PORTLAND, Ore. – The Roseland Theater sits blocks away from the Burnside Bridge in downtown Portland, Ore., a place where high-rises and city landmarks butt up against homeless encampments and a bunch of MMA fighters and submission grapplers look very out of place.
Music is the Roseland’s main bag. On this Saturday, one half of the marquee outside advertises Bone Thugs N’ Harmony. Pictures of Tina Turner, Kenny Loggins, Cheech and Chong – all big hair and in their prime – adorn the lobby as yellow-shirted security guards flank metal detectors. They’re here for the other half of the billboard, Submission Underground 11, Chael Sonnen’s long-running grappling contest.