{"id":830050,"date":"2026-07-28T23:33:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T23:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/830050\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T23:33:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T23:33:18","slug":"jean-charles-boisset-taps-into-new-wine-market-at-napa-valley-mma-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/830050\/","title":{"rendered":"Jean-Charles Boisset taps into new wine market at Napa Valley MMA event"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019d never know Raymond Vineyards<\/a> is on the cusp of harvest from the boisterous boxing and mixed martial arts crowd that packed the St. Helena winery\u2019s crush pad on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The first professional MMA competition held at a local winery, Napa Knockout<\/a> was a benefit for the California State Athletic Commission<\/a>\u2019s Mixed Martial Arts Retirement Benefit Fund.<\/p>\n

The professional card featured six bouts spanning boxing, MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing, highlighted by a raucous co-main event with kickboxer Matt Baker defeating Kavem Felipe. The main card event was equally electric, with MMA fighter Mason Hartshorn dominating Hector Majardo, who was called out\u00a0for medical reasons.<\/p>\n

\"Hector<\/p>\n

Hector Fajardo is announced prior to his bout with Mason Hartshorn at the inaugural Napa Knockout at Raymond Vineyards near St. Helena, Saturday, July 25, 2026.. (Kent Porter \/ The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

\"Kickboxer<\/p>\n

Kickboxer Matt Baker, left, celebrates his win over Kavem Felipe, right, during the inaugural Napa Knockout at Raymond Vineyards near St. Helena, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Kent Porter \/ The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

\"Lauren<\/p>\n

Lauren Welteroth holds her wine glass during the inaugural Napa Knockout at Raymond Vineyards near St. Helena, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Kent Porter \/ The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

\"Boxing<\/p>\n

Boxing fans turn out for the inaugural Napa Knockout at Raymond Vineyards near St. Helena, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Kent Porter \/ The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

\"Kickboxers<\/p>\n

Kickboxers Matt Baker, left, and Kavem Felipe square off in the final round of their bout, during the inaugural Napa Knockout at Raymond Vineyards near St. Helena, Saturday, July 25, 2026. Baker won the fight. (Kent Porter \/ The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

\"Welterweight<\/p>\n

Welterweight amateur boxer Marley McNealy from San Francisco shows off her medals at Napa Knockout, held at Raymond Vineyards near St. Helena, Saturday, July 25, 2026. Hartshorn won the bout after a doctor stopped the match for medical reasons. (Kent Porter \/ The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

\"MMA<\/p>\n

MMA fighters and fans leave the the inaugural Napa Knockout at Raymond Vineyards near St. Helena, Saturday, July 25, 2026. Baker won the fight. (Kent Porter \/ The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

\"Lauren<\/p>\n

Lauren Welteroth of Los Angeles with her doberman Artas, visits visits Doug Bell with Wine Direct, right, during the inaugural Napa Knockout at Raymond Vineyards near St. Helena, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Kent Porter \/ The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The body art of kickboxer Kavem Felipe during the inaugural Napa Knockout at Raymond Vineyards near St. Helena, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Kent Porter \/ The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 9<\/p>\n

Hector Fajardo is announced prior to his bout with Mason Hartshorn at the inaugural Napa Knockout at Raymond Vineyards near St. Helena, Saturday, July 25, 2026.. (Kent Porter \/ The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jean-Charles Boisset, co-proprietor of Raymond Vineyards, has been a boxing and mixed martial arts enthusiast and hobbyist for more than three decades. When Commissioner Ronald Fiore<\/a> suggested holding a charity fight to raise money for the retirement fund, Boisset was thrilled with the idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event proves Napa Valley isn\u2019t just about great wine and food, beautiful hotels and opera \u2014 it can be about all kinds of sports, too,\u201d said Boisset, owner of Raymond Vineyards since 2009. \u201cI\u2019m so excited to introduce something new to Napa and bring so many people together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JeanJean Charles-Boisset poses with friends during the inaugural Napa Knockout at Raymond Vineyards near St. Helena, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Kent Porter \/ The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

Among the\u00a0high-profile athletes in attendance was semi-retired UFC competitor, Olympian and professional wrestler Ronda Rousey<\/a>, a vocal supporter of the fighter pension fund.<\/p>\n

On the social platform X, Rousey wrote, \u201cThis is the first fight card I\u2019m going to attend in god knows how long \u2013 it\u2019s a charity event in Napa to raise money for the California fighter pensions so if you care about supporting retired fighters and can make it, you should consider going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"KickboxersKickboxers Matt Baker, left, and Kavem Felipe square off in the final round of their bout, during the inaugural Napa Knockout at Raymond Vineyards near St. Helena, Saturday, July 25, 2026. Baker won the fight. (Kent Porter \/ The Press Democrat)
\n\"JohnJohn McCarthy, a retired MMA referee, pulls MMA fighter Mason Hartshorn away from Hector Fajardo during the inaugural Napa Knockout at Raymond Vineyards near St. Helena, Saturday, July 25, 2026. Hartshorn won the bout after a doctor stopped the match for medical reasons. (Kent Porter \/ The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

Other celebrity fighters included mixed martial artists Nick Diaz<\/a>, Gina Carano<\/a>, Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez, as well as professional boxers Andre Ward<\/a>, Victor Ortiz and unbeaten contender Vergil Ortiz Jr.<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the biggest MMA stars of the night was \u201cBig\u201d John McCarthy, the longtime referee formerly with UFC. When he wasn\u2019t officiating the professional card, he was in high demand for selfies with fans.<\/p>\n

\"VictoriaVictoria Fielding and\u00a0 Kenya Felex of Oakland take a selfie during Napa Knockout, Saturday, July 25, 2026, near St. Helena. (Kent Porter \/ The Press Democrat)<\/p>\n

Perhaps most significant was the number of fight fans introduced to Napa Valley Wine Country for the first time. As the wine industry struggles to attract new wine consumers, the event gave organizers access to a largely untapped market.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of these people have never stepped foot in a winery before,\u201d said Patrick Eagan, senior vice president of marketing and communications for Boisset Collection. \u201cWe\u2019ve found a new group of people to bring into the wine world. That is our whole vision.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You\u2019d never know Raymond Vineyards is on the cusp of harvest from the boisterous boxing and mixed martial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":830051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,41689,786,403265,403266,785,403264,85,787,42387],"class_list":["post-830050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-california-state-athletic-commission","tag-fighting","tag-jean-charles-boisset","tag-mixed-martial-arts-retirement-benefit-fund","tag-mma","tag-napa-knockout","tag-sports","tag-ufc","tag-wine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/830051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}