By Peter Covino

Entertainment Editor

When Matt Opacki gives his bride Joan Tafrow the ring tonight at their wedding, not only will it be on her finger, she will be standing in it as well.

Opacki and Tafrow will give a whole new meaning to the words “with this ring I thee wed” because they will be taking their wedding vows in the ring at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, just before the start of the World Extreme Fighting event.

The New Jersey couple flew down from their home in Trenton earlier this week in preparation for two very big events tonight: the extreme fight event and their wedding.

“Joan and I met in the summer of 2007,”  Opacki said, after her cousin tried to set to two of them up on a date.

It didn’t seem like a match made in heaven Opacki recalled. He thought they should go see Shrek on their first date. Her choice: the slice and dice horror film, Hostel. But then the subject turned to mixed martial arts and extreme fighting, it quickly became apparent this could be the start of something big.

“Matt and I just love watching MMA (mixed martial arts),” Tafrow said. Her interest in extreme fighting dated back to her middle school days, when she took some classes in the sport.

The more the pair watched the extreme sport together, the deeper their bond grew.

“Our first night together (at a fight) was UFC 101,” a defense title event held in Philadelphia. “It was one of the best night of our lives,” he said.

So it really wasn’t such a big surprise recently when he asked her if she wanted to come to Kissimmee to see World Extreme Fighting Event in November.  The bigger surprise came from the future Mrs. Opaki when she said why don’t we get married in the ring.

“I thought she was joking,” he said. But she was quite serious and after contacting WEF officials about the possibility of getting married before the fight,  they told the couple they thought it was a good idea.

So tonight, several fighters will have a date with destiny. And so will the New Jersey couple.

The big card event features  Ben Saunders, a UFC Ultimate Fighter alum from the American Top Team in Orlando versus Elijah Harshbarger, a No. 1 welterweight contender from Fairfax, Va.

The fight card also features several Central Florida fighters including Kissimmee police officer and SWAT team member Bruce Conners (his U.S. debut) versus Bogdan Christea, an international experienced fighter from American Top Team in Coconut Creek.

The fight card begins at about 7:30 p.m.  But the fighters will have to sweat it out a few minutes as even they will be spectators as Joan Tafrow and Matt Opaki become Mr. and Mrs.  Tickets for the wedding/fighting event are available at the arena box office and through Ticketmaster, 800-745-3000 or Ticketmaster.com. Ringside seats are $75, all other seats are $45, $35 and $25.

The World Extreme Fighting event also will double as a reception and honeymoon for the couple who will head back to New Jersey Sunday.

But friends and family do have a reception planned for them back home in the Garden State. And a honeymoon will follow as soon as the couple can get enough time off from work.