writer who has worked for a variety of print and online media publications since 2008. I specialize in community journalism, focusing on regular people who happen to play sports. Archives
November 2025
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