Live combat sporting events at the Tachi Palace are in a state of flux following the departure of Christian Printup, who developed a series of boxing cards and created an in-house mixed martial arts promotion during his nine-plus years as director of entertainment for the Lemoore casino.

Printup -- a former World Boxing Council women's promoter of the year and president of the Palace Fighting Championships' MMA promotion -- said his employment ties with the Palace ended May 21. He declined to discuss the reason for the split from a casino where he helped put on more than 300 events, from boxing and MMA to concerts and comedy shows.

"Change is inevitable and I'm really thankful for the opportunity the [Tachi Yokut] Tribe gave me in 2000 when I was a young, inexperienced guy," Printup said. "I feel I did a heck of a job for them, and I am really proud of my staff. We were able to impact the lives of a lot of people through our events."

Palace general manager Willie Barrios also declined to comment on the reason behind Printup's departure, which will likely cause the casino to lose two previously scheduled MMA shows under the PFC banner.

A card scheduled for Sept. 25 at the Palace has been canceled, and another show set for Dec. 3 is up in the air, Barrios said, as tribal leaders decide how to proceed with the casino's MMA promotions minus Printup, who owns the PFC brand name.

Five MMA fights at the Palace on the July 16 "Best of Both Worlds III" card were dubbed "Tachi Palace Fights" bouts rather than PFC because of unresolved issues between the casino and Printup.

"Eventually, we're going to have MMA cards again," Barrios said. "We just don't know when."

Printup said he, too, wants to continue promoting MMA fights. In the interim, he will promote an amateur kickboxing event Sept. 27 at the Banker's Ballroom on Fresno's Fulton Mall.

"My vision for the PFC always extended beyond Lemoore," Printup said. "But right now, I'm trying to figure out what's going on and what direction to go. I do have plans to continue the PFC, but just don't have a timetable yet."

Printup launched the PFC in January 2007 after World Extreme Cagefighting, which started at the Palace, relocated to Las Vegas after being sold to the owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championships.

The PFC brought in recognizable names in the world of MMA such as former UFC fighter Brian Cobb, Ultimate Fighter 1's Lodune Sincaid and WEC's Doug Marshall, while giving a home to many local and regional fighters.

Porterville's Shawn Klarcyk has fought at the Palace seven times and was tentatively scheduled to be on the September card.

"If a different organization comes in, that might affect my payday because other organizations don't pay as well as Christian did," Klarcyk said.

"That's probably the only effect. I'm young and I can fight anywhere I want. There's people calling all the time trying to get me on their shows, but that's only because the PFC has opened doors for me."

While the status of the Palace's MMA shows is up in the air, an Oct. 22 boxing show will go on as scheduled, with Goossen Tutor Promotions putting together the entire show.

During Printup's tenure at the Palace, boxing was a joint venture between Los Angeles-based Goossen Tutor and the casino. Goossen Tutor would typically line up the main event and place an up-and-comer or two on the card, with Printup filling the rest with fighters under contract to the casino such as Hector Alatorre, Frank Mondejar, Carina Moreno and Jessica Rakoczy.

The Oct. 22 boxing show is the only combat sport currently scheduled at the Palace for the rest of the year.

The reporter can be reached at nickg@fresnobee.com or (559) 622-2407.