STRIKEFORCE CHALLNEGERS: VILLASENOR DECISIONS CYBORG IN MAIN EVENT; GURGEL AND HEUN PROVIDE CROWD-PLEASING FIREWORKS; KENNEDY AND KAUFMAN EACH SCORE VICTORIES

Posted on | June 20, 2009 | No Comments

Middleweight Clash Is a Split Decision On Exciting Second Strikeforce Challengers Show,

June 19, 2009, at 11 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME, ShoWare Center, Kent, Wash.

PHOTO GALLERY:

Photo captions: Esther Lin / Strikeforce

07_Villasenor_victorious – “Smokin” Joe Villasenor raises his arms in triumph over Evangelista Cyborg Friday night in the main event on the second Strikeforce Challengers series on SHOWTIME.

06_Villasenor_vs_Cyborg – Villasenor lands a left hand on his way to a split decision win over Cyborg in a middleweight clash in Kent, Wash.

05_Kennedy_vs_Thompson – Tim Kennedy begins his celebration following his defeat of Nick “The Goat” Thompson by submission by strikes at 2:37 of the second round.

04_Gurgel_vs_Heun – Jorge Gurgel used his punches and kicks, like this one, effectively to beat Conor “Hurricane” Heun by unanimous decision in a 160-pound catch-weight matchup at the ShoWare Center.

03_Gurgel_vs_Heun – Gurgel, at right, and Heun proved to be the match of the night as the two battled all the way to the finish with Gurgel gaining the victory on all three judges’ cards.

02_Kaufman_vs_Baszler – Sarah Kaufman goes right at Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler in a 135-pound women’s matchup won by Kaufman, who remains undefeated at 10-0.

01_Devela_vs_Rockhold – Luke Rockhold needed only 30 seconds to get Cory Devela to tap out by rear-naked choke Friday night on SHOWTIME.

KENT, Wash. (June 19, 2009) – “Smokin” Joe Villasenor showed no signs of rust after a year away from the cage as he recorded a close split decision over Evangelista “Cyborg” in the main event of the sophomore edition of Strikeforce Challengers Friday night on SHOWTIME® before an enthusiastic crowd at the ShoWare Center.

In a gritty and tactical battle all the way to the end, Villasenor proved victorious winning on two of the three judges scorecards, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. “I haven’t fought in over a year and that’s a great fight to come back to,” Villasenor said after the fight. “A three-round war. I was really surprised by (Cyborg’s) countering. It turned into a great fight.”

SHOWTIME will replay Friday’s telecast on Thursday, June 24, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME 2. It will be available ON DEMAND beginning Monday, June 22.

Asked by SHOWTIME expert analyst, “The Fight Professor” Stephen Quadros, who he was looking to fight next in the stacked Strikeforce middleweight division, Albuquerque, N.M., resident Villasenor (27-6) said, “(Current middleweight champion) Cung Le is sitting back and watching everyone getting better but I think he’s shaking in his boots after watching this.”

Like Villasenor, Tim Kennedy has also been away from the game while serving his country as a Special Forces Army Ranger in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was hard to tell he hadn’t fought in more than 18 months and only five times in the last six years, but he proudly proclaimed he was back Friday, as he submitted Nick “The Goat” Thompson by strikes at 2:37 of Round 2.

Fighting in his 50th MMA fight, Minneapolis, Minn., resident Thompson (38-11-1) was visibly upset afterward and thought Kennedy had hit him illegally behind the head. “You’ve seen my fights. I’m the fairest fighter there is,” Kennedy said. “I was hitting from the side of his head and if I hit him in the back of the head I’m truly sorry. I love to bang and knock people out and I get a lot of crap back home for not winning by submission.”

In what was easily the most entertaining and exciting fight of the night, at a catch weight special attraction at 160 pounds, Jorge Gurgel (13-5) of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Conor “Hurricane” Heun (8-3) of Hollywood, Calif., proved to be two stars to watch. From the second the first bell rang both fighters engaged in a battle full of blood and sweat. In the end, with the crowd on their feet, the final decision was announced in favor of Gurgel on all three scorecards with scores of 29-28, 30-27, 30-27.

Bloodied and battered, both fighters “put on a fight for the ages at 160 pounds,” according to SHOWTIME commentator Mauro Ranallo. “I’ve never seen a chin like that on anyone besides myself,” Gurgel said. “This was my first fight for Strikeforce and it was everything I’ve ever wanted.”

Said Heun: “I may go home a couple of bucks shorter and with some scrapes but that was the most fun I’ve ever had. I live for those last 15 minutes.” While it may be a loss on his record, Heun proved he is not one to back down and will be a fighter to watch in the Strikeforce cage.

In an intriguing matchup of two friends, Sarah Kaufman of Victoria, British Columbia, ran her record to a perfect 10-0 with a unanimous decision over Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler of Sioux Falls, S.D., 29-28, 30-27, 30-27.

Kaufman and Baszler took part in five-minute rounds, the first in the history for female MMA for Strikeforce. “She’s a great opponent and it was a great fight. I just kept gaining confidence and getting more comfortable as the fight went on,” said Kaufman, also a victor by decision in her last fight against Meisha Tate.

Luke Rockhold of Santa Cruz, Calif. improved to 5-1 as he came out firing in dominating the only Washington state resident on the televised card, Cory “The One” Devela (9-3) of Bonney Lake, Wash. Rockhold stepped in with his left foot and let a right hand fly from the opening seconds, stunning Devela who fell to the ground as Rockhold proceeded to pound away. The fight ended several seconds later as Rockhold recorded his third consecutive win by first-round rear-naked choke as Devela tapped out at 0:30, and Rockhold winning by submission.

In a stacked Strikeforce middleweight division, Rockhold said after the fight that, “I’m ready for anyone. I showed tonight what I can do.”

Ranallo called the action from cageside with Quadros and Pat Miletich serving as expert analysts. The executive producer was David Dinkins, Jr., with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.

The non-televised fights presented some crowd-pleasing results. Dennis “Superman” Hallman (41-12-2, Yelm, Wash.) needed just 27 seconds to beat Justin Davis (11-8, Olympia, Wash.) by submission in the final non-televised fight. Brian Caraway (11-3) needed a unanimous decision to defeat Alex Zuniga (2-2, Everett, Wash.) by the scores of 30-27, 30-27, 30-27. Lyle Beerbohm (10-0, Spokane, Wash.) beat Duane Ludwig (18-9, Denver, Colo.) by submission in the first round at 4:27. Landon Showalter (8-12-1, Arlington, Wash.) won a unanimous decision over George Stork (4-3, Kennewick, Wash.), 30-27, 30-27, 30-27. Len Bentley (4-2, Olympia, Wash.) won a unanimous decision over Marques Daniels (1-3, Tacoma, Wash.) by scores of 29-28, 30-27, 29-28. Steve Hadsel (2-0, Spanaway, Wash.) needed only 17 seconds to knock out Taylor Roberts (1-2, Seattle, Wash.) to open the card.

UPCOMING on SHOWTIME: International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion “King’’ Arthur Abraham puts his undefeated record and middleweight title on the line against world-ranked Mahir (pronounced Meyer) “Lion” Oral in a special Saturday primetime edition of ShoBox: The New Generation June 27, 2009, (9 p.m. ET/PT, same day, tape delay) from Max-Schmeling Halle in Berlin, Germany.

On Saturday, July 11, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, Vic Darchinyan (32-1-1, 26 KOs) will attempt to become a world champion in a third weight class when he challenges IBF bantamweight champion Joseph Agbeko (26-1-22 KOs) live on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast). In the co-feature, Antonio DeMarco (21-1-1, 15 KOs) meets Anges Adjaho (17-1, 9 KOs) in a 10-round lightweight bout.

Marvin Quintero (16-1, 12 KOs) makes his return to ShoBox: The New Generation in a 10-round lightweight fight with an opponent to be determined at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif., Friday, July 31, 2009.

On Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009, Tim “Desert Storm” Bradley (24-0, 11 KOs) gets the home game he’s always wanted when he defends his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Jr. welterweight world title against former champion and dynamic puncher Nate Campbell (32-5-1, 25 KOs), Saturday, Aug. 1, (9p ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast). The scheduled 12-round world title fight take place at the brand-new The Show at Agua Caliente Casino • Resort • Spa in Rancho Mirage, Calif., less than 10 miles from where Bradley grew up in North Palm Springs. In the co-feature, Devon Alexander (18-0, 11 KOs) battles Junior Witter (37-2-2, 22 KOs) for the vacant WBC super lightweight championship belt.

Mixed martial arts returns to SHOWTIME (10:30 p.m. ET/PT ) on Saturday, Aug. 15 in the highly anticipated milestone STRIKEFORCE matchup between Gina “Conviction” Carano (7-0) and Cris “Cyborg” (7-1). The undefeated and extremely popular Carano (7-0) will compete in the first fight of her multi-fight agreement with STRIKEFORCE at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. Carano and Cyborg, the consensus two best female fighters in the world, will be the first women in MMA history to headline a major MMA fight card. In addition, they will fight for the first STRIKEFORCE 145-pound Female Championship and the first to go five, 5-minute rounds.

For information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast info and more, please visit the SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.

About Strikeforce
Strikeforce is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, Strikeforce has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of Strikeforce, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.