CHATSWORTH, Calif.—Adult performer Dick Delaware, aka Aaron Brink, will fight in the main event of the Gladiator Challenge on Sunday night at Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, Calif.
Brink will meet unbeaten Travis Browne in a heavyweight fight for the interim title. Adult production company Combat Zone is sponsoring him this weekend. It will be Brink's first fight in nearly three years. The seven-year porn veteran was supposed to do a comeback fight in late October, but he had to withdraw with an injury to his mid-section.
Last year he gained national notoriety after his appearance on the A&E TV show “Intervention."
Brink originally appeared on the show about substance abuse on July 21. Footage from that episode, titled “Aaron & Andrea,” was taped in December 2008. “Intervention” profiles people whose dependence on drugs and alcohol has brought them to a point of personal crisis. Each episode ends with a surprise intervention that is staged by the family and friends of the addict. Brink’s intervention was conducted by specialist Jeff VanVonderen and set up by his wife, Cassandra Cruz, who is also an adult performer. The show since has re-aired with an update on Brink's condition. Even though he is sober now, because of the content of the initial show, Brink has had extreme difficulty booking professional MMA fights.
"No one wants to touch me now because of that show, so this is my chance to prove I'm back," Brink told AVN. "I have nothing to lose Sunday and everything to gain. I'm a big underdog, like 'Cinderella Man.' No one is expecting me to win this. This guy wants to use me as a stepping stone."
Now 35 years old, Brink wants to continue his MMA career that has taken him all over the world to fight in major promotions such as the UFC, Rings, 2 Hot 2 Handle, King of the Cage and the WFA.
The native of Huntington Beach, Calif., has fought some of the top names in the sport over his 12-year fight career. His biggest win came over Valentin Overeem in the World Fighting Alliance. Brink has also faced UFC veterans Andrei Arlovski, Rich Franklin, Jeremy Horn and Mike Whitehead, as well as Strikeforce contender Alistair Overeem.
He accepted Sunday's fight on less than two weeks notice after a proposed April bout with Aleksander Emelianko in Russia for M-1 Global fell through after promoters learned of his "Intervention" appearance.
The 6-foot-3 Brink weighed in at 214 pounds on Saturday, while the 6-7 Brown tipped the scales at 261 pounds.
For more details and directions to Sunday's bout, visit the gladiatorchallenge.com site.
