Undefeated Zak Cummings Replaces Injured Evangelista Cyborg In STRIKEFORCE Challengers Main Event Fight With Tim Kennedy

Posted on | August 20, 2009 | No Comments

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, On Friday, September 25

NEW YORK (August 20, 2009)—Undefeated rising mixed martial arts (MMA) star Zak Cummings (10-0) will replace an injured Evangelista Cyborg in the STRIKEFORCE Challengers main event matchup with American military hero Tim Kennedy (10-2) at Tulsa, Oklahoma’s SpiritBank Event Center on Friday, September 25.

“Tim Kennedy sounds like a pretty tough guy and that’s the way I like to fight so it should be a great fight,” said the 25-year-old Cummings, a two-time national junior collegiate qualifier in wrestling for St. Louis Community College – Meramec.

A knee injury forced Cummings to withdraw before the start of the 2006 national tournament and, later, convinced him to return home to Springfield, Missouri where he discovered MMA. He has since regained his health and become well-skilled in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and kickboxing.

Despite his newfound versatility, Cummings credits his untainted success first and foremost to his consistent composure in the cage.

“Some guys get very emotional and some guys want to go out there and hurt people. I’m one of those guys that looks at MMA as a sport and a chess match, just like I look at wrestling,” he explained. “In all my wrestling experiences, I stayed calm throughout any situation that happened. I didn’t get frustrated and I think that’s carried over into my experience in this sport. I keep my cool really well and it’s paid off.”

The 29-year-old Kennedy’s return to action will be his first since he dominated Nick “The Goat” Thompson, stopping Thompson on the ground with an onslaught of punches in the second round (2:37) of their STRIKEFORCE Challengers meeting at ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington.

After spending six years in The United States Army, the last three as a sniper in the Seventh Special Forces Group, Kennedy, a native of San Luis Obispo, California, recently accepted an offer to serve in the Texas National Guard. The career change will allow him the flexibility he needs to pursue his MMA career at a world-class level.

“I don’t think anybody can really plan to see what I’m coming in to do this time,” said Kennedy. “I’m working with the best boxing coaches and training with Mark DeLaGrotte, one of the best MMA striking coaches in the world, so I think that people are going to see a new Tim that they’ve never seen before.”

A graduate of Columbia College in Missouri, Kennedy launched his professional MMA career shortly before enlisting in the military near the end of 2001.

“After 9/11 happened, I wanted to do something for my country,” he explained. “The military is my life. I am going to serve as long as they’ll let me. I’d love to retire in uniform.”

A knee injury Cyborg sustained during a training session last week forced the Brazilian fighter to pull out of the bout with Kennedy.

Tickets for the event, priced from $25, are on sale at the SpiritBank Event Center box office, all

Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com), and STRIKEFORCE’s official website (www.strikeforce.com).

SpiritBank Event Center doors will open at 7:15 p.m. CT for the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event and the first preliminary bout will begin at 8:00 p.m.

The live SHOWTIME telecast, which will include up to five bouts, will begin at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

World championship MMA promotion STRIKEFORCE will produce the event at SpiritBank Event Center along with eXtreme Fighting promoter and five-time world kickboxing champion Dale “Apollo” Cook.

STRIKEFORCE Challengers is a proving ground for up-and-coming MMA fighters. The series is designed to provide today’s top prospects with the opportunity to step-up their level of competition and demonstrate their ability in a nationally televised event.

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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.