Strikeforce announced Tuesday that the promotion has added a lightweight contest between Nam Phan and Billy Evangelista to the undercard of its June 27 show that will feature Gilbert Melendez defending the Strikeforce lightweight title against Josh Thomson.
The event is expected to be carried on HDNet.
Phan, who has a strong following within the Vietnamese community, [...]
Written by admin on May 27th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Nam Phan (14-4) and Billy Evangelista (6-0) will finally get their chance to fight each other Friday, June 27 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on the Strikeforce 10: “Melendez vs. Thomson” card.
The two lightweights were originally scheduled to fight last November at Strikeforce: “Four Men Enter, One Man Survives,” but it was scrapped because of injuries.
The 25-year-old Phan is a scrappy lightweight with blazing speed and knockout power. He’s won nine of his last 11 fights, including five technical knockouts and three submissions.
His last fight under the Strikeforce banner was a unanimous decision loss to now number one lightweight contender Josh “The Punk” Thomson in December of 2006 at Strikeforce: “Triple Threat.” It was a great fight (video here) — perhaps the fight of the night; however, in the end Phan seemed just too small for Thomson and “The Punk” controlled most of the fight.
Evangelista is coming off a third round knockout of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 6 alum — and self proclaimed street fighting legend — Marlon Sims at Strikeforce: “Shamrock vs. Le” in March. Before that he won a split decision at the Playboy mansion over Clint Coronel last September.
He is undefeated (3-0) fighting for Strikeforce and is among the promotion’s top young prospects. Despite his wrestling and jiu jitsu background, he has a decent stand up game. Four of his six wins have been by technical knockout.
This should be an electrifying fight. Both of these guys bring it every time out and are always looking to end fights on their feet.
Of course, the main event for this show is a lightweight title fight between champion Gilbert Melendez and Josh “The Punk” Thomson.
Written by admin on May 5th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 cast member and legendary (in his own mind) street brawler Marlon Sims (3-2) is set to return to action against super tough up-and-comer Billy Evangelista (5-0) in a 155-pound bout this weekend on the Strikeforce: “Shamrock vs. Cung Le” under card.
No major site is reporting this match up — not even ProElite.com or Strikeforce. However, Strikeforce Vice President Mike Afromowitz today confirmed the showdown with MMAmania.com.
Sims has had one fight since his backyard brawl with Noah Thomas on the set of TUF 5, losing to Pat Minihan via submission (rear naked choke) in December 2007.
Evangelista, on the other hand, has been turning heads on the local Fresno, Calif., scene with his undefeated record and fantastic promise. He trains with the prestigious American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) camp, which has some of the most talented fighters in the sport on its roster.
Don’t expect this one to go the distance.
Written by admin on March 27th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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