Showcasing matchups between many of the best up-and-coming mixed martial artists.

Ann Arbor native Laith Al-Saaidi is 34 now, and he’s already toured the globe with his band Blue Vinyl. Shit, by 18, he had opened for Buddy Guy, Luther Allison, Son Seals and Taj Mahal. Not a bad résumé. Some call him a singer-songwriter, others a blues dude, and both of those things are true. He’s also a hardworking motherfucker, and it is his tireless work ethic, along with some killer chops, that have seen him develop such a strong reputation around Ann Arbor and Detroit. He’s recently opened for BB King, Johnny Winter and the Yardbirds, adding to the impressive collection of blues legends on his bio.

Fresh from the Oscar success of Searching for Sugarman, Rodriguez will be playing in the glorious surroundings of the Masonic Temple. In fact, when you stop and think about, there’s no more fitting venue in Detroit for this man than the Masonic. Since the release of that movie, interest in Sixto Rodriguez has shot through the roof. People are hunting down his lost ’60s album Cold Fact in record stores up and down the nation. When you consider the fact that he was working as a laborer in Detroit just a decade ago, this rebirth must be most welcome.

It’s tough to figure out exactly what is going down at here, but it would appear there is a new animated movie about Jay & Silent Bob, the stoner characters played by Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes, and Smith is coming to town and introducing it. Anybody who has seen Clerks or Chasing Amy knows Smith is capable of brilliance, but the abysmal Comic Book Men TV show proves that he’s capable of the occasional lapse in judgment too (and let’s not even talk about Jersey Girl). At his best, Smith can write dialogue that rivals Tarantino, and he can talk about pop culture all night. Let’s hope he hits his stride in Royal Oak.