“STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS’’

Joe Villasenor, Evangelista Cyborg, Nick Thompson, Tim Kennedy,

Jorge Gurgel, Connor Heun & More Final Quotes and Weights

 What All 10 SHOWTIME Fighters Had To Say -- Thursday, June 19, 2009,

ShoWare Center Club Lounge, Kent, Wash.  

June 19, 2009

ShoWare Center

Kent, Washington

Live on SHOWTIME® at 11 p.m. ET/PT

KENT, Wash. (June 18, 2009) — The main event weigh-in produced some pushing and shoving Thursday as

Evangelista “Cyborg” and “Smokin” Joe Villasenor squared off a day before their huge  Strikeforce

Challengers, middleweight fight to take place Friday, June 19, at the ShoWare Center at Kent, Wash.,

live on SHOWTIME® (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).

After Cyborg weighed in for their 185-pound fight at 184 ½ pounds and Villasenor 185 pounds, both fighters

met face to face. Things got a little too close for comfort and Cyborg pressed his head hard against

Villasenor who then pushed back before words were exchanged. At one point, Cyborg pushed Villasenor by

the throat before both fighters had to be separated.

Each of the other eight fighters taking part in the televised portion of the show also made weight and squared

off without incident.

In the main event on SHOWTIME, Villasenor of Albuquerque, N.M., faces Cyborg of Rondonopolis Mato

Grosso, Brazil, in a clash of top-notch middleweights. In another huge middleweight matchup, Nick “the

Goat” Thompson takes on highly regarded Tim Kennedy, an Army Ranger and Special Forces sniper.

This is the second edition of the Strikeforce Challengers series from leading MMA promoter Strikeforce

and premium television network SHOWTIME. The five-fight telecasts airs at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the

west coast). 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.  

Other bouts on SHOWTIME: Cory “The One” Devela of Bonney Lake, Wash., faces Luke Rockhold of

Santa Cruz, Calif. (middleweights), Sarah Kaufman of Victoria, Canada, takes on Shayna “The Queen

Of Spades’’  Baszler of Sioux Falls, S.D., in a 135-pound women’s fight and Jorge Gurgel of Cincinnati,

Ohio, will collide with Conor “Hurricane’’ Heun of Boulder, Colo., in a 155-pound scrap.

ShoWare Center doors will open for the Strikeforce Challengers event at 5:30 p.m. PT.

What the fighters said Thursday and their final weights:

(Photos courtesy of Strikeforce)

Evangelista Cyborg vs. Joe Villasenor

- “Smokin” Joe Villasenor – 184 ½

  “I’m feeling incredible right now. I think this fight will be all about momentum. After this fight everyone will

  know what I’m capable of.”

- Evangelista Cyborg – 185

  “Come Friday night, I will show that I deserve this: the main event. It’s very cool to be the main event. It’s

  going to be a good fight and I think everyone will know me when we’re all done. I have respect for my

  opponent. He has good boxing skill, good wrestling skill … but he’s not great at one thing. He’s good at a

  lot of things, but not great. I will win.”

Tim Kennedy vs. Nick Thompson

- Tim Kennedy  – 184

  “I’ve got a huge Army following and am fighting out of Fort Bragg (Fayetteville, N.C.). I think it was very big

  of Nick to take this fight. I’ve been away from the game for awhile (he’s currently a Special Forces sniper

  serving in the Army). I’m sure he isn’t happy seeing me on the other side of the cage. This is fun. This is

  the good stuff. It beats getting shot at.”

- Nick “The Goat” Thompson – 185

  “This was the fight they offered me so I’ll take it. I don’t like fighting at 185. I hate it. I want to just do this

  and go back to 170."

  “When you get a guy as technically sound as Tim it’s going to be dangerous."

  “A loss here will definitely set me back. They don’t offer title fights to guys coming off a loss."

  "This is fun. To get paid to fight is so much fun. I like to have fun in the ring. Not that I don’t take it seriously

  but I like to goof around a bit.”

Conor Heun vs.  Jorge Gurgel

- Jorge Gurgel  – 157 ½

  “I have never felt this good before. I never get nervous. But I never felt this good in UFC. I have put no

  pressure on myself. I guess I’m a late bloomer. I’ve never felt this great before and my cutting weight has

  been great. I’m having fun and having a great time out here. He’s a green fighter. I want to keep him

  standing up.”

- Conor “Hurricaine” Heun  – 158 ½

  “I haven’t fought an MMA match since October so I’m hungry. You’re in danger when you step in the cage

  with me. My cardio is absolutely impeccable. I’ll fight the fight wherever he wants it to go. It’s going to be

  beautiful. I hope everyone enjoys it."

  “Having fun on Friday night would be looking into his (Gurgel’s) eyes and knowing he’s outclassed. I don’t

  go to church. Going into the cage is like my church.”

Shayna Baszler vs. Sarah Kaufman

- Sarah Kaufman  – 134

  “She’s going to try and go for things that you don’t really expect. She’s going to jump into some things that

  you don’t really see a lot of. So I’ll be looking for that."

  “It’s a positive for me that I just fought last month (May 15; a win over Miesha Tate). It’s hard to peak so

  many times but I’d rather take this fight than not. I think as long as you’re trained and you’re not injured

  then you should always take the fight."

  “I love the five-minute rounds. It’s going to be awesome. I would go10-minute rounds if I could. I get better

  as the round goes longer. I push the pace and my opponents hate it.”

- Shayna “The Queen Of Spades” Baszler  – 134 ½ 

  “I learned overtraining didn’t work for me (in a previous loss to Cris Cyborg). I learned mental exhaustion

  translates into physical exhaustion. At this training camp I had a deal with my roommates that once I got

  home there was no talking about the fight."

  “I think Sarah has a pretty aggressive style and she’s confident that it works. The biggest challenge is we

  know each other too well. And not because, ‘Oh, I don’t want to fight my friend,’ but just strategically. She

  knows I’m going to want to take her to the ground and I know she’s going to want to stand and punch me in

  the face."

  “I wish they had a stat on how many times people hit rewind on their DVR. I’d win that one for sure."

  “Sarah is very good but she’s very predictable.”

Cory Devela vs. Luke Rockhold

- Cory “The One” Devela  – 184

  He’s the only Washington state resident on the televised bout from Bonney Lake, Wash., about 45 miles

  from Seattle.

  “I get more frustrated with getting all my friends and family tickets than I do training for this fight. I’ll have

  like 150 to 200 people at the fight."

  “I think the ref is going to stop it. I predict middle second round. I couldn’t find much on (Luke) Rockhold but

  I’m ready for anything.”

- Luke Rockhold  – 183 ½

  “I know Cory’s going to be tough. He’s not the most technical striker but I know he likes to throw."

  “It should be an all-around tough fight. I believe all around I have better range and am more fine-tuned than

  he is. "

  “I’m long and strong and flexible and not a lot of fighters are like that. So I cause problems for people. I

  have the strength to do things people don’t expect from me.”

Mauro Ranallo will call the action from cageside with Stephen Quadros and Pat Miletich serving as

expert analysts. The executive producer is David Dinkins, Jr., with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick

Phillips directing.

For information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries,

complete telecast info and more, visit the SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.

Friday’s non-televised fights: Dennis “Superman” Hallman (40-12-20) of Yelm, Wash., vs. Justin Davis

(11-7) Olympia, Wash., at 195 pounds; Brian Caraway (10-3) of Seattle, Wash., vs. Alex Zuniga (2-1) of

Everett, Wash., at 146 pounds; Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm (9-0) of Spokane, Wash., vs. Duane

“Bang” Ludwig (18-8) of Denver, Colo., at 160 pounds; Landon “The Show” Showalter (7-12-1) of

Arlington, Va., vs. George Stork (4-2) of Kennewick, Wash., at 186 pounds; Len Bentley (3-2) of Olympia,

Wash., vs. Marques Daniels (1-2) of Tacoma, Wash., at 156 pounds; and Steve Hadsel (1-0) of

Spanaway, Wash., vs. Taylor Roberts (1-1) of Seattle, Wash.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Friday, June 19, 2009

ShoWare Center - Kent, Washington

Live on SHOWTIME: Final Weights

SHOWTIME Fight Card 8 p.m. PT* (*Airs 11 p.m ET/PT, delayed on West Coast) - not in fight order

Fight 1 - Main Event: 185 lb. Bout (3 Rds x 5 min)

Joe Villasenor (26-6, Albuquerque, N.M.) -- 184 1/2

Evangelista Cyborg (16-12, Rondonopolis Mato Grosso, Brazil) -- 185

Fight 2 - 185 lb. Bout (3 Rds x 5 min)

Nick Thompson (38-10-1, Minneapolis, Minn.) -- 185

Tim Kennedy (9-2, Fayetteville, N.C.) -- 184

Fight 3 - 160 lb. Bout (3 Rds x 5 min)

Jorge Gurgel (12-5, Cincinnati, Ohio) -- 157 1/2

Conor Heun (8-2, Hollywood, Calif.) -- 158 1/2

Fight 4 - 135 lb. Bout (3 Rds x 5 min)

Sarah Kaufman (9-0, Victoria, B.C.) -- 134

Shayna Baszler (11-5, Sioux Falls, S.D.) -- 134 1/2

Fight 5 - 185 lb. Bout (3 Rds x 5 min)

Cory Devela (9-2, Bonney Lake, Wash.) -- 184

Luke Rockhold (4-1, Santa Cruz, Calif.) -- 183 1/2

Non-televised Undercard begins at approximately 6 p.m.

Fight 6 - 195 lb. Bout (3 Rds x 5 min)

Dennis Hallman (40-12-2, Yelm, WA) -- 191 1/2

Justin Davis (11-7, Olympia, WA) -- 200

Fight 7 - 146 lb. Bout (3 Rds x 5 min)

Brian Caraway (10-3, Seattle, WA) -- 145

Alex Zuniga (2-1, Everett, WA) -- 144

Fight 8 - 160 lb. Bout (3 Rds x 5 min)

Lyle Beerbohm (9-0, Spokane, WA) -- 160

Duane "Bang" Ludwig (18-8, Denver, CO) -- 159 1/2

Fight 9 - 186 lb. Bout (3 Rds x 5 min)

Landon Showalter (7-12-1, Arlington, WA) -- 185

George Stork (4-2, Kennewick WA) -- 184

Fight 10 - 156 lb. Bout (3 Rds x 5 min)

Len Bentley (3-2, Irving, TX fighting out of Olympia, WA) -- 155 1/2

Marques Daniels (1-2, Tacoma, WA) -- 154 1/2

Fight 11 - 171 lb. Bout (3 Rds x 5 min)

Steve Hadsel (1-0, Spanaway, WA) -- 170

Taylor Roberts (1-1, Seattle, WA) -- 170 1/2
 

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®.
 

Contact:

- Strikeforce

  Mike Afromowitz: mafromowitz@strikeforce.com

- Showtime Networks Inc.

  Chris DeBlasio: chris.deblasio@showtime.net

  Annie Van Tornhout: annie.vantornhout@showtime.net

- Brener Zwikel & Associates, Inc.

  John Beyrooty: Johnnybey@aol.com

  Steve Pratt: Stevep@bzapr.com

- Press Release from Strikeforce with a little editing from us (color, etc...)

- Photos courtesy of Strikeforce

Subject to change

(6/19/09)