While much of the mma world was focused on The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale, a little event in Jackson, NJ was busy making a significant impact on the sport. MMA Mayhem held its debut event at Six Flags Great Adventure as a fundraiser for Policemen's Benevolent Association #168 and it came off so well that Six Flags is discussing the possibility of making it a regular occurrence at more of their parks around the country. A sport that is still unsanctioned in several states and often referred to as "human cockfighting" being held regularly in children's theme parks is not only an indication of the progress the sport is making but also a tribute to the job that was done in putting this event together.

The state of the economy has threatened to claim the jobs of sixteen Jackson police officers and the PBA, in conjunction with Steve Rivera's Elite Wrestling, put forth a huge amount of effort in an attempt to save those jobs. Detective Mitch Cowit came up with the idea and started working on it immediately last November then quickly enlisted the help of Rivera who is the long-time wrestling coach of UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Rivera utilized his experience and contacts in the sport to assemble a high-quality fight card, an amateur grappling event, and a meet & greet with Edgar, Kimbo Slice, and Matt Serra.

One-hundred competitors competed the no-gi tournament in the morning, then fans were treated to a meeting with Edgar, Slice, and Serra where they could get autographs and pictures while the fighters also took a few minutes to speak to everyone. The surprise of the day was the unexpected arrival of outrageous TV personality Jerry Springer, who came on stage for pictures and jokingly compared biceps with Slice.

The six-fight card featured fighters from around the country as well as some local flavor. In the co-main event, New Jersey native and Ring of Combat lightweight champion Chris Liguori took on 8-3 Robert Conner. Conner was a late addition to the card and there wasn't much tape to find on him but he proved to belong in the Dead Serious hexagon. Conner controlled the first two rounds and was seemingly up 20-18 going into the third and final round. Liguori managed to pull guard and lock on a tight triangle but Conner the relentless Conner refused to tap or go out. Liguori, cornered by Ricardo Almeida and Frankie Edgar, listened to his coaches and tried to soften Conner with elbows. As the triangle tightened and Conner stayed conscious, Liguori continued to land huge elbows from his back until finally, at 3:16, referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight and granted "The Story" the comeback TKO victory.

The main event was a matchup between former housemates of The Ultimate Fighter 7, American Top Team's Dan Cramer and another Almeida protege', Dante Rivera. In a back and forth contest, Cramer appeared to have the edge going into the final round where they both threw caution to the wind and slugged it out, obviously looking to finish the fight. In the end, some people in the crowd were displeased that Rivera was awarded the split-decision win but Cramer showed class saying, "Dante's a tough guy but I thought I did enough to win the fight. That's why they say, 'never leave it in the hands of the judges.'  It was a great fight and I have no hard feelings toward Dante. I lived with him for...