Tickets on sale now for West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Columbia Lions on January 7 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and streaming live on UFC Fight Pass.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Cage Fury Fighting Championships and UFC Fight Pass continue the historic inaugural season of CFFC Match Day on Sunday, January 7, when the NCAA Division I wrestling series debuts on New Jersey’s historic Boardwalk at the spectacular Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena.

Tickets, which start at just $15, are on sale now for the intriguing dual that sees the West Virginia Mountaineers, currently ranked No. 21 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association poll, take on the Ivy League standout Columbia Lions. That featured matchup kicks off at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Additionally, the afternoon opens with a dual between a pair of New Jersey scholastic wrestling powerhouses in St. Augustine Preparatory School vs. Collingswood High School, which starts at 12 p.m. ET.

“I’m proud to say that CFFC Match Day has made an immediate impact in the sport of college wrestling, which has long been a true passion of mine,” CFFC CEO Rob Haydak said. “Our ultimate goal is to help the sport grow to much-deserved new heights, and I’m thrilled with the contributions we’ve been able to make already, but now we get to come home to Atlantic City and our longtime partners at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

“The Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena is a truly historic venue in combat sports, hosting three critical UFC events in a historically important six-month span between 2000 and 2001, as well as several of CFFC’s most memorable MMA cards – and now CFFC Match Day, as well, with this incredible ‘Battle on the Boardwalk.'”

Entering his sixth year at the helm of West Virginia, standout coach Tim Flynn has West Virginia poised as an emerging power in the Big 12. Following a scintillating start to the 2023-24 campaign, the Mountaineers feature eight different athletes in the latest Intermat Division I rankings, including Brody Conley, Austin Cooley, Peyton Hall, Dennis Robin, Jett Strickenberger, Jordan Titus, Ty Watters and Michael Wolfgram.

Meanwhile, Columbia head coach Zach Tanelli enters his eighth season at the program with high expectations, though the Lions have faced some early struggles against perennial Big 10 powers Michigan and Ohio State. Still, the team features a number of standout athletes capable of delivering on the preseason expectations of the Lions, including Nick Babin, Josh Ogunsanya, Angelo Rini, Jack Wehmeyer and Lenox Wolak.

Who will be the latest athlete to claim gold as the CFFC Match Day Outstanding Wrestler? Find out at the “Battle on the Boardwalk.” Meanwhile, get caught up on previous editions of CFFC Match Day at UFC Fight Pass.

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