Up Next
D.C.’s annual Fight Night was filled with notable boxers, MMA and UFC fighters, and more
Former heavyweight MMA champ Ivanov beat Alencar at event that raised $4.3 million for early childhood education
Boxer James “Buster” Douglas sat in the lobby of Washington, D.C.’s, Capital Hilton on Nov. 2, taking a brief moment to chill just hours before one of the District’s exclusive fundraisers would kick off. His 6-foot-4 frame, topped by a brown fedora, caught stares from hotel guests and employees.
Three hours later, 1,800 guests flooded into the venue for Fight Night, a Fight for Children fundraiser that generates funds for early childhood education initiatives in the D.C. area.
The charity annually commands the presence of heavyweights in business, government, philanthropy, sports and entertainment. Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Lennox Lewis have been part of the fundraiser and its atmosphere of cigars, Scotch and music.
“It’s a great event, and I’m honored to be part of it each year,” Douglas said.
Fight Night has generated more than $65 million overall. This year’s donations totaled $4.3 million.
The event usually features boxing. But this year it teamed up with the Professional Fighters League, and mixed martial arts fighters took to the ring for the first time. Former heavyweight champion Blagoy Ivanov of Bulgaria defeated Brazilian Caio Alencar in the night’s main event, while rising star Lance Palmer defeated longtime MMA veteran Steven Siler in the co-main.
The Professional Fighters League will formally debut in 2018 and feature a multimillion-dollar prize pool for fighters. The league purchased the fighting operations and event infrastructure of the World Series of Fighting in January and has more than 100 MMA fighters under contract.
The event featured appearances by boxers Douglas, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, Gerry Cooney and Earnie Shavers; Chuck Liddell and Urijah Faber of UFC fame; former world kickboxing champion Ray Sefo; former heavyweight MMA champion Bas Rutten; UFC and Brazilian jiujitsu fighter Renzo Gracie; Olympic judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison; as well as Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser; ESPN’s Michael Wilbon; CNBC’s Dhani Jones; Ballers actors Omar Miller, Donovan Carter and Kris Lofton; and former Washington Redskins players Pierre Garçon, Ken Harvey, Gary Clark, Ricky Sanders and Santana Moss, along with current players Jamison Crowder and Josh Doctson.
Fight for Children and Fight Night were created by Joseph E. Robert Jr. in 1990 to help children from low-income communities in the nation’s capital. Fight for Children’s purpose is to provide all children, regardless of their circumstance in life, with an equal shot at a great education.