Adult film star Dick Delaware will fight Mike Whitehead for the heavyweight title of the Universal Above Ground Fighting (UAGF) organization on Thursday night at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood.
Delaware (23-9-1), whose real name is Aaron Brink, and Whitehead will be the main event of the six-fight card that begins at 7.
A veteran of over 300 sex scenes who did his most recent work for Baby Doll Extreme on Thursday, Delaware enters the mixed-martial-arts bout with a 23-9-1 record over seven years as a professional fighter.
He has done both porn and fighting for parts of the past two years, earning a nomination for 2005 AVN Best Male Newcomer at the 22nd annual AVN Awards in January.
The 6-foot-3 native of Huntington Beach is fighting for a potential return to glory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), or the “Super Bowl of mixed-martial arts.” Delaware lost in his only previous UFC appearance in November 2000 to the current UFC interim heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski.
Delaware is battling a 6-1, 240-pound opponent who is also in line to go to the UFC. Whitehead is from the highly regarded Miletich Fighting Systems camp in Iowa. He is a former freestyle wrestler who has competed in the Olympic trials and comes in with an 11-4-1 mark.
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“He’s going to shoot a fat-man’s double-leg. He’s just going to come right up and shoot a double-leg, and use his body weight to make it happen,” Delaware said. “I’m going to come out and sprawl and brawl. I’ll be hard to manage. I’m going to be hard to handle. He’s going to have to work his ass off.”
Delaware plans to weigh about 230 pounds on the night of the fight. Whitehead has weighed as much as 265 in previous fights.
“I want to be stronger and heavier,” Delaware said. “If I win, I’m going to go to the UFC. I talked with {UFC matchmaker} Joe Silva and he said, ‘If you beat Mike Whitehead, call me.’”
Delaware, who last fought on Dec. 9 at the same venue for the same organization, winning a quick knockout, is on a four-fight winning streak.
“This fight is intriguing because we have two very, very good fighters,” UAGF promoter Darren Dotson told AVN.com. “Aaron is UFC quality. He has fought UFC opponents. I’d say this is the second part of his career. He’s trying to possibly get back into the big event.
“The guy he’s fighting has already fought in top shows. If Aaron wins this, he’ll be able to use this tape to get into the UFC. Aaron is a very talented fighter, and if you beat somebody like that, {UFC President} Dana White is going to take notice. That’s the good thing about UAGF, we give opportunities to fighters that have nowhere to go. We’re bringing in Mike Whitehead from Iowa.”
The co-main event features UFC veteran Phil Baroni against King of Cage vet Art Santore in a light-heavyweight bout.
The UAGF is a five-year-old organization that is holding its 17th event, and all but one has been in California.
Dotson said Henry Ford Theater is an ideal setup to watch a cage fight.
“It holds 800, and it’s theater-style seating. When you have the cage on the stage, it’s up almost four feet, similar to a boxing ring,” he said.
Interested parties can buy tickets, www.ticketweb.com, or by calling UAGF, 818.370.2510. General admission is $35. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with the first fight scheduled for 7. The main event will probably start around 9.
